Here's my setup:
100W panel on top of my tent, wired to the Renogy controller located inside an ammo can power distribution box on top of the bed. Inside the ammo can I have grounded fuse blocks and bus bars and switches. Then the power distribution box runs directly to the battery. Solar controller is smart enough to stop sending power when the engine's on. From the bed mounted distribution box, I have both red and white LED bed lights hooked up there, as well as a 12v ciggy port as well.
For the main battery I am switching it out to a LiFEPO4 with self jump function. I also have another fuse block w/ ground that acts as a distribution box inside the cab, also hardwired to the battery to run fridge and HAM radio and any other things I may add in the future. Both distribution blocks are connected to battery via individual circuit breaker as additional safety.
I started out with a portable setup with Jackery power station (250W and eventually 500W) and 100W Jackery portable solar panel. But since I'm "overlanding" I don't really stay stationary for more than 1 night, a portable setup doesn't really make sense to me especially having the need to put away the portable stuff before moving.
I still keep a 250W Jackery inside the cab and connect it to the inverter outlet in the rear seat, and it charges whenever the truck is on. I only use that as a backup system like when I need to move the fridge out of the cab or when I need to run diesel heater for winter or my portable AC for summer.
Another solution that others have mentioned is dual battery with a DC-DC charger. But IMO a roof mounted solar panel plus LiFEPO4 will do the job with less weight, a bit less money, and battery will last longer.
Pro and cons:
- Tent mounted solar + LiFEPO4 solution:
- Pro: organized and clean. No need to deal with setting up and putting things away
- Pro: LiFEPO4 has more usable power compared to any other battery types. Not in terms of how much power it can push, but longer usage time since they have higher discharge rate. They have longer life as well
- Pro: Light weight: my flexible panel from Renogy is only a few lbs heavy, and LiFEPO4 battery is at least half the weight of your regular battery
- Pro: LiFEPO4 charges fast. I've drained the LiFEPO4 completely before and using a 5 year old solar panel that was pushing probably 40w (not the one in pic) it charged the LiFEPO4 enough to start the truck in 2 hours.
- Pro: most LiFEPo4 have a reserve bank where it stores enough juice to jump start the truck.
- Con: a bit of work to set up. You need a solar controller and basic knowledge on how to run the wires.
- Con: You're looking at about $1k+ for parts. Maybe $3-400 without LiFEPO4
- Portable:
- Pro: portable solution. You can charge it when you're at home or at campsites with hookups
- Pro: You can rotate the solar panel to maximize exposure, especially if your site is in the woods
- Pro: Rooms for upgrade the power station. You can start small (lower cost to enter) and upgrade as you go
- Pro: You can charge the power station while the vehicle is on
- Con: more things to carry.
- Con: set up and pack up is required every time
- Con: too many brands to choose from (Jackery, Bluetti, ecoflow, dometic, anker etc are all good brands)
- Con: Power station itself can be costly (rule of thumb: every 1W of capacity roughly equals to $1 in cost. 500W power station is around $500)
- Con: Too many cheap brands out there that offer affordable products that lack quality or longevity, but quality and reliable products do cost more
- Dual Battery:
- Pro: dedicated power source for all your electronic needs
- Pro: separated system - if you drain the house battery your starter battery is not affected
- Pro: traditional way of doing things. This is tried and true for years
- con: Technical knowhow needed for installation (I'm a tech and dual battery controller setup was confusing when I did my first)
- con: Possible that you need two identical batteries for this setup (last I looked into this a few years back most systems require identical batteries. ie: if you have AGM for your starter battery, your house battery needs to be AGM) though technology may have changed
- con: Weight -Whether you use AGM or lead acid or whatever type of battery and assuming you need identical batteries for both starter and house, you're doubling the weight
- con: Cost - for dual battery set up, especially for more complicated vehicles like ours, you'll need smart DC-DC controllers. Which can be quite costly (ie: Renogy)
- Conclusion:
- If you are "overlanding" and you're on the go for most of your trip, a solar connected to your starter battery is plenty
- If you are "overlanding" but will remain stationary but only running fridge and other small personal electronics (phone, tablets, etc) solar + LiFEPO4 is plenty.
- I should also note that I have my fridge plugged in running 24/7. I went a week without driving my vehicle and solar + LiFEPO4 setup never drained the battery in Southern California summer. Same setup in the same place lasted 2 days with overcast. The next morning, 2 hours of morning sunlight charged the battery enough to start the vehicle.
- If you're "overlanding" and will remain stationary but will be running something that draws more power (charging drones, using rice cookers, running portable AC) then you'll need everything you can get, so run both roof mounted solar plus portable solar with LiFEPO4 and portable setup. Or just camp at a campsite with RV hookup.
- If you are switching vehicles, go portable plus solar.
