What about those solar panels I'm seeing on top of trucks lately

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by TruckRunner, Oct 11, 2018.

  1. VolvoTerry

    VolvoTerry Light Load Member

    292
    373
    Sep 7, 2015
    Based out of Omaha,NE
    0
    Solar is a great alternative. Sadly there are few options out there. I have Idle Smart installed on the truck to make sure the batteries never go dangerously low. It also kicks the motor on to protect from freezing and can turn on and off to maintain cabin air temp. I finally installed an espar heater last september and started to add solar to my system as i noticed much of my idle time was due to batteries draining. Last year at the Louisville truck show I had to idle roughly 10 hours for battery charging over the course of 4.5 days sitting. This year with the 4 panels I have on the roof of my trailer I idled 30 minutes total. Even on cloudy days I can collect enough power to not run the motor during the day time. .75-1.5 kwh. And on full sun days I can collect between 2.5 and a high of 3.45 Kwh. I have since ordered 4 more panels to double my solar array with the intent to be able to collect enough to run a small ac this summer.
     
    alds, PE_T, Slowmover1 and 1 other person Thank this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. shatteredsquare

    shatteredsquare Road Train Member

    1,352
    1,764
    May 23, 2014
    middle dirt
    0
    bingo
     
    alds Thanks this.
  4. laaylor

    laaylor Road Train Member

    1,602
    2,409
    Oct 16, 2007
    Creston, Wa
    0
    I’ve had that system for over 3 years now: it works great!
     
    TruckRunner Thanks this.
  5. not4hire

    not4hire Road Train Member

    7,142
    26,946
    May 16, 2012
    Calgary
    0
    The solar panels on my trailer keep getting broken...







    [​IMG]

    :p
     
    VolvoTerry and shatteredsquare Thank this.
  6. AlexanderK

    AlexanderK Light Load Member

    156
    94
    Mar 11, 2017
    0
    What wattage of solar maintenaner would I need to keep batteries charged? My truck doesn’t move much lately, but I would like to keep batteries charged.
     
  7. VolvoTerry

    VolvoTerry Light Load Member

    292
    373
    Sep 7, 2015
    Based out of Omaha,NE
    0
    64844105_10216677038370794_6785167193664389120_o.jpg My solar panels.
     
    alds and PE_T Thank this.
  8. TruckRunner

    TruckRunner Heavy Load Member

    704
    3,270
    Dec 21, 2017
    0
    Simply calculate the wattage your devices use add them up and get a dollar panel to cover that wattage. Note that a 100 watt solar panel doesnt put out a full 100 watts. This is an old topic I now have a 100 watt solar panel on my dash and on my catwalk and I never idle.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.