Solar Panel Roof Mount Build With Articulating Arm

I found a great deal on a Dometic CFX-40, which led to the purchase of an X2 AGM 24F deep cycle/starter battery. Since most of my driving consists of short trips, I was concerned this would shorten my battery life.

A solar power system was the obvious next upgrade. There are four criteria for this build:

1. the panel must lay flat when traveling,
2. the panel must be able to angle approximately 45 degrees towards the sun,
3. the panel must be able to rotate in all directions,
4. the panel must be able to be used on either my FrontRunner rack (shell) or my Thule load bars (mounted on the OEM cab rack).

To accomplish this feat, I needed to build a base/mount to support the panel and a bracket that attaches to the panel. The key component of this build is the RAM mount arm. It connects the base to the bracket. The one I have is about 5" long. With an 1.5" ball on each end of the arm, it is approximately 8" in overall length.


The ball attached to the base allows the arm to go from vertical to a horizontal position, and vice versa. This allows the panel to lay flat on the rack when traveling and then raise it when the vehicle is parked. The ball attached to the bracket lets you set the angle to the sun, as well as follow the sun as it moves across the horizon.

The base I made sits below the load bars in order for the panel to rest on the load bars. The wood base allows me to use the base on my Front Runner Rack. If I want to use it with Thule load bars, I remove the wood and then attached the Mighty Mounts that fit the load bars.

The first component I made was the base. With this mounted onto the rack and the RAM mount attached, I could now use a piece of cardboard the size of the panel to help design the bracket and placement of the attached ball.

The bracket pieces were cut and then mounted onto a board in preparation for welding.

On Wednesday, it was welded. The next day I cleaned it up, then placed it on the panel and drilled the mounting holes.

Prior to painting the bracket, I test fitted the bracket on the rack.

I plan on finishing it by this weekend.

 

That's pretty slick. What's the total weight of the load (bracket + panel) on the arm?

 

Have you considered a flexible panel attached with industrial velcro and really long cord? I traveled over two months with that and a portable lithium pack. Can pop any side up on the roof with your props of choice. In my case, running shoes. Or detach completely in case a confined campsite had your truck in shade and you have a sun spot. With the truck running, used switching device (my hands) to truck's inverter.

 

In for finished project.

 

The panel is 15.5 lbs and the bracket is 3.5 lbs. I am less concerned about the weight as I am about strong winds hitting the large surface area. Those RAM balls grip really tight, so I don't think the panel will shift from the force of the wind. I may add support arms or guy ropes if my calculations are off. The other alternative is to just leave the panel down if it becomes too windy.

Your method is very versatile, but the framed panels work better for my needs.

 

I've heard those flexible panels break VERY easily despite being "flexible" . @YamaDirtrider Didn't yours crack just from the contour of your cab and lose a bunch of efficiency?

I have a Renogy 100w solid panel, love it! Similar setup to OP just without the arm.

 

I was mostly thinking of the forces of that assembly acting on any kind of lever arm (the derived lever arm from the dimension of the panel itself and the mount arm) if it starts bouncing in the wind. Probably fine as long as you check the hardware after a storm, and you don't exactly sound like a dummy.

 

Yea. I thing part of my problem is I used double sided tape all the way around the outer edge. I Should have left the ribs in the roof untaped and it may have worked better.

 

Nice

 

Two months full time on the road. Twice blown off my cap roof going through automatic car washes(Seattle Costco, Salt Lake) because well the driver is at that forgetful age.

Edit: 18 National parks, 14 states and many POIs in between. Deserts, rain forests, 109 degrees to 32 degrees, 12K elevation to sea level. Not bragging about me but describing what the panel went through.

 

Here's the short version: With a few modifications, it works very well! The Front Runner rack is the perfect complement for this stealthy mod. The panel is barely visible to someone walking by as it sits only .4" above the rails.
The panel is held to the rack by the front and rear clamp,
and the lowered arm.
Rubber feet were added to the corners, which combined with the weatherstripping under the lip on the clamps, keeps the panel from moving. When positioning the panel, the feet allows the panel to slide on the rack without scratching the paint.
If the panel is positioned over the side rail, the white block under the corner of the panel takes the strain off of the ball mount. In addition, it provides a third point of contact which improves its stability.
The 5.5" arm was replaced with a 9" arm. This change enables the panel to be flipped upside down while maintaining 40 degrees of angle. Also, with the center of gravity below the ball mount, the panel becomes very stable.
Even with the ball mount in the lower position, the panel had very little wobble with the 9" arm.
The ball mount in the lower position. The cable attached to the panel provides security as well as keeps it from becoming a projectile.

 

some amazing set ups!

 

Nice idea! I did something similar sorta. I operate emergency comms so need extended power options for radio equipment. Put 2ea 100W panels bolted together on the parts I robbed from a lazy Susan with ball bearing support and an adjustable length tiller extension I had left over from a Laser class sailboat to adjust height. Fit perfectly on the rack for transport but didn’t like having to park in the damn sun for the panels to work! Always tilted it off and set it up in the sun with the battery and parked in the shade with an ice chest and a cold beer.

 

Are you running that anetenna into the cab? If so what are you running it through? I recently installed a weboost and I ran it into the door then into the rubber along the door. That looks nice though.

 

Nope. It's a mag mount. Running the cable back into the rear sliding window, under the seats up to the center console

 

Ahh ok so that's something that isn't' permanently there when you are driving.

 

Nope again lol. I leave it on 24/7 365. Was driving through the desert in Nevada with roughly 70MPH winds, didn't move an inch

 

Sorry for the confusion lol. So that means you leave your rear window open 24/7 I guess? Here's what I'm talking about with my rig. Was just trying to see if there was a better way to run that. So your picture intrigued me

 

My solar charge controller is mounted temporarily under my front seat. For now, I’m running the wires through the rear window. When I close the window, I make sure it is loose on the wires. The noise level on the freeway is not bad. Looking through the window, I hardly notice the wire is there.

Eventually, I'd like to have a dedicated battery located in the bed. If and when that happens, I'll pop a hole through the roof of the shell and use a waterproof gland. This is a much cleaner look.

If you’re looking for an entry point to the cab, there’s a 2” rubber plug under the driver’s seat. You’ll have to cut a hole through the carpet or run the wire under it and to the door. Pop the threshold off and run your wires along the floor and up the kick panel to the dash.

 

Nice. I was planning on just using this tilt mount bracket and trying to park facing South as much as possible. Gonna have to look at the RAM mount idea more.

$30 Renogy 28in Adjustable Solar Panel Mount Brackets, with Foldable Tilt Legs on Any Flat Surface for RV, Roof, Boat, Any Off-Grid Systems

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSKFWK...oliid=I2UT4D0O9HUTT8&colid=173IC7PXLVJKB&th=1