Need another way to keep my house battery charged.

[Boatbuilder79]

I added a second battery to my truck to run my fridge but I am only getting about 1day of runtime out of it during the summer.

Battery is a flooded lead acid deep cycle from advance auto 90 ah mounted to the frame under the cab.



I have it connected to the engine battery with a Yandina combiner and 2awg welding cables.


Fridge lives in the bed of my truck under a leer top.

What are my options for keeping my second battery topped off when not driving my truck?

Is there a charger I can wire in that wouldn’t care about the load from the fridge?

Would a thin flexible solar panel glued to the roof of the leer top be a better way to go?

How could I attach the panel and make it look neat enough as to not attract attention? I use my truck for work.

Would an RV type roof vent in the topper help keep the temps down enough to be worth it? What is a good low profile one?

 

[Boatbuilder79]

I like the idea of a solar panel and roof vent the best.

Any advice on which ones and hot to attach them would be much appreciated.

 

[john61ct]

Any good charger (aka AC to DC) will power the fridge, just size it properly, say 30A if under 200AH for both batts.

A fridge will need that big if off-grid for days. Next time go for 2x 6V GCs.

The semi-flex panels don't last as long as framed.

But a good set of those folding "blanket" ones might suit you.

Good fans include MaxxAir and Fantastic Fan.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

I keep my lunches and food for my work week in the fridge in my truck.

My issue is that I do not always run my truck enough during the summer week days to put back the energy my fridge uses while It is parked in hot Atlanta parking lots.

I do not want to have to worry about plugging it in or setting up a panel when I park.

I was hoping I could just glue a flexible panel to my topper and make it look clean enough to just wire it up and leave it there and not worry about it.

 

[john61ct]

Yes you can.

Obviously not a permanent adhesive like 3M 5200.

Maybe 4200 or Sikaflex 291.

Need to ensure no flexing while driving, and prevent too much heat buildup, those factors will reduce its lifespan.

If you're lucky, might get 2-3 years.

If you can get access to shore power overnight that will be a better solution.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

What is a good shore power charger?

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Depending on the size of the fridge, one day of runtime on that battery in the summer is about what I'd expect. If you are going to mount a panel, you might consider using a pair of tracks like those sold by Yakima for their rack systems, and then mounting a rigid panel to the tracks with sliding bolts. Low profile and easy to remove when you don't want it, and the tracks barely show when there is no rack or panel on them.

 

[SameGuy]

It looks like he already has tracks on the topper. You can find some carriage bolts that will slide in those tracks, then build some risers. (bar stock square or rectangular aluminum tubing is easy to work with) Then fashion a crossbar and attach a rigid panel to the crossbars. If your not into building, I'm sure there is a commercially available rack out there that would work. This will allow you to use a rigid panel which is more affordable and durable, as opposed to sticking a flexible one to the roof. As stated above, you may not get as much life out of a flexible panel mounted this way.

 

[Boatbuilder79]

My hope was that I could bond a flexible panel to the top and the tracks could help keep it hidden.

I have to keep my cross bars off most of the time because I do not have any height to spare in a lot of parking decks on my garage at home.

I also live in Georgia and it is not politically correct to show off your solar panels here.

 

[SameGuy]

I feel your pain with those issues. I live in Wyoming, specifically in Coal Country. Solar is a dirty word in these parts, lol. I wouldn't worry too much about having one permanently mounted to my rig, but I would seriously think twice about having them on the roof of my house. I could see them getting shot up or my home vandalized.

I'm sure you could find an adhesive that would work. I know there are a bunch of videos on youtube where people have done it on their RV's. 3M makes some seriously tenacious adhesive tapes that would work. The kind they use to attach vehicle emblems with. Might be tough to get it off but I assume you would leave it there till it failed, therefore getting the panel off without destroying it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[john61ct]

What is a good shore power charger?

Sterling Power ProCharge Ultra and ProMariner Pronautic P series

Magnum, with the new advanced remote / BM option

 

[rayra]

Topper's got to breathe, or else the trapped heat and sun insolation drives up how hard the fridge has to work.

Rooftop panel will help a good deal. Build a mounting frame that surrounds it and makes it non-apparent from the ground. Folks will see the side of a frame but get no other clues what's there unless they can view from above.

 

[llamalander]

Is that a Leer shell? They have an option for a removable forward-facing window, not sure if you can retrofit it. It can safely be left open if you don't expect rain or dust (or care about them). Even a small computer fan could get the heat moving out without using valuable roof space or hight, an option is to open a window and install a fan in a board or piece of sheet metal that fits in the track. If you have the room to make an insulated box around the fridge or even wrap it in foil-faced bubble-wrap it won't have to work as hard as it does now.