Hood Mounted Solar!!

[TexasTJ]

This is really cool this company makes hood Solar panels for 4x4’s that act as hood blackouts too. I talked to them and they are going to have a 100watt version for the LR3/4 come November. Looks good for keeping the battery topped off From a Fridge! I’m going to try to pick one up...
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[Kmrtnsn]

I'm interested in this but not sure if it will fit between my aftermarket hood vents. It looks close. I reached out to them in May for a template but they never sent it out.

 

[Carson Booker]

Now, that's amazing! Might as well check out their website.

 

[LocoCoyote]

Looks intriguing. I wonder how scratch resistant and durable they are...

 

[Herbie]

We know heat + solar is a bad combination - I fear this may really hurt both the panel's efficiency and its life.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

We know heat + solar is a bad combination - I fear this may really hurt both the panel's efficiency and its life.

It's a black panel. It won't get any hotter over the engine than it would on the roof.

 

[Herbie]

1st, Maybe your Jeep has better insulation than all of my vehicles, but my hoods definitely get warmer than my roofs (including when I had black colored cars and the black-colored solar panel I have bolted on my van).

2nd, We have plenty of examples from ExPo alone where people have experienced short panel lives and poor efficiency with soft panels mounted on roofs, too.

 

[TexasTJ]

I have A Discovery 3. This just looks like a neat solution.

 

[2.ooohhh]

Love my hood mounted panels on the rover. Run even cooler than similar panels on my past FJ, I attribute that to the aluminum hood.


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[John R]

This is really cool this company makes hood Solar panels for 4x4’s that act as hood blackouts too. I talked to them and they are going to have a 100watt version for the LR3/4 come November. Looks good for keeping the battery topped off From a Fridge! I’m going to try to pick one up...
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Love the idea but it’s cost me $678 usd with shipping to get one in Australia.

I could put that money towards a roof rack and mount a traditional panel on it.

Good idea tho

 

[Victory_Overland]

Great set up and great design although I am not sure I could part with $500 shipped on my hood; there are other options out there but I like what these companies are doing.

My plan was a semi-flex panel on a removable mount as I believe that airflow is critical. But, if they tested and warranty it, I'm all about it and cheers to more cool kit for the communities.

 

[krick3tt]

I already have a black out panel on my LR and I use a foldable panel for solar that can be moved to actually be in the sun while the vehicle is in the shade staying cool. Lots of $$$ to have possibly ineffectively placed solar panel.

 

[roving1]

It's nice these are an option and being first to market maybe justifies a premium. But these are crazy expensive and don't even come with a controller.

The whole vehicle specific thing is pretty silly too. Be better off coming up with generic shapes that fit more than one model.

They claim they have these running all around the desert here and places abroad like the Emirates. But I don't see any actual hard evidence of that. No pics or write ups of the product in the field anywhere.

 

[2.ooohhh]

I already have a black out panel on my LR and I use a foldable panel for solar that can be moved to actually be in the sun while the vehicle is in the shade staying cool. Lots of $$$ to have possibly ineffectively placed solar panel.

Certainly a fine way to do it, but these panels run my fridge daily in the truck. They produce enough amps to run the fridge while charging the battery from running the fridge as needed overnight. They are originally designed to be mounted flat on sailboats and the surface texture is designed to gather/direct light from off angle while providing traction for deck shoes. While I often park in the shade when camping the reality is the truck gets utilized far more in my day to day grind.


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[morrisdl]

OOOH...got me thinking it might be a great way to charge a hitch mounted electric dirtbike/mt Bike