Jeek Grand Cherokee WK Roof Rack Solar Setup

[KUJeeper82]

Just got my custom roof rack in and am considering the best path forward for a solar panel setup to keep my Yeti 400 and deep cycles charged up. Unfortunately the two 100 watt panels I've bought earlier this year don't quite fit the way I was hoping. Now, Renogy makes a slim version that would work, but I don't want to spend $250 for another set of panels, these work and were pretty dang cheap (home depot Nature Power, $90 each on clearance)

What do you guys think about mounting these things under the roof rack permanently vs. using a pair of 48" full extension sliders to get more sun? I can fit my two panels directly under the rack without issue but would need to go to a different panel design to use the sliders (which I haven't purchased). The first photo would be the permanent install, the second shows the issue with a side mount that would pull out with sliders.

The Yeti 400 will only accept 136W of input anyways, so the roof rack blocking part of the surface area won't matter much I think at noon. I'm also planning to add a 1/2" gap between the cells and the bottom bars to help with airflow.

 

[jkam]

That expanded metal will shade your panels worse than you might think.
And, it's not always noon where you will be.

 

[Utah KJ]

That's a no go on the panels permanently mounted under the expanded metal.

 

[KUJeeper82]

So I finished up my roof rack install and solar kit last weekend. Decided on a single 100W panel, and picked up a ROCKPALS folding 100W one to wire in parallel if needed. Still need to figure out how to route the wiring and Yeti 400 + ARB 50 QT storage however. I have the materials for a slider system for the fridge, just not sure where to put the Yeti yet. Used a linear rail slider setup from Amazon with expanded metal elbows mounted to the bottom of the roof rack.