I'm always looking at things to make them better. I haven't seen any company as of yet come up with this idea and I'm actually pretty suprised. Every roof top tent inevitably sits up high and has a clear view of the sky. Most people who use roof top tents usually have an "overland" or "expedition" mindset. I can guaruntee that a percentage of those people run rigs with solar panels. Now, when the RTT is mounted (usually on the roof or trailer), there is almost no extra space to mount solar panels on the roof, roof rack, etc... I'm sure the percentage of people who use solar panels while they are driving is very low, but when at camp is steadily growing. The space is already used so why not integrate it into the RTT cover? There are flexible solar panels hitting the market already. Actually, you wouldn't even need flexible panels as hard ones have made there way into backpacking sized foldeable units with fabric sewn around the edges (i.e. Goal Zero). When the vehicle arrives at the campsite, the cover could be removed and set it to the side on the ground to continue/start collecting sunlight.
I don't know. Just an idea. I won't be mass-producing this as I'm only building a small prototype "strap-on" style for me to use. It will essentially strap over a rtt cover when I get my RTT. It will allow me to charge my aux battery when the vehicle is not running and tent not deployed OR deployed. I think it's a slick idea. Wish I could market it, but there's no way.
I sent en e-mail to CVT to get feedback on the idea. No reply yet.
