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Sorry for all the separate posts but I like to keep all the responded organized. Another thing to consider if permanently mounting this panel is abuse during bushwhacking. On my last trip I went through a lot of low trees. If I had this panel mounted at the time it would like be damaged pretty...

I was wondering the same thing as you. That's why I was considering the Velcro. Someone who knows about adhesives please chime in.

I just lay it where it's convenient, usually my windshield, the top of the camper or on a table. I have a 40 ft cable and a10 ft cable I made myself. Since the panel is a little flexible it makes it hard to angle it toward the sun at times because there isn't a good way to prop it up. The...

Husky- I can't believe it looks like it just spontaneously bowed out. I'm glad I saw this so I can avoid it on my own. That makes me a little hesitant to put it on my roof permanently but maybe the glue will help ensure it maintains its shape.

So did it warp randomly from heat or did it bend to the shape of what was behind it? A pic would be nice. I put mine in my dash one day and it stayed bowed for a few days but returned back to its shape. I have also been putting mine directly on the windshield (outside) and have not had it bend...

I have a renogy flexible 100 watt panel. I don't have it installed on the roof but have been using it remotely with a plug off the side of my camper. I store it between my mattresses when traveling. I consistently get above 5 amps with optimum sun.

Smoke- the main things I learned so far is the importance of charging at the right voltage and the impact of voltage drop from the starting battery to the aux battery. What I learned about my renogy charge controller so far on my trip (I'm writing on vacation now) is that it only charges at...

Camelracer- this comment was specifically for the ctek which does not allow for the 24volts that 2 panels wire in series would create.

Thanks for commenting Paul! I'm glad you let me know the correct way to measure voltage drop. I was thinking it was impossible to not have drop in that long of a run of a smaller gauge wire. Upon reading I found a nice voltage drop calculator if anyone wants to use it...

One other thing. You were worried about not being able to support more than one solar panel. You just have to make sure you connect the panels in parallel and not in series. Ie positive to positive and negative to negative. This will keep the panels under the required voltage as long as they are...

I'm glad I saw this thread. It's got some overlap with my thread in the truck moods section. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one to have my separator cycling when my battery gets too low. I'm still trying to pinpoint at what point it does this but it was a huge problem for me on my last trip...

Actually. I take it back. I called the place and they have Deka for $220 a piece. I think I'm pulling the trigger. US made goodness.

So I did more testing last night just to be redundant. Maybe you guys can let me know if I'm interpreting this right. Battery- tested cold after sitting got 12.5 volts. (Wet cell) with air running, defroster on, high beams on, radio on I was at 12.3 and it slowly dropped to 12 over like 5...

Good looking out you guys!!

What's camping without wild life?

That's hilarious. I actually thought about doing it that way but am worried about getting a bunch of dust in there. I even considered doing a filtered vent or something. Interesting to know others are doing that.

Markbc- thanks again for the help. Where do you have your batteries if they have to vent?

That's awesome you can run it that way. How much battery storage do you have? I guess my thinking is that when my auxiliary battery gets discharged too much, it causes my starting battery to quickly dump it's nice full charge into my poorly charged aux battery. This "equalization" lowers the...

Thanks for sharing your experience. How low do you usually discharge your battery to? Does it not cycle even if it's discharged too far ie past 50%? I think you are right about the solar on the roof. Seems like the way to go.

Thanks for the thorough response. What you are saying about your battery bank only getting to 85% is more in line with what I hear from other forums. So this makes me think that other than the cycling on and off of my separator my battery is charging as expected from my alternator. I'm fairly...

I am only getting 13.5v. I was thinking this was fine as the starting battery was charged and disconnected from the aux battery. Also the ac was running as I was trying to simulate slow off roading with the ac on to see if I could get a charge.

I was afraid I would hear this. I'll look into diagnosing the alt then. The only thing I tried so far was to see if the voltage to the aux battery or starting battery increased when held at 2500 RPM. It didn't, so maybe thats my problem. Its funny because I've been working on my own cars for...

Ntsqd- also I made sure I don't have a random draw by hitting the kill switch and checking the voltage then turning it back on with everything turned off. I got no change in voltage even with out being able to turn off my co detector.

I would love to get one but can't afford it at the moment. Despite not knowing my exact draw, I do know I draw less than 50% over a long night in 90 degree weather. I tested it out in my driveway from full charge. So basically, my capacity should be sufficient if I can have my system fully...

I thought about this too. I checked the voltage from the starting battery all the way back to the aux battery at each point. They all read the same voltage which was 13.5 at the time. No drop down to the 0.1. I do plan on getting more storage but I'm waiting until I have enough money to get two...