RJ Howell wrote:I know you want roof-top solar, yet why not ground based? Still could use the roof to transport.. I used to carry a 130w panel that was ground based, I didn't wish to park the camper the sun for the solar! It worked well for us. I've gone to DC/DC charging now and no longer carry any solar, but I also don't stay put for more than a couple days.
I believe I have mentioned it here, I am on CPAP therapy, so yeah, charging every couple of days is critical. I am trying to avoid going with a big generator to keep fuel usage as low as possible. Pretty sure solar that would run an AC, even the lowest amp draw 5K BTU Unit I could find is going to be a tall order. Probably need 1KW of solar. Panels are improving, energy density per panel is getting better, but still huge space user.
Still not convinced of the pop up arrangement, looks complex, hard to build, harder to seal, and harder yet to insulate. I can solve the second and third issues by doing folding hard sides, but that leaves the hard to build... Not impossible though.
I like the humpback tail idea where you bump out the cabinets on the back...
I've seen a couple of builds that look good that keep the truck bed intact using contractor caps. I am still considering that route for ease of build, but building wide. I really don't know...
For now, I am just doing pavement, some gravel and my old Malibu to get to where I am going with a tent. It's okay but I would rather spend less time setting up / tearing down, and having a more comfortable place to sleep...