Portable solar panel to charge Hybrid while camping?

[Gary Krueger]

Can this be done

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[Pappy]

I don't have a hybrid, so I'm not sure what is needed. You didn't say why you needed it. What is the concern?

As far as having a way to hook up solar, yes. I did it on my non-hybrid that I use overlanding. I plug a 45W along with a 40W suitcase panel into an SAE input on my bumper. I would also look into the hood panel from Lensun (<- this is a link).

Note that that while my suitcase panels have done me well for over a decade (on my Gen1 4R), it's a bit small and I would consider using at least a 100W.

 

[TacoKiwi]

Are you talking direct to the hybrid battery? That system is greater than 200VDC and goes up to 300VDC. A solar panel would have to be series connected to about 20 panels so would be impractical. Plus you would perhaps compromise the battery and that would be a huge expense. All you need to do is charge the 12V accessory battery and stay away from the hydrid unit. I would surmise that that accessory system would trickle charge the hybrid battery internally. And when you start and roll the hybrid battery would come alive anyway. Having said all of this I am unsure what one has to do for long term storage of a hybrid unit. Dealer would advise on that.

 

[Gary Krueger]

I want to run a 12ga extension cord into the tent to run Starlink, tv and portable fridge

 

[TacoKiwi]

OK thats cool. Make sure you use something like 10ga wire to avoid voltage drop as you don't have many volts to lose from the start - 12. I can advise what my son does with his Jeep. He has a proper solar controller and a portable flexible panel that sits on the ground. He connects the solar controller to the vehicle 12V battery and than runs his fridge, stereo and lights off the Jeep accessory system. (Dad made him a custom system that simply plugs in to the 12V so no mistakes).After 3 days the Jeep starts fine. Beauty about the portable solar is he tracks the sun all day and 12v system runs stand alone all night. That will work for you too. Also means you don't have to drag those Jackery type systems around.

 

[Pappy]

I want to run a 12ga extension cord into the tent to run Starlink, tv and portable fridge

By tent I'm going to guess you have a roof tent. The fridge and TV are going to suck power. The Starlink isn't too bad as long as you are not using it all the time. I put mine to sleep at night through the app to save battery.

As I said, my truck is set up for overlanding. I have a canopy-camper on it and it's on solar. I do have the ability to charge off the engine, but I mostly don't need to. I have a pair of 190W panels on top of the camper, into a 40A MPPT controller. The panels charge 200AH of battery. I run my camper lighting, 12V and USB outlets, two fridges (50qt ARB + 20qt ICECO), and my Starlink when in camp (no inverter). I started out with a single 190W panel and one 100AH battery and it wasn't enough. A wise man told me this last summer "When you think... this will be enough..., double it and it still will fall short - powerwise that is." He was correct.

I would not run that camping stuff off the starting battery, and would set up something dedicated to the tent. You can get a cheap 8A DC-DC charger (<- this is a link) to charge the camper battery while driving. It's possible you might need a bigger DC-DC charger, but that gets into big bucks.

 

[Sagebrush]

I want to run a 12ga extension cord into the tent to run Starlink, tv and portable fridge

It would be a hell of a lot simpler to use a separate 100-watt LiPo battery. (WattCycle $160)

If you use the 12-volt AGM battery that's under the seat and suck it down to 12 volts or below, you'll kill it. And that would be easy to do with your DC fridge.

You'll also want a voltage step-up transformer for the Starlink Mini. They don't like to run below 13 volts, and unless you're using an extra-heavy cord, that will significantly reduce the voltage.

I installed one of these in my teardrop to run my Mini. Works great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTFJ8CGH?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

 

[Pappy]

You'll also want a voltage step-up transformer for the Starlink Mini. They don't like to run below 13 volts, and unless you're using an extra-heavy cord, that will significantly reduce the voltage.

I will add to this. The Starlink is picky about power. I have no problem running it off my LiPO batteries in the camper using a 12V outlet. I have used cords with 18awg, 16awg, and 14awg wire to run the Starlink. No problems. My current cord is this nice braided cord from Stargear (<-Amazon link) that uses 16awg wire.

Recently I was on a trip to southern AZ in my old 4Runner. I tried using the 12v outlets on the dash to power the Starlink while driving. It hated it. I'm going to rewire the dash with larger wire to see if that helps.

 

[Dirt]

I go camping to get away from all that stuff.

 

[Pappy]

I go camping to get away from all that stuff.

I use it to get away from people, and go to some cool places.

 

[Wife bought my 24 TRD]

I want to run a 12ga extension cord into the tent to run Starlink, tv and portable fridge

Wow why don't you just stay home and leave the woods to people that want to camp!!!
Just saying I go out in the woods to get away from technology.

 

[Pappy]

Wow why don't you just stay home and leave the woods to people that want to camp!!!
Just saying I go out in the woods to get away from technology.

I used to think like this. Then I bought ...

• a tent instead of sleeping in the back of the truck.
• a real stove instead of cooking on my old backpacking MSR.
• a cell phone so I can communicate easier on the road.
• a tablet with digital maps that don't require a connection.
• a 12V fridge instead of constantly having to hunt for ice in places where it wasn't available.
• a small solar panel so I didn't kill my starting battery in the middle of nowhere Baja.
• a Garmin inReach so I can communicate if I'm out someplace and need help. It also gave family and friends less anxiety when I'm remote by myself since they will know where to find my corpse.
• a roof top tent which made camp setup and take down easier, and offered convenience and comfort a ground tent could never match.
• a Dirtbox canopy camper for the Tacoma. In 2021 on a Canada trip I swore I would not do that trip again in my Gen1 4Runner, and there was a Tacoma in my future. I was true to my word. I spent 50 nights in the Dirtbox this last summer in Canada and Alaska.
• and a bunch of other things I can't think of after doing this camping stuff for over 45 years.

I've come the conclusion that none of these are cheating. But, you do you.

You can bash Starlink all you want. It's just another tool to facilitate getting out there. I had multiple friends question my Starlink purchase. At least three of them have acquired their own after using mine in the weeds. If the technology exists, why not use it.

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