Hood Mounted Solar Panels?

[Babbuino]

We have a pair of Apreras ‘ordered’
We opted for the lowest range since we don’t plan to take those afar like the R1T.
Their 1000mile option adds huge weight ( diminishing range return and performance) and huge $$
One will stay up north one in FL - where there’s more sun.
They grab 40m a day due to their weight and aero shape
A roof full
Of panels on the R1T will net a dribble by comparison
We’re also going to avoid the R1T 400mi pak - again extra weight, diminishing range return, and we like navigating stops and stations like we now do with a bolt and Kona ev.
We’ve hyper’d 300 on those that are only rated 259 max.

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[Jehorton]

I’m sure it’s been mentioned but there is a solar tonneau covered made by Worksport.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mo...lar-tonneau-cover-truck-bed-power-system/amp/

 

[HTownB]

I’m sure it’s been mentioned but there is a solar tonneau covered made by Worksport.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mo...lar-tonneau-cover-truck-bed-power-system/amp/

They specifically mention Rivian but I’d be interested in how they modify it. Would it still work with the existing automated tonneau system? Rather than adding extra batteries in the bed, would it just charge directly to the existing batteries? It’s a great idea, even if it’s just 5-10 miles a day because that’s otherwise “wasted space” anyway.

 

[idea man]

I too would love to see a solar tonneau cover option. I wouldn't mind having one that fits over the roof as an option as I think the class roof is a feature in search of a benefit (for me). I can live with it, but I'd opt out of it, given the choice. If I was out in the sticks and had the option of 10 or even 5 extra miles from a solar array somewhere, I would be all for it. I would rather not walk that 5 miles under any circumstances. I also don't want to have to run a wire outside the truck from the bed to the charging port. We'll see what the market asks for.

 

[DMark]

The problem with a solar cover is how do you get the power into the main battery (it is easy to charge the 12V battery of an ICE or an RV with a simple solar controller). I was trying to configure something to build a prototype of and got as far as getting the power into the HV array. You could do an intermediary battery (similar to the WorkSport one above) and then just use the level 1 charger into the 110 port on the battery pack, but I was not able to find an "off the shelf" way to go from solar to 110 with a reliable sign wave. We would not want to put a really variable (i.e. bad/noisy) power supply into our expensive HV pack, right?

Anyone else have some idea(s) that I missed?

 

[AllInev]

Here you go, feel free to spend your money on this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1742389055...1291&msclkid=7681464e7d801946eb3d265490ebe657

At 600W you could get 1 kw in 2 hours. It would fit on the roof racks or the bed racks.

Relevant manufacturer notes:

• Like any roof accessory mpg will be decreased a little
  
  
• All kits include integrated LiFePO4 battery high temperature cut-off at ~90F degrees in order to preserve the internal LiFePO4 battery, so if you live in a hot climate the SEVB™ may not be worth buying

 

[zefram47]

No one seems to know for sure, but with the vampire draw threads at the moment it seems like the HV to 12V charging may be a big source of the draw. If you could use a moderately sized solar panel on the dash or elsewhere to help keep the 12V system topped off and minimize draw of the HV pack while parked. But the assumed draw people have come up with is 100-150W continuous load, so you'd need a pretty beefy solar panel to make make much of a difference and would still only work in moderate to full sun. Still...parking at the airport or a trailhead, it could make the difference between getting home and not, I spose.

 

[AllInev]

I’m sure it’s been mentioned but there is a solar tonneau covered made by Worksport.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mo...lar-tonneau-cover-truck-bed-power-system/amp/

The spec sheet for their current product (still in development as far as I can tell): https://goterravis.com/wp-content/u...sport_Terravis_Product-Design-and-specs-2.pdf

The bottom of the spec sheet has some EV charging info --a little bit of handwaving for a spec sheet.

 

[kozak79]

You can pretty easily build a rack-mounted solar array for the roof and bed area to charge an EcoFlow or 2 while in the bed. The EcoFlow can then be used to charge the Rivian at about 10 miles/hour. You can daisy chain the EcoFlows and daisy chain the EcoFlow solar panels. This can keep you topped off on camping trips.

 

[Thedude]

You won’t be able to fit enough solar panels on the truck to make a meaningful difference. I have 350watts on the roof of my trailer and in the last thirty days of unobstructed sun exposure I have generated on average 1kwh per day. Those panels would cover the entire bed if you made a rack array so you could maybe cover vampire drain but it wouldn’t be adding charge to the battery.

 

[Dark-Fx]

You won’t be able to fit enough solar panels on the truck to make a meaningful difference. I have 350watts on the roof of my trailer and in the last thirty days of unobstructed sun exposure I have generated on average 1kwh per day. Those panels would cover the entire bed if you made a rack array so you could maybe cover vampire drain but it wouldn’t be adding charge to the battery.

If someone were actually planning on doing it to maximize it, they'd be making the panels from scratch with the highest efficiency solar cells they can buy (which IIRC are around 25% these days). It'd be very expensive and totally not worth it on a vehicle as inefficient as Rivians are.

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