Solar plus a battery is the way to go, but the ones you mention are about the most expensive way I have yet seen to achieve what you want.
A conventional folding solar panel (as big as possible) plus an 120Ah AGM battery plus a method of also charging it from the car will give you good performance and reliability at a much more reasonable cost.

Cheers,
Peter

thanks peter, I agree with your suggestion re the folding panel & AGM battery.

but..carrying the stuff around is a really big part of the issue, large solar panels would completely cover my bed area during transit,  if I had an overnight layover I would have to move them outside to sleep, inconvenient and irksome with a high risk of damage to them and me, lower back doesn't like that bent over lift position.

Also I don't want to spend on wiring up this xtrail, when in a couple of years I will have to redo it all with a more dedicated vehicle, though not a nice truck like you have....

In theory the money I save on not needing to double up at the auto elec will help to offset the more expensive cost....just a little bit...I've still to compile a comparison budget on the different types available, I know this choice is the most expensive....

But the question remains, what happens at night when i'm not there to fick the switch or whatever is required.....will my fridge restart in the morning from solar alone, or do I definitely need the battery and some controller thingy to keep it chugging thru the nite.....

thanks for your reply....happy trails.....nuby

Grab some heavy cable / welding cable etc and run under chassis to battery from your main motor battery . Just cable tie so cun be used or swapped into any vehicle . In some cases it can be threaded through chassis rail ? Use relay as isolater switch so there's no chance of flattening starter battery .

Thanks terry, keeping the car cool is part of my solution... Have already sourced an external windshield shade, I use those mesh covers over all the windows for sleeping anyway, and can easily suplement with sunshade offcuts, I'm planning on running a smallish tarp over the roof racks and back spoiler so I can leave the sun roof ajar and not worry too much about rain. I know this will keep the inside temp down. Ideally the solar gear would then attach above the tarp on the roof rails. The preference for the solar blanket was the ease of getting it up there without dropping, security wise, I was banking on chaining it to the rails or something and running the power cords thru the roof... The other reason for the power blanket is it's apparent ability to charge, albeit not as efficiently, in all light conditions, including somewhat overcast days. I'm taking that to mean a little shade from trees which in turn will help with inside temps...one of the other interesting aspects of the blanket is it seems to be less dependant on perfect angle to the sun to produce a reasonable charge, rather handy for the static setup I'm considering... Good to hear you agree with lithium... they appear to be far superior in every way... I'm hoping 120ah will be sufficient.... This all seems like an expensive indulgence just so I can have a coldie with my cheese and crackers after a lazy 3 day paddle up the Noosa for the Aust day weekend, but a few more days in camp after and it will save the hassle of a longish drive out to pick up ice supplies, and that's well worth it. Thanks for your comments...happy trails...nuby

Surf bars for canoe?.

How much room behind sliding roof? on surfbars.

2 lengths of angle aluminium, across roof of car. behind sunroof
Panel fits between them. with 2 locking pins at rear to stop sliding right out.

2 x Caravan shop Extending legs. length to suit, with fittings at top to clip/pin/bolt onto outer end of panel.
Legs extended to height req'd. Having panel standing out at side (either side)
not fr or back of car.
and behind drivers door so no obstruction to.

You'll have canoe on top. sunroof usable.
Panel slides out from under rails and extended legs on ground,
support the panel at whatever angle to suit.

SImple, easy and under 1\2 day work.

Somebody here will probably volunteer. for a coupla coffee's or a drink?.
Coupla women together will sort it real quick. hey.

I will if you anywhere near Yeppoon QLD.
All us old farts have plenty of spare time.

Wouldn't bother with Lithium or any fancy battery, till you established with whatever.
and KNOW what size.power you need and can fit.
You could end up with wrong one/size
98% of us use Wet or gel/AGM at most.
But temporary. I'd think twice.
Wet cells fine....

Just put in rear. and have an ELECTRONIC unit between them to charge it from car.
The solenoid units do NOT fully charge. only equalise at most.

 

IF NOT using that battery as a second charger.

You do NOT need heavy starter cable to it.

I only have 8mm wire to my two in tub. and use long jumper leads if need starting power.

and a micro sw on dash, to activate charging from when car starts out.
not when car battery at set charge.

Fridge insulation.
Find an insulation merchants. and buy a mtr or so of 17mm Duct insulation.
solid grey with Silver ally outer coating.
Cut and fold to fit round Engel.
Wrapping with duct tape.(Nothing sticks to outer face)
and have one end/side cut to form a flap over top of fridge
as a lid.

My Waeco 80ltr. up in top end. with flap down in rear of Patrol.
When lifted it has a full coating of condensation over complete fridge/freezer lid.
IN rear of car at DARWIN.

That... is insulation. Magic stuff.
Just cut hole where fan/s are to let it out.

-- Edited by macka17 on Monday 31st of October 2016 04:31:31 PM

Hi Ruby

Here are my thoughts for your thought

Very expensive to do what you are proposing for some small gain. But that is your call. The items you propose to consider, a solar blanket and lithium battery, are very expensive too but again if you see the value that is your call. The RR solution to a mini minor problem IMHO.

If I wanted to do what you propose, and looking for 3 days, I might consider this for a budget solution. Forget the solar as it does not suit you to carry or set up and the theft risk is high. Go for a couple of AGM batterys of sufficient capacity to get the 3 days at 50% capacity drop. They would sit OK in the rear floor wells and are sealed. Then charge them from the car alternator during the trip there(assume a couple of hours drive). Use a VSR to handle the charging through some good cables. The fridge should have a seperate voltage cut out to switch it off so it does not kill the batteries just in case you paddle slow, as the inbuilt one is set too low.

With this setup you can park in the shade to keep the car cool and the cost will be reasonable. Not much work to get done for setup either. Put some water bottles in the fridge to take as much space as is left so that will help, and some extra insulation(blankets) over the outside too.

Cheers Jaahn

PS Terry I guess your 10AH battery should be 100 ?

-- Edited by Jaahn on Monday 31st of October 2016 08:18:53 PM

Hello nuby

I would just like to say, welcome to the forum

I am not a techie but I can see some of your problem, so it is a pity that you do not have anyone to wire up a system for you.
Perhaps some members from your area, could assist when you decide what your requirements are

As daffyfrancis has already said, due to room constraints, an icebox may be the way to go, as you will not require a battery or solar panel

hi Ruby,

Flat flex solar panel can be stored and carried easily . eg 2 x 100 waters a few kgs each
200watters can replace around 50ah on an average solar day
Given u are mounting the fridge in a hot environment 40ah consumption maybe occur
plus extras charging etc
Solar panels pad locked to car with a security cable . Padlock each end


An Agm of 120ah capacity 50% usable or suitable sized lithium .
Will a big enough battery mount in the engine bay [ 2nd batt] or would it suit to have it in the back
Lithium might be lighter if u have to shift it around .

swamp