Mobile Life
In 2019 I realized that more power was needed, if I was going to run a fridge as well as other accessories consistently and at the same time. In January 2019 bought a polycrystalline “90W” solar module over the internet from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun, Inc. The panels were made by Solarland, model SLP085-12U.…
Read MoreIn 2018, I made a little readout box so I could see what the voltages were from the battery, panels, battery at the charge controller (so I could tell if there was a problem with the battery wires), and at “Load” on the controller. These little digital volt meter (DVM) mulit-colored readouts are cheap on…
Read MoreGot a new (used) 1991 isuzu Trooper in 2000. Finally, in late November 2006, bought a a new UNI-SOLAR panel (Model US-64 64W PV M) from Affordable Solar Group in Albuquerque, NM. Cost at that time was $319. (This was a higher than I expected to pay: the story was there was a shortage of…
Read MoreI got the idea of a raised bed in the Trooper from a friend of a friend who spent a lot of time living in his truck. He had built a raised bed system for himself. The storage space created underneath meshed nicely with the solar powered refrigeration system, since I could place the fridge…
Read MoreThe original machine screws that held the luggage rack mounting hardware on the roof were not strong enough to hold the panels, so I drilled larger holes in the roof and used brass bolts. I had to cut through the ceiling liner to get at the bolts from inside the truck (see photos below). Not…
Read MoreThe following article from 2001 shows the system I developed in the early 1990s, and mounted on a 1989 Isuzu Trooper. This was the earliest prototype of the Solar Fridge system. Freedom to live where you want – up a desert wash, far from civilization, for days, for two weeks – with fresh cold food…
Read MoreThis system consists of a solar electric panel, a storage battery, a voltage regulator/diode, electrical wiring, various mounting hardware, and modifications to the vehicle to mount the hardware and allow sleeping and storage. These pictures were taken on the day I de-commissioned the system from the vehicle (March 17, 2001). The solar system had been…
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