Solar panels UNDER roof rack!?

[Kind of Blue]

This, wot 'e said.

Just one bit of shade on a panel over a few cells can reduce the outout by 40% easily, so that roof rack with shade over multiple bits of the whole panel, at a guess I'd say you'll maybe get 25-50w (maybe less) from the 400w on a perfect day when you would be betting 350+w.

Some panels do cope better with shading that others but it's not going to be great.

See this video as an example: 150w panel, 90w with no shadows, 60w with one roof bar across the panel.

To find a better solution, firstly - your power usage and battery: a fridge if left on all day with use 25Ah per day. You've only got a 50Ah LifePO4 which is quite small - so the fridge will drain half the battery a day. So if you'll need a decent sized solar panel to keep you going.

How do your kayak etc mount to the rack? Could you mount it on one side of the rack, leaving the other side for a long, slim panel? Like this:
View attachment 274409

Or you could possibly use mounting pads etc that would have the kayak sit over the top of the solar panel.

OK, OK, TallPaul S, Your not related to Horrible Paul are you? Well If I had not seen it i would have doubted it and my name is not Thomas. That is very convincing. That guy has good Northern Humour! I wonder if on park up the panel should be orientated to face the sun exactly not just left flat on the roof, how much wattage might the panel produce then?

Also, I like the idea of a rigid panel suspended underneath bars or in between them. Perhaps it could be slid out like a tray or drawer. Then used like a solid awning or propped up on the roof for the very best angle for maximum efficiency. I was initially interested in a roof rack similar to the one in the picture but 40KG +++ or more looks like too much to me and then adding additional weight on top of that. That is when I started thinking in terms of transverse bars or even making something up with plastic key clamp tubing. The steel variety being too heavy though exceptionally strong. Only thing is no one sells it any where near here and getting deliveries is still a pain.