The majority of the miles put on our Wrangler Sport are for camping. We carry a 12V fridge/freezer in the back for extended trips. It has a low voltage shut-off that worked as intended to prevent running the Jeep battery down too far, but also had the potential to leave our supplies at above food safe temperature when it shuts down. My solution was to add 100W's of solar to the roof and feed the fridge from a separate 100ah LiFePO4 battery. It's been working well. We could go 3-4 days without charging the LiFePO4. With the addition of the solar panels, in good sun, there's no limit. A bonus is that I can remove the freedom panels and place them where they'll get the best sun.

Anyone else doing something similar (or do you think there's a better option)?

(The battery is a Dr Prepare that has a hub with a solar controller.)

 

I like it. I added a solar panel to a cargo trailer that I converted for camping. I simply used a deep cycle marine battery for energy storage. I placed small Led voltmeters on either side of the controller/regulator. This told me the voltage the sun was producing on one side and the voltage for the battery on the other side.

 

That is a great idea. Nice work. Going to do the same for my OG trailer build to save Jeep battery.

 

That is certainly an ingenious solution you came up with there! have to get past drilling some holes in those freedom panels, but other than that you had an issue and found a creative solution!

 

Yes @resharp001, drilling into the freedom panel made me nervous, especially since I didn't have a known plan to follow. The only thing I had in my favor is that I bought the hardtop used for a good price and it already had some blemishes. Luckily everything worked out, but I had my doubts.

The only issue I had was the air space under the solar panels. Originally I thought it would be a good thing for cooling, but the first time on the road I discovered that the wind noise was too annoying. The black edge molding that I added to the front of each panel seems to be working, but I may look into some kind of deflector that would push the wind over yet still allow for some air flow.

 

That’s a great setup for camping! Adding 100W solar and a 100Ah LiFePO4 battery is a smart way to keep your fridge running. You might also consider a solar powered generator as a backup or upgrade—it’s an all-in-one solution for powering gear. Check out options like those at Bluetti for reliable, portable power, especially on longer trips!