i was given the charger seen on this website (TPS-936A), is it appropriate to use this to charge my truck'sbatteries?---http://www.topraysolar.com/Products_...4107132254.htm---

the website says for 12 volt battery charging. on my volt meter the panels show as high as a 24.5 volt output. with the understanding that any solarcharging system either needsa controller or to be monitored closely and all solar chargers go over voltage to account for loss of sunlight intensity - will this panel kill my 12 volt batteries?

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You will need a solar charge controller for 15 watts or higher, and a blocking diode to prevent discharge at night if it is permanently mounted

 

It's not going to do you much good unless you don't start your truck for long periods of time. Like, longer than 30 days.

 

what's your opinion of what would happen to the battery if i ran w/o a charge conrtoller but kept an eye on the battery's voltage and disconected at~12.5-13.5volts?i'll try and be responcible and diconect the panelsbefore sun down.

do you really think it will take that long to have an effects? i'm not trying tocompletly drain my batteries and then trying to charge them. i'd just like to have the option of taking one of the batteries outof the engine bay and use it as a power source at night for camping, then charge it during the day.

but basically can i interpert your post to say that i will not hurt the batteriesby attaching this panel to them?

 

It depends on how big the solar panel is. I thought you were just trying to find a way to keep your battery charged. What I was trying to say, is that unless you plan on letting your vehicle sit for a long time, the 2 batteries would hold a good charge for at least 30 days. Once you fire up the truck the alternator will charge them back up.

What you are trying to do is run some accesories off the second battery and have the solar charger charge it back up. YOu might have better luck just hooking the battery back up to the truck and let it run for a few minutes. This would be much faster than a solar charger and would work in the dark or low light conditions. I know that around 10 years ago, all of the fancy horse trailers with living quarters had solar panels on the roof to charge the batteries in the trailer, no you can't find them anywhere. I think that it was more trouble than it was worth and the trailer mfgs. made the trailer batteries charge off the tow vehicles electric system instead.

 

You would be better off getting a deep cycle battery to attach to the solar charger. I have a solar charger on my boat that keeps the battery charged up so that I can play the stereo all day long and still be able to start it up and get back to dock

 

Sailboats are a popular use for solar battery chargers. West Marine has an informational page about them, and several solar chargers to choose from.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...SolarPower.htm