It’s time for another update in my Honda Element blog post series. After my last road trip, I decided to scrap the rooftop box. Even though the extra storage was great, I was suspicious it was dragging too much on the highway and killing my gas milage. In its place I’ve mounted a much slimmer roof basket, which I also thought would be perfect for helping add a solar panel to the roof in a clean, non-destructive way.
So far I really like it. Here are a few photos:
I bolted the panel to the roof basket rods, and it seems mostly secure, but it’s not perfect. Of the four mount points, I could only get three actually aligned in a workable way. I’m hoping to adjust how it’s attached and add a few extra zip ties as insurance.
Not really shown, I’m winding the cable down into the back of the car, where I can charge one of my portable batteries. This is sort of a luxury I don’t need, to be honest, but it’s fun and you can never have too much electricity while traveling. Also still need to get something to stick the cable to the roof better.
The basket is the Thule Canyon XT Cargo Basket. The panel is the Jackery SolarSaga 100 Prime. It’s purposefully off-center because I still need to reattach my weBoost antenna.
