Cargo Basket *OVER* Westy luggage carrier? Options?

[sphet]

I am thinking of permanently installing a solar panel inside the Westy luggage carrier because we almost never use it. However, on very long trips we put a jerry can and some fire wood up there. Rarely Obviously I can't just put that on top of the solar panel (or can I somehow/).

I was wondering if anyone could direct me to a gutter-mount basket that would be tall enough to sit *OVER* the luggage carrier. I know that this would interfere with the solar panel, but we might only cover half the area, or we could supplement with a fold out when stopped. I'm specifically thinking of our long trip to the Yukon where we had 20+ hour sunlight so our power use was actually very low.

I do not want to put a rack on the pop top for aesthetic reasons. THe solar-in-luggage-carrier would be mostly hidden so it doesn't bother us as much visually. I know: picky picky. Really just looking for some ideas.
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1982 Diesel Westfalia 1.6 NA - The Shellakabuukiee

[VicVan]

Not one solar panel, but two (each covering half of the luggage carrier). In long-trip mode, you slide one panel under the other one, and you have half of your luggage carrier available.
Advantage:
-No extra material (cargo basket, rack, gutter mounts, etc)
-Still produces 50 % electricity on those long trips
Disadvantage:
- Only half of the rack available for storage
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'90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH)

[sphet]

VicVan -- yes that's a perfect plan! I knew I was looking at the wrong end of the hose and over complicating things. Now I will have to do some thinking on how this all comes together.
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1982 Diesel Westfalia 1.6 NA - The Shellakabuukiee

[jimf909]

Thule and Yakima make hi rise towers that may or may not, it looks close for these Thule towers, extend over the luggage carrier. Alternatively, you could put artificial raingutters on the luggage rack and put bars and a basket up there.

The big drawback is that the rack would cast a shadow on your solar panel and significantly reduce yield.

FWIW, YMMV.

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- Jim

[sphet]

Thanks Jim, that's a decent reference photo. I agree about the shadow being a problem on the whole setup.

I will size two 50watt panels and see if that would work, and then I can pull one down and use a portable panel if I need to use that space for anything else.
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1982 Diesel Westfalia 1.6 NA - The Shellakabuukiee

[Kombi///M3]

I'm doing the same..installing 100w solar in the luggage rack
And going to modify a roof basket to fit nicely on top.
Here's my Yakima's.

[sphet]