rmoor wrote:

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Intend to spend anywhere up to 12 months to source a 2.5 x 1.8 metre aluminium canopy for my new Izuzu D Max ute for my intended travels so I make sure I get the right unit.
Have been tossing up solar options for such a unit. This one you posted has merit?
My regular mechanic told me last week not to procrastinate too long as the price of materials is likely to skyrocket still and get in now with prices only rising slightly.
He showed me the rear of ute set-up he built for himself. Mickey mouse unit that.
He and some local blokes build their own tie rail sideboards to hook on while camping as additional table space. Some bushies out here with some very industrious designs.....On th

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 Hi Ron. You may be interested to see my canopy design, also 2.5 x 1.8 metres. As you can see, there are 6 drawers, with lightweight pull-out tables under them for work areas.                       Under the floor, between the front set of drawers and the headboard, there are 2 x 60 litre water tanks, with the fillers inside the canopy, while the outlets are hoses through the undertray tool boxes on each side. 
This was done to prevent anybody contaminating the water, or draining my tanks. 
Between the rear set of drawers and the rear wall of the canopy, under the floor, there is a storage space that takes jerry cans on their sides, as well as other stuff.
On the roof of the canopy I have another 70 litre plastic tank with a hose connection and a showerhead for "bush showers". Water gets  a bit hot so you have to carefully choose your shower time, or add cold water to the shower line. A small 12 volt pump gets water into the top tank.

There is plenty of room for a mattress, and to sit-up in bed, as well as sit on the floor having a beer under the shade of the doors, with your feet on the rails.                                                 Fishing rods are hanging from the roof, and up front I have 2kw inverter for 240 volt, power coming from 2 x 90ah Victron Lithium batteries.                                                                Because I ran out of space on the canopy roof I have one big solar panel on an extension of the canopy, over the car roof.        

To keep out dust on dirt roads the canopy is completely sealed, and I have a filtered scupper vent on each side so wind can pressurise the canopy. Dust ingress is nil, and when I got into a spot of trouble the water level was 500mm up one side of the canopy, but no water entered.  
Under the drawers there is even more storage, but best for seldom-used  stuff, as it is difficult to access.    
Anyway, hopefully this will give you a few ideas. Good luck. Cheers                                                                                                                 

M 

Our ex Telstra canopy, which I fited out has worked remarkably well for the past 6 years of full time travel, largely in remote areas. The canopy itself is exceptionally tough & they can be found for sale now & then. Ours came on an ex Telstra vehicle. (With other useful remote area stuff already fitted (Long range fuel tanks, duel spares, winch). 

Originally I set it up with a rooftop tent, but found quickly that a rooftop tent & I were not good chums, So the tent got removed & I fitted our 425w solar on the roof instead.
We have an Oztent which fits into one of the two under tray storage compartments, but have never taken it as we bought the Tvan.

With 160 litres of water in the canopy (plus 22 litres of hot water) & 70 litres of water in the Tvan we have never un out & never needed to move on just to re-fill.

A kitchen in the Tvan & one in the canopy, whilst on the face of it is overkill, has been exceptionally useful. We mainly use the Tvan, but on occasions when the wind has got up making cooking at the Tvan difficult, the ability to move the canopy kitchen out of the wind has been wonderful, & on the occasion that the Tvan gas ran out in the middle of a desert (oops) having another kitchen with it's own gas supply was a life saver. :) 

With a 60 litre fridge & a 35 litre freezer, plus plenty of storage space split between the canopy & the Tvan we can go off grid for a couple of months at a time, provided we can top up with water every 3 weeks or so (4 if we really push it). 

Solar + 40A dc to dc charger + 360Ah AGM batteries inside the canopy have meant we never have to plug into mains power, but a 30 amp mains charger has been useful when parked up under cover for periods of time. Batteries in canopy can be paralleled with crank battery for charging/jump starting/ winching at the flick of a switch if/when needed. 

Hot water is also inside the canopy, heated by the engine, ensuring we always have a full tank of hot water on arrival at camp, which stays hot for 3 days plus. If we stay longer we either use a billy or go for a drive. 20 to 30 minutes drive is sufficient to heat water. 

Air compressor & air tank are mounted inside the canopy with outlets on each side of the canopy & air hose long enough to reach all car wheels, plus Tvan wheels when hitched up.

Canopy has a 350w inverter (+a 180w inverter in Tvan) Both Pure sine Victron units.  No batteries in Tvan, we use a 10 metre 'umbilical/ cord from the car - allows us to cam in the shade with car in the sun when preferable. 

In the setup of the side mounted panels that Yobarr showed in the OP, do you think that those side mounted panels are hinged at their top edge?

If they were hinged, the panels could be extended while the vehicle is parked and have the sides of the canopy closed at the same time. With the canopy sides closed, obviously better security for the contents of the vehicle was left unattended.

Nice setups shown in this thread.