You spend a lot of time in your car hauler during racing season. Having reliable electric power is not a luxury—it’s essential to run lights, cordless tools, winches, and keep your phones and laptops charged.

Hot Rod Magazine Senior Editor and Fox Mustang fan KJ Jones has a 28-foot enclosed race trail in need of a rehab. That included a complete electrical system replacement. He decided to go with a combination of 110 Vac household and 12-volt power. The 110 system is run off a generator and powers five outlets and two LED lights. The 12-volt system uses two batteries—one to run a winch and the electric trailer tongue jack and the other to power two power outlets and an LED shop light. This setup provides lighting and a working power outlet in case the generator conks out.

Instead of using a conventional solar panel to gather the Sun’s rays for the 12-volt system, KJ got innovative and installed a Cascadia 4×4 VSS Solar Panel Kit. Designed for trucks and SUVs, the Cascadia kits feature a flat solar panel that mounts on the vehicle’s hood. The panel collects solar energy and feeds it to the vehicle’s 12-volt battery during sunny periods to keep it topped up. That means the battery is always charged and ready to power lights, winches, power inverters, and other 12-volt accessories without the need to run the engine or worry about draining the battery.

KJ used a Cascadia VSS panel kit designed for a 1998-2007 Toyota Land Cruiser or Lexus LS470. It provides up to 100 peak watts and five amps of output current, more than sufficient for the trailer’s power needs. The 30-inch tall by 38-inch wide panel mounts on the trailer’s roof with the power cables running through a hole in the trailer’s front panel.

KJ made an installation video that shows the installation of the Cascadia 4×4 VSS Solar Panel Kit and how the trailer’s electrical system is set up. You can also set the rest of his trailer rebuild on KJ’s Instagram feed—just look for the ‘Operation Like New Trailer’ posts. Watch the video and see if a Cascadia solar panel setup might be just the ticket for your race car hauler.

Cascadia 4x4 Solar Panel for Toyota Land Cruiser
The Cascadia 4×4 VSS Solar Panel Kit KJ Jones chose to power his race car trailer is actually designed for use on a 1998-2007 Toyota Land Cruiser or Lexus RX470 as shown here. The panel mounts to the hood and feeds solar power to the included controller unit. The controller automatically delivers electricity to the vehicle’s 12-volt battery during periods of sun exposure. This allows you to run 12-volt accessories without the fear of being stranded due to a low battery. (Image/Summit Racing)
Installing Cascadia 4x4 solar panel heat barrier
KJ’s electrician pal Freddy Ramirez did the panel and electrical system installation. He bolted an aluminum panel to the trailer’s roof to act as a base for the solar panel. Here, Freddy is laying down the self-adhesive vinyl mat that acts as an insulator between the solar panel and the aluminum base panel. (Image/KJ Jones)
Pressing Cascadia 4x4 solar panel in place
The solar panel is made with multiple layers of marine-grade material to handle extreme weather conditions. 3M self-adhesive weatherstripping tape around the perimeter secures the panel to the aluminum mounting plate. This also creates a small air gap to help keep the panel cool. (Image/KJ Jones)
Cascadia 4x4 solar panel in place
One solar panel installed and ready to convert sunshine into electricity. KJ ran the wiring from the panel into the trailer via a hole he drilled in the trailer’s front panel. The Cascadia panel kinda looks like a rubber floor mat but don’t wipe your feet on it, please. (Image/KJ Jones)
KJ Jones race trailer electrical system panel
Here are the brains of this trailer’s electrical system. The power feed from the Cascadia solar panel comes in through the hole at the top right. The feed runs into a 10-amp circuit breaker and a dual battery controller. The wires feed to two bus bars and then the batteries. One battery is connected to a power inverter and fuse box that control two 12-volt power outlets and a 12-volt LED light. The 110 Vac breaker box and power inverter are connected to generator. This part of the system runs six power outlets and two LED overhead lights. (Image/KJ Jones)
Keywords
race trailer, Solar Power
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Author: Alan Rebescher

Editor, author, PR man—Alan Rebescher has done it all in a 37 year career in the high performance industry. He has written and photographed many feature stories and tech articles for Summit Racing and various magazines including Hot Rod, Car Craft, and Popular Hot Rodding, and edited Summit Racing’s Street & Strip magazine in the 1990s. His garage is currently occupied by a a 1996 Mustang GT ragtop.