installing solar on a RV

in this thread I will show how we installed solar on a RV with a rubber roof.  this is a Renogy 200 watt kit with the ability to add another 200 watts.  we didn't want to drill holes all over the roof so this is what we did.



panels installed on the roof.



the wire pass though.  this pic was taken before a liberal amount of 3M 5200 sealed the wires.



pic of the side bracket.  we screwed the side bracket through the plywood that's under the membrane then into the 2x2 edge piece of wood.  the bracket was drilled then screwed down then removed.  then the under side of the bracket was coated with sealant and the screw holes were filled with sealant then it was reinstall.



another view in the pic you can see more sealant around the edge and also the screws were covered with sealant.
again I didn't have a photographer so bear with me the pics that I have should give you a good idea of how we did this.  more to come highdesertranger

on this project we used aluminum angle 2.5x2.5x1/8 for the side brackets.  1.5x1.5x1/8 for the rest.  we chose aluminum for the light weight.  we used stainless hardware.  we used stainless because it lessen the threat of galvanic corrosion.  the best hardware would be aluminum bolts but they are pretty much non-existent.  the next best choice would be titanium but the cost of titanium hardware would be more than the trailer is worth.  so the next best choice is stainless. 



this pic gives a pic of the panels installed.  notice the angle going full length all the way across.  this is what the panels are mounted to front and back.  then those pieces of angle are bolted to risers on each end then the risers are bolted to the mounting brackets.  this made for a very ridged mounting system.  if you grab the panels and shake them the whole trailer moves together with the mounting system. 



another view.



another view.  notice how the roof of the trailer is arched.  the aluminum angle clears the roof by about 1.5 inches in the center and about 3 inches out on the edge.  this gives plenty of room for air circulation.  again I am sorry I didn't have better documentation but it's hard to do the work and take pics at the same time.  if anybody has any questions feel free to ask.  highdesertranger

nice work HDR

highdesertranger said:

 notice how the roof of the trailer is arched.  the aluminum angle clears the roof by about 1.5 inches in the center and about 3 inches out on the edge.  this gives plenty of room for air circulation.  

Click to expand...

It looks like I'm dealing with pretty much an identical roof arch, and also planning on using angle stock to create frame/mounting.

Two questions:

1) I'd like as low a profile as possible, and pretty much have myself convinced that going with almost zero clearance at center will still be plenty of air circulation given the drop to the sides. But I'm not basing that on any facts, just feelings...

2) It appears that you leveled out the roof angle/brackets relative to the slope...what did you use for shims?

Thanks!

Brad as far as the clearance the reason I gave it 1.5 inches in the center (closest point) was for off road travel. with washboard roads and the flexing of off road driving I wanted to make sure that the angle never contacted the roof. you are correct that I could have made the gap closer but I felt the 1.5 inches would guaranty it not hitting the roof. if you are never on taking it off road you could cut the gap way down but I would still leave at least 3/4 of an inch.

as far as the angle brackets mounted to the trailer. they are not shimmed they actually follow the contour of the roof. so they are angled out a little, the difference is made up where they bolt to the angle cross pieces. that is why there is a little over hang on the cross pieces. if I had more time I would have trimmed those cross angles to fit better. I also would have put a taper on the side uprights pieces to clean up the looks a little.
hope that helps. highdesertranger