mount panels on side of trailer

[justanothermaroon]

I have a smallish trailer and am getting a couple of 250 watt panels. What I did previously is keep them in the bed of the truck until I needed them but set up and break down was a bit of a pain.

I looked at my roof and there may be room but I'm concerned with the shadow cast by the a/c cover and vents. So my idea is to hang them on the side of the trailer with piano hinges so that I could angle them out properly. Has anyone done something like this?

 

[user 22017]

I have a smallish trailer and am getting a couple of 250 watt panels. What I did previously is keep them in the bed of the truck until I needed them but set up and break down was a bit of a pain.

I looked at my roof and there may be room but I'm concerned with the shadow cast by the a/c cover and vents. So my idea is to hang them on the side of the trailer with piano hinges so that I could angle them out properly. Has anyone done something like this?

If you do that, why not above windows so they can serve as awnings, too? I have seen that before... panels as awnings.

 

[bullfrog !]

It has been done but most trailers don’t have enough structure to mount them to in order to keep them attached in windy conditions!

 

[maki2]

It has been done but most trailers don’t have enough structure to mount them to in order to keep them attached in windy conditions!

You would need to do a lengthwise long support to distribute the load to multiple framing members rather than point loading with small hinges on just one or two vertical frame pieces. Sharing the load work is often the solution to reduce concentrated stress that induces failure. That is how stick framing design works to support loads by using smaller pieces of timber tied together with lengthwise long pieces of wood tying them together at the top and bottom edges. Meaning you need to do something similar to support panels off the framing on the side of a trailer.

 

[justanothermaroon]

Thx for the tips. I'm off road until May, working at Digi-Key, so will have time to think about it. I have an '05 trailer, so don't want to see the panels fly off while driving, taking a section of wall with them!!

 

[maki2]

Thx for the tips. I'm off road until May, working at Digi-Key, so will have time to think about it. I have an '05 trailer, so don't want to see the panels fly off while driving, taking a section of wall with them!!

Think about it this way. Awnings are mounted up at the top of the walls in motorhomes trailers and they are screwed into the long continuous, along the length, of the wall upper framing timber Of course they are there for the additional head height but they are also there because that is the structural location that actually can carry the weight load of an awning. But the fasteners are not just at each end, they are distributed in multiple locations along the length distributing the load.

 

[LargeMarge]

a)
Before your plans continue, I suggest you visit vehicle wrecking-yards aka 'dismantlers'.
Examine the innerds of any factory RecreateVehicle.
.
You will probably see the whole shootin' match held together by staples into particle-board.
.
Your 2006 factory RecreateVehicle is two decades old.
Two decades of bumpy roads, bouncing side-loads, and extenuating circumstances.
If, at any point in those thousands of heat/cold cycles, you had a leak in the caulk around the roof fixtures, the ceiling and walls are compromised by water intrusion.
.
That is your foundation.
Now, let's look at your engineering marvel.
.
How many factors can I imagine?
* weight of each panel, then
* multiple that by an even hundred to accommodate straight-line braking,
* braking in a curve... add another geometric factor,
* braking near the bottom of decline with spring-rebound?
And we probably should consider emergency manuvuers with all the above happening simultaneous.
.
All tallied, I would think about increasing my insurance.
.
.
b)
Semi-retired welder-fabricator here.
I am accustomed to thinking in terms of vibrational fatigue, gussets and buttresses, sky-hooks.
.
Triangulated, over-built and rigid and stout.
.
And all this time, are you telling me I could have did it your way?

 

[user 22017]

I have a smallish trailer and am getting a couple of 250 watt panels. What I did previously is keep them in the bed of the truck until I needed them but set up and break down was a bit of a pain.

I looked at my roof and there may be room but I'm concerned with the shadow cast by the a/c cover and vents. So my idea is to hang them on the side of the trailer with piano hinges so that I could angle them out properly. Has anyone done something like this?

Did you purchase the panels yet? Maybe find out which panels are the lightest?

 

[bagabum]

If you do that, why not above windows so they can serve as awnings, too? I have seen that before... panels as awnings.

I have a smallish trailer and am getting a couple of 250 watt panels. What I did previously is keep them in the bed of the truck until I needed them but set up and break down was a bit of a pain.

I looked at my roof and there may be room but I'm concerned with the shadow cast by the a/c cover and vents. So my idea is to hang them on the side of the trailer with piano hinges so that I could angle them out properly. Has anyone done something like this?

Yap JAM, you clearly stated piano hinges meaning hundreds of fasteners. You never stated you were going to mount them at two Luan spots. Do it, I did and it works great. When folded down, make a "leading edge" flaring in front of the two edges facing forward. A 4" strip of plywood mounted to a 2x2 with a 45 degree angle, painted the color of your rig. It will deflect the air stream when traveling and keep the panels from fluttering in the air stream. Will also help with fuel mileage.

 

[maki2]

Did you purchase the panels yet? Maybe find out which panels are the lightest?

The weight range on a 250 watt standard solar panel is approx 40 to 50lbs. So a pair of them would be between 80 to 100lbs.

 

[RonDean]

Did you purchase the panels yet? Maybe find out which panels are the lightest

I realized my original reply would have been to the wrong post so I tried to cancel, delete, or otherwise erase it. I could not find how and the empty reply would not go away. So, I am posting this explanation just to clear my ill-advised reply.

Just as an aside...
Flexible 100w solar panels are only 4.4 pounds and can be applied with adhesives. That might deal somewhat with the side-mounting questions.

 

[RonDean]

I just stumbled across a video about building side-mounted flexible solar panel awnings that might be of interest.

Warning, you'll have to navigate past a few ads. But the video gets pretty detailed and is worth the watch.

 

[maki2]

There is always a compromise when locating solar panels.

Mounting hinged panels as awnings over windows is fine for a fixed pane window. But not for an operable window as there will be days with both high temperatures and strong winds. The underside of a panel does accumulate heat. Nice on cold days but an additional misery on hot days if you cannot open the windows on the sunny side of the trailer.

The other draw back of mounting panels on the side is that will happen on the long side of the trailer and that side will need to face south. So if it is a hot day with strong wind coming out of the south then you cannot face the nose of the trailer into the wind but instead will be facing broadside to the wind in order to get solar gain.

When camping on NFS lands in the summertime there are often occasions when I wish I had a portable panel as the tall trees can make it difficult to find a perfect campsite for getting early morning sun.

 

[RonDean]

There is always a compromise when locating solar panels.

Mounting hinged panels as awnings over windows is fine for a fixed pane window. But not for an operable window as there will be days with both high temperatures and strong winds. The underside of a panel does accumulate heat. Nice on cold days but an additional misery on hot days if you cannot open the windows on the sunny side of the trailer.

The other draw back of mounting panels on the side is that will happen on the long side of the trailer and that side will need to face south. So if it is a hot day with strong wind coming out of the south then you cannot face the nose of the trailer into the wind but instead will be facing broadside to the wind in order to get solar gain.

When camping on NFS lands in the summertime there are often occasions when I wish I had a portable panel as the tall trees can make it difficult to find a perfect campsite for getting early morning sun.

The solar panel mounting as described in the video shows the panels are not restricted to just being used as window awnings or any specific place on the RV. The fact that they are carried inside the RV and set up once parked is the key factor. That and using lightweight flexible panels.

I used flexible panels "stuck" to my trailer roof for years and never had any issues. I occasionally worried about temperature and efficiency, but it never was enough to cause me any problems. Right now I am using a Portable Solar Panel 18V Foldable Solar Panel kit that I carry inside when traveling. I do plan to add permanently attached panels to the roof of my van as soon as I finish some other upgrades. But, as it relates to this thread, I think using the side of a RV to deploy solar panels is made easier using some method similar to the video.

 

[justanothermaroon]

I do believe I'll go the flexible panel route.

 

[maki2]

The solar panel mounting as described in the video shows the panels are not restricted to just being used as window awnings or any specific place on the RV. The fact that they are carried inside the RV and set up once parked is the key factor. That and using lightweight flexible panels.

I used flexible panels "stuck" to my trailer roof for years and never had any issues. I occasionally worried about temperature and efficiency, but it never was enough to cause me any problems. Right now I am using a Portable Solar Panel 18V Foldable Solar Panel kit that I carry inside when traveling. I do plan to add permanently attached panels to the roof of my van as soon as I finish some other upgrades. But, as it relates to this thread, I think using the side of a RV to deploy solar panels is made easier using some method similar to the video.

I did not watch the video. I am definetly not the person who is looking to hang panels off the side of my travel trailer. But if I wanted to hang out some flexible panels I could make it happen in only a few minutes after unboxing the panels as I have awning rail channels installed at the top of the sidewalls of my travel trailer. They are there for hanging up shade cloth. The hangers I use for shade cloth would work equally well for hanging portable flex solar panels. Plus when I renovated my trailer and I was fitting it for electrical I installed a SAE weatherproof sidewall Solar port close to my battery location to go into the cabinet adjacent to my battery where I have my battery cutoff/selector switch mounted. So I anticipated years in advance that someday I might want to add portable panels and put it in the ability for that while doing the basic electrical wiring for the trailer. But so far I have not required any portable panels. The panel on my roof is a good match for my current, healthy, battery. Today I was running my laptop and my vinyl cutter and a fridge on Solar from around 10:00am until 4:00pm without ever dropping out of the 100% reading on my charge controller. My power system is a 150 watt panel matched to a 160AH AGM marine battery. Apparently I must not be doing something wrong