Now ?'s for the seasoned camper re. roof top solar panels

[rastaman]

My camper has no roof rack and I was wondering if the benefits of having<br>solar panels on the roof would be worth the effort and drawbacks of more holes in the roof for the mounting of a rack to mount solar.<br><br>I am thinking that whilst driving the truck will be doing the charging, when parked wouldn't I be more inclined to park in the shade? therefore losing the full benefit of solar.<br><br>My planned area of travel is 'out west'<br>&nbsp;<br><br>thanks....as always

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;You can glue brackets onto the roof which would hold your solar panels. I did so and it worked sooo well that I near tore up the roof getting them off.. and no holes need be drilled. ..Willy.

 

[rastaman]

never thought of that...with the wind lift factor I would be a little nervous....what did you use as glue.<br>my roof is metal but will have liquid rubber coating on it

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;I tried 2 different compounds. One was that stuff called 'Goop' and the other was Black Knight clear roof sealant. Both work well, but the Goop is affected by UV (only where exposed). Mount the brackets first, then apply the liquid rubber. ..Willy.

 

[ontheroadagain]

willy, do you go on highways with this setup? doesn't seem strong enough to hold a panal.<br>I have a 64x39 panel which seems like it would blow off if I glued it on

 

[Willy]

Yup, though the speed limit here is 60 MPH. ..Willy.

 

[user 423]

How about some sort of angled wind deflector at the leading edge so the wind can't get under the panel?

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;set the panel back a bit and the airflow should be minimal. ..Willy.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

If you are worried about being in the shade you could buy the suitcase type to charge your batteries when parked up as long as you don't leave them unattended and have room to store them.&nbsp;While driving your house battery could be hooked up to your altenator, to charge.&nbsp;Solar panels&nbsp;do charge a little in the shade obviously not as much,&nbsp;I guess it depends how much power you&nbsp;use and how many panels you have. Perhaps figure on parking with the morning sun and shaded during the high heat periods, I don;t think making holes in your roof is an issue, they are easy to seal and can be sealed even if you were to remove or replace your panels.. Gluing them on is an interesting idea and they do make some great adhesives these days,&nbsp;personnally I would not feel comfortable without some sort of mechanical fasterner, or at least a safety line,&nbsp;however they rellie solely on Urethane&nbsp;glue on most windshields these days, some&nbsp;glass roofs and even body parts are glued,&nbsp;so I am sure it is possible.&nbsp;I kmow they sell this two part tubed glue to repair bus bodies. It is very expensive though.&nbsp;The thing about gluing anything,&nbsp;you have to&nbsp;make sure all surfaces are, prept,clean, properly primed and compatible with sealants.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

 

[bee]

I know sikaflex brand has some great glues for metal to metal bonding. &nbsp;There are also some double sided tapes that are as good as permanent. &nbsp;With the right adhesive your roof will be destroyed before the panel lets loose.

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;Like I said.. near wrecked my roof getting the brackets off. .Willy.

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

I've mounted my panels on two different vehicles with a very strong double sided tape and a couple screws. &nbsp;I've had zero problems with either installation through monsoons and 80MPH highway speeds. &nbsp;The tape isn't anywhere near as strong as some&nbsp;adhesives, and if you think about it, what is holding the panel on with just a few screws? &nbsp;Only a couple millimeters of metal on a single thread for each screw... doesn't seem like much compared to a few square inches of strong adhesive to me!<br><br>If I was more worried about holes in the roof (which I'm not, for reasons mentioned by others), then I wouldn't hesitate to use a strong adhesive.<br><br>As far as mounting the panels, you don't need a roof rack, just a few L-brackets that you can mount to the roof and to the panel, preferably L-brackets tall enough to allow an inch or two of clearance between the panel and roof for air flow.

 

[Scott_1776]

Aimless,
Did that effect the panels power output? I know they don't like to be hot and I would think having them on a roof flush lo like that is much hotter than standing off with an L bracket and having air circulation plate under them. Also how hard would it be to remove and relocate to new vehicle if that happened.

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

I should have been more clear I guess. I had the L-brackets mounted as described with the panels screwed to the 4 brackets. Moving the panels was easy, I just left the L-brackets on the vehicle and installed new ones on the new vehicle the same way. The brackets are cheap at home depot.

 

[Ballenxj]

Glued em on? That's an interesting concept to me, but if it works well, then you guys have answered yet another question for me. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"> <br>Now about the heat, I didn't know that the panels don't like it, but wouldn't having panels on the roof also act as an additional layer of insulation? <br>Also, with the knowledge that glue will suffice, couldn't one now neatly run the wiring down and into the side of the vehicle through some sort of small weather head?<br>-Bruce

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">I agree with the L brackets, no big deal glueing and screwing down with sealer on the threads so they don't leak. (thats what I've been doing for years) </SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">As far as heat is concerned, if you buy alloy L brackets around 1 inch X 2 inch, with the 1 inch side down on the roof you can screw into the frame of the panels higher up the bracket side giving air gap/flow under but really modern panels aren't really effected by heat that much afterall there is a lot of sick on panels available now. Amourphous panels deal better with the heat. </SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">ballenxj I use deck (boat)</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Ballenxj, I use these yacht deck cable outlets to pass wiring through the roof, drilled hole with sealed hardware above, push the cabling through and then screw up fitting to give a permanent waterproof outlet. Site the fitting under the raised solar panel hiding the outlet and cable so it can't catch trees etc.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">I've never had one leak trucks, cabin, yacht. Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><IMG class=bbc_img src="http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn...zym/v/vspfiles/photos/B2415-2T.jpg?1353513360" rel="lightbox">

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;I think I remember something about the Unisolar amorphous/flexible panels actually producing MORE power as they get hotter (within reason) vs the poly/monocrystalline ones experiencing a decrease. ..Willy.

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Wow Willy, Mine produce more on all three vehicles. As they claim.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;I've got a mix, 1 Unisolar and 1 polycrystalline panel. The Unisolar gets better when it gets hotter and the poly gets better as it gets colder. Rooftop real-estate isn't a factor with me, so the larger size (lower efficiency) of the Unisolar unit isn't a factor. Actually, it works to my benefit since, being a framed unit and raised, it helps shade/cool the roof. ..Willy.

 

[highdesertranger]

willy you never cease to amaze me.&nbsp; that is a great point about the shade.&nbsp; highdesertranger&nbsp;