Any ideas for solar panels on the roof?

[tomtdl]

Hi everyone, I purchased my first travel trailer today, a 2015 Jayco 19rd with fiberglass and I guess a rubber roof. My tow van has four flexible solar panels on the roof and I would like to put 6 on top of the Jayco. On the van they are secured with self drilling screws & silicone sealer. Have had no leaks or any problems with them. I am concerned about poking holes in the rubber roof and wonder if anyone has some good ideas here. Tom

[waynem]

I put mine on this summer with self drilling screws and dicor sealant. Mine is a 25RKS with a rubber roof over wood sheeting. Don't know if there is a better way to go for fiberglass or not.

If you want a good education about solar battery charging and RVs I highly recommend reading Handy Bob's blog at http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/t...ging-puzzle-2/

[Big Sky]

X2 on Handy Bob. I have him on speed dial.

[Seann45]

Personally I would not go with the flex panels but that is not what you asked about .. screw the panels down then put a good dollop of dicor on each screw head.

[lightcs1776]

I am new to the idea of solar for a camper, but would like to use something, in addition to a generator, to trickle charge the battery. Do all solar panels require permanent attachment to the roof?

[dennis b]

Originally Posted by lightcs1776

I am new to the idea of solar for a camper, but would like to use something, in addition to a generator, to trickle charge the battery. Do all solar panels require permanent attachment to the roof?

I use a 150 watt portable unit so I can track the sun.
Problem with them on roof is they are fixed and at best you only get 4-5 hrs good sun. not to mention holes in roof. I was told my 150 portable is probably better than 450 watt that is laying flat, as
I can angle right at sun. I can pull in about 12 amps per hour.
Do your research as there are lots of options. I would opt to stay away from Chinese stuff and look for something with the Bosch solar cells.
Feel free to PM me

[lightcs1776]

Dennis, thanks for the information. There is a lot of details online, but I can get lost in the soup. My primary issue is not wanting those holes in the roof.

[dennis b]

Originally Posted by lightcs1776

Dennis, thanks for the information. There is a lot of details online, but I can get lost in the soup. My primary issue is not wanting those holes in the roof.

Exactly! More potential areas to leak. Don't need that!

[dennis b]

Punching holes in roof can lead to voiding your warrantee!

[lightcs1776]

And can lead to serious issues with my wife - grin. We have had water issues with the last trailer. I am rather paranoid about it now.

[Mustang65]

Putting holes in any roof is a big decision maker, but if done correctly everything will be OK.

Here is what I did to mount my solar panel on our Eagle 284BHS. I called a RV place in CA that sets up RV's for solar and inquired about mounting the panel(s) on the roof of my Eagle. They said that it is not necessary to locate the the trusses in the roof as the roof decking is 3/8" thick (on my Eagle), and the trusses would not line up with the panel anyway. I used 8 solar panel mounting brackets (Z Brackets). I situated the panel on the roof where it was going to be mounted, marked the new mounting holes in the panel frame for the brackets. I then mounted the brackets on the panel and marked where I needed to pre-drill the holes in the roof. After pre-drilling the holes in the roof, I cut a couple pieces of white water hose and sliced them length wise, and placed them between the solar panel and the peak of the roof, so that the metal would not cut into the roof. I then filled all the holes in the roof with the roof sealant (Dicor) and spread it over the area where the brackets would sit on the roof. I then mounted the panel with #14 x 1 1/4 screws, which are more that enough to do the job. I poured roofing sealant over the brackets and screws. I used white wire channels under the awning to get the wires from the back of the roof to the front storage section. They have a sticky side and look/work great.
I did this project about 18 months ago and traveled over 8K miles (Colorado..... GA, IL and back) with no issues at all. We encountered cross winds (at Wilson Lake) of over 40 mph in KS for 3 days with no issues. I kept checking the brackets and wire each time we get to a CC. I attached a link to my album that shows the solar panel mounted on the roof.

I will be adding panel # 2 (and possibly #3 as we are looking at more dry-camping) at the end of the year and 2 more T145 batteries to increase my Ah to 520Ah. I have yet to turn on my TT's battery charge controller since I installed my 250 watt panel.....

What type of battery setup do you have on the trailer?
Any questions just yell!!!

Good luck, hope this helps
Don

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by lightcs1776

I am new to the idea of solar for a camper, but would like to use something, in addition to a generator, to trickle charge the battery. Do all solar panels require permanent attachment to the roof?

NO but you have to watch that they dont grow legs and walk away or get blown over in the wind. My first 3 (non attached) panels were totaled off in a sudden wind storm.

[tawoo]

Since all my camping is boon docking and never having hookups my solar panel was the best investment I ever made. I permanently attached it to my roof and ran the wires down the refrigerator stack. There I tapped into a 12v line and now have unlimited battery life.

[Mustang65]

When you wire your system in, put your Solar Charge Controller as close to the batteries as possible. This will give you the least amount of voltage drop and get a little more amperage to the batteries. The longest wire run should be between the panels and the solar charge controller.
Don