Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 08-01-2008, 08:04 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 23
installing a solar panel

Um...can I do it myself? I have a drill, epoxy, a tap measure and a 6 pack of beer....

Seriously though, mounting it would be easy, providing it comes this a kit of some sort - if it is raised, does it catch the wind when you drive? How are your panels mounted?

Wiring - I plan to put it on the front part of the penthouse, windsurf boards to the rear. from that location, I figure I can drop it in one of the corners - how do you prevent future leaks??

OK - now the wire is inside - could put the controller deal behind the drivers seat, all well and good.

But, how, pray tell - do I get this now live wire down, under my van to the house battery??

many thanks.

Mike

Windzup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2008, 09:25 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Ford_6L_E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
Re: installing a solar panel

Quote:
Originally Posted by Windzup
Um...can I do it myself? I have a drill, epoxy, a tap measure and a 6 pack of beer....

Seriously though, mounting it would be easy, providing it comes this a kit of some sort - if it is raised, does it catch the wind when you drive? How are your panels mounted?

Wiring - I plan to put it on the front part of the penthouse, windsurf boards to the rear. from that location, I figure I can drop it in one of the corners - how do you prevent future leaks??

OK - now the wire is inside - could put the controller deal behind the drivers seat, all well and good.

But, how, pray tell - do I get this now live wire down, under my van to the house battery??

many thanks.

Mike
I put up my solar panel. The controller was installed by SMB as the 'Solar Prep' option.

To mount the panel, I used existing holes through the roof and mounted 1x1 square aluminum tubing with longer bolts (use stainless steel to prevent catalytic corrosion of the aluminum). The solar panel was then mounted to the 1x1 aluminum.

The hardest parts might have been running the wiring.

From the solar panel I went beyond the flexible wall and then went through the roof panel with a water tight fitting. Then I had to loosen the interior of the roof and snake the wiring through (easy to say and hard to do) above the flexible wall and into the interior walls and to the solar controller. Then, if the wiring ever leaked, it was outside the flexible wall and no real way for water to get inside.

You should run 10 or 12 gauge wiring for the controller when you mount it.

Good luck,

Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
Ford_6L_E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-04-2008, 11:35 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 23
Geez - good luck indeed.

What about getting rail mounted racks, and putting it over the cab, infront of the pop up. I think I can mount a 50 watt up there. Wondering if it sits a few inches above the van if I will get some weird wind sounds when driving.

Flexible wall.... oh boy, guess I'm a newbie here - what flexible wall?

Sigh.. any of you guys live in the bay area? Love to see an install first hand.

Thanks Mike for the feedback.

Mike
Windzup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2008, 09:04 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Ford_6L_E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
Quote:
Originally Posted by Windzup
Geez - good luck indeed.

What about getting rail mounted racks, and putting it over the cab, infront of the pop up. I think I can mount a 50 watt up there. Wondering if it sits a few inches above the van if I will get some weird wind sounds when driving.

That is probably a good place for a small panel. If it gets noisy, you can probably put an angled plate in front of the panel.

Flexible wall.... oh boy, guess I'm a newbie here - what flexible wall?

The folding wall on the penthouse top. If you look under the top when it is up, you will see the flexible wall ends about 6" from the edge of the top.

Sigh.. any of you guys live in the bay area? Love to see an install first hand.

Click on Profile at the bottom of the post and you will get to see the profile. I live in Santa Clara.

Thanks Mike for the feedback.

Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
Ford_6L_E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2008, 11:10 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
jage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Parker, CO
Posts: 7,643
You could modify a yakima rack to support your solar panel.
__________________
it was good to be back
jage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2008, 12:50 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
John and Dana's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Normandy Park, WA
Posts: 364
Mike,

I have two solar panels mounted by SMB West. They sit 2-3 inches above the penthouse top and I have not noticed any unusual wind noise. The mount for our panels is very simple there are 4 large L brackets that are bolted to the penthouse and also the aluminum frame of the solar panels.

John
__________________
'08 SMB 4X4 6.0PSD EB 50 (96K)
John and Dana is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2008, 02:45 PM   #7
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by jage
You could modify a yakima rack to support your solar panel.
Exactly what I was thinking, then, as one of you said, put a little ram/dam deal in front of it.

Make a nice place for spiders to nest, if nothing else.

OK - next questions - best place to purchase a solar panel? On line, Costco, walmart? Any 'watchouts' in selection of said panel?

I'll open the top in the next day or two and look for that folding wall thing, thanks Mike for explaining what it was.

Middle of windsurfing season, kind of hard to take the van out of service to work on it.
Windzup is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2008, 05:41 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 989
I've been looking into solar for a while now. I still haven't pulled the trigger, but it is just a matter of time...and more importantly money. I'm lucky in that our van is already prewired for solar. However, http://www.solar-electric.com/ (Northern Arizona Sun & Wind) has a great selection and prices. Furthermore, they have a lot of information and have been recommended through other sites.

Regardless, good luck and let us know how it goes.
__________________
2007 Ford RB Diesel SMB 4x4 Pueblo Gold; Custom configuration (aisle layout); PIAA 580 driving lights; Picked up on Oct 19, 2007.
sdwindansea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2008, 08:45 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Greg In Austin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 1,543
Send a message via AIM to Greg In Austin Send a message via Yahoo to Greg In Austin
We had mounts made for our two solar panels so that they would mount directly to Yakima TRACKS. THis gives a little flexibility to move them forward and aft, and it also keeps them lower to the PHT.

We have not noticed any air noise (except for the one time a bolt came loose on the old-style Yakima farring we mounted on the light bar).

We are looking for two large-size old-style Yakima farrings, one to mount on the light par, and the other to mount on the front edge of the solar panels when we slide them forward to or past the forward edge of the PHT.
__________________
Greg in Austin
2008 Ford 6.0PSD EB/E-PH SMB 4X4 Aluminess f/r bumpers (13.5mpg avg, 15mpg hwy) 52k miles [Texas McBeast]
2006 Toyota Prius (48 to 68 mpg) 120k miles [Penelope]
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (15 to 18 mpg) [Johnnie]
2012 Mitsubishi MiEV (no gas required) ($.50/day in electricity) [Evie]
https://badge.facebook.com/badge/1232...3.32047100.png
Greg In Austin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2008, 09:18 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Ford_6L_E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
Windzup,

Are you still interested in looking at rigs or solar installations?

We are in the South Bay, but available for tours by appointment or by chance.

Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
Ford_6L_E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:59 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.