Solar Panel Install

[sdwindansea]

Thanks so much for the great write up and taking all the time to do so. I think I just need to buy my panel and then figure out the mounting after I have it in hand. However, after reading the mounting portion of your write up, I'm definitely leaning towards using the 3M tape.

So, no way to get the fabric door rolled up a bit higher? It always amazes me when what I believe to be a simple project turns into a nightmare that somehow multiplies into several other projects. Good luck with the rest of it.

[NRL]

Nice Job!

I do have a recommendation of the electrical hole placement. We made a hole on the end of the overlap just pass were the canvas tucks in.. back of the van. Only bad thing is you can see the wire bundle passing thru towards the panels.
If I could do it again, (I might re-do the wiring), I would have drilled the hole in the front overlap of the penthouse relative just beyond where the canvas tucks in. And maybe add a slant air dam to hid the wire bundle coming out of the hole. Still would like to see all the innovative ways of getting the wires up thru the penthouse.

Also we didn't want the wires coming in from the top to be within the canvas inner perimeter and made sure the hole was outside of canvas perimeter.

We mounted the Panels by installing two parallel aluminum "L" rails that we bolted to the sportsmobile penthouse holes and then mounted the panels onto the rails after we mocked it up on the ground and got all the holes drilled in place.. took it apart, mounted the rails, then each solar panel was bolted and locked down. It really secured the panels down.
Believe or not, it's really not that heavy (for me), benching the Penthouse up, I don't have the electrical lift.



Side View and Back Shot:

[CascadeWalnut]

Originally Posted by jage

Longer bolts were needed, luckily I have experience in this area. They slide right out and back in if care is used. Only do one at a time and don't move the top from the down position.

I don't pretend to be a expert in this field at all, and I have learned a lot from this forum. My question to you is will these bolts be strong enough to withstand forces exerted from wind, and vibrations (from say interstate travel and washboard roads; respectively)?

I also remember reading somewhere on this forum that using stainless steel hardware with aluminum is a bad idea. Maybe it was from lug nuts and rims causing some kind of malfunction. Anybody have any thoughts on this? Care to educate me?

By the way thanks for the write up.

[jage]

There are better supports on those holes than anywhere you could drill on the roof. The bolt itself, bracket and aluminum are all thicker and heavier duty than the solar panel frame itself. My install is hardly unique, so apart from the wire running all the way down the back slapping on the interstate, I don't have any concerns about how it was mounted.

My electrical mount is intended to be below the roof line, so if it does leak it won't travel around the PH roof at least. All the stains are from my multiple leaks from the previous top.

I bought 16' of 10 gauge wire from Napa in red and black. They sell it by the foot, which is great because the longest prepackaged I could find was ten feet. I wound up using about 14'.

[charlie56]

Nice write-up!

I bet you squirmed quite a bit has you held the drill bit over that nice new top.

If you hear some rattling noise from up top while driving, I have found that the wire loom bounces around quite a bit. To resolve it I just used sealant to semi adhere the bundle to the penthouse.

I know that buying aluminum at a local hardware store is convenient, but can get costly rather quickly. I found low prices online, but you have to factor in shipping. onlinemetals.com is one source. You might also see if you have a salvage yard in your area. I can find new aluminum there for a cost midway between online and a hardware store.

[jage]

Originally Posted by charlie56

I have found that the wire loom bounces around quite a bit. To resolve it I just used sealant to semi adhere the bundle to the penthouse.

Thanks for that. I added a baggie tie to anchor the middle to the back roof bolt, going for a test run tomorrow.

[Kzinti2]

Originally Posted by CascadeWalnut

I also remember reading somewhere on this forum that using stainless steel hardware with aluminum is a bad idea. Maybe it was from lug nuts and rims causing some kind of malfunction. Anybody have any thoughts on this? Care to educate me?

IANAM (metalurgist) but this is my understanding:

In general, the closer two dissimilar metals are on a galvanic table the better for avoiding galvanic corrosion. A sample table can be found here http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/corr ... lvanic.htm . The most corrodable metals are at the Active (Anodic) end of the table which is the top of this table. Most hardware store extruded shapes are probably 6063 aluminum. Although it is not listed on the table, I would expect 6063 to be near 6061.

Most hardware store stainless steel fasteners are 303 or 304 series. Stainless steels gain their corrosion resistance from a thin chromium-rich oxide layer forms in the presence of oxygen; this makes it "passive" for corrosion potential (see http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=16 ). In the presence of an electolytic solution (e.g. salt water from ocean spray or road salt in winter), stainless and aluminum do not appear to be a good mix if they come in contact with each other; the aluminum will sacrifice itself to "save" the stainless (which usually doesn't need to be saved!).

Solutions for minimizing galvanic corrosion with aluminum shapes include using aluminum fasteners, galvanized fasteners (the zinc galvinizing is lower than the aluminum and should sacrifice itself first), and using coatings or gaskets to prevent dissimilar metal-to-metal contact.