For those of you that mount your solar panels to the roof of your TD/TT, do you have any release latches so you can put your PV panels elsewhere in the sun or do you always park your TD/TT in the sun at the camp sites?
I realize there are places you won't ever get full sun, or you won't be able to find a shade tree to save your life. My initial planning for a PV system I've been considering mounting the panel on a rack that would be removable and have a ground mount it could live on in the sun while the trailer stays somewhat shaded.
I'm aware of power loss vs. wire gauge vs. wire length. But at the same time, a 5% drop of 180 watts is worth having an internal cabin temp 20*F lower than if the trailer is parked in direct sun, even if the shade is man made from a tarp and some rope. Would almost seem like an uphill battle just to keep the wire runs short for the most power. The power savings would just be spent trying to remove the heated air from the cabin and may be more spent vs. what would be lost in a 20ft 8AWG wire run to get the PV panel to the other side of a tree. And while most TD/TT's are white in color, white does attract some heat. And it can be a noticeable amount over time. My last job did some testing on this subject.
Also I realize that its one more thing to haul around, and one more thing to trip over in the dark, but come dark you could easily remount the PV panel back onto the TD/TT. If worried about theft while its off the trailer, a long dog tiedown screw could be modified easily to serve as the ground mount anchor to the frame with a lock.
Anyways, just posting this up for debate. Would love some feedback on peoples designs on how they did this and if it was the greatest thing since sliced bread rocked the world.
