solar panel safety

[tanukihimself]

needing a solar panel or 2 for my setup and im not really digging the idea of having them hard mounted to the roof of my ct. I dont wana climb up there and install, drill thru the roof, and have the panels where if i dont park in the full sun all day then im not getting full potential from my panels. If i do park in the sun, then the trailer will get super hot inside and ill spend battery power cooling that bitch off. Kind of a dumb cycle to me. So my thought was to have a movable setup that i can place away from my shady camp spot, like a tripor or something, and just get a longer cord for the panels. My question is how can i make the tripod and panels LESS stealable? I know nothing is theft proof, but doe any of yall have experience with this situation? Could i just run a damn logging chain from a tree or my camper to the tripod? What about the actual panel? Locking nuts?

Any ideas?

[Padilen]

Great question I never thought about how easy it would be! And I always want things secured.


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[wtcreaux]

So the places I go have little shade or at least around the driving/parking part. My panel is mounted to the ladder racks with wiring going down the side (inside metal conduit screwed to the side using the aluminum siding screws) and up through the floor.

[Esteban]

Solar panels can be mounted on a roof with drill free glue on mounts sold by Instapark and similar companies. Amazon.com sells them. Sikaflex is the preferred adhesive/glue to use.

https://youtu.be/C7hM_8tMFvc



https://youtu.be/I2OSdXeAagw

[tanukihimself]

thanks yall.

Esteban, mounting to the roof is what i want to avoid. Like i said, i dont want to have to park in the full sun to get my solar charge on. Once i get settled somewhere, i am going to build a hard shade or a tarp or something over my CT and want the solar panels away so they can charge and dont have to depend on heating my trailer up to charge a battery

[tony.latham]

I get the thoughts on shade. Iv'e got a permanently mounted 20 watter on my tongue box. When I need a charge, I'll pull out my folding panel for another 40 watts and put it in the sun. It's stays in my tongue box unless it's needed.

We like to camp in the boondocks––not a place I'd expect thieves. If we have to camp in a government campground there's enough campers that more or less create an informal neighborhood watch.

You could put up a trail-cam if you're camping territory is more thief friendly.











Solar BLVD has a 160 Watt folding set for $179 right now. Dunno if that includes a controller.

Tony

[Shadow Catcher]

I used the plastic mounts, which were not available in the US at that time so I imported them from China. Not wanting to drill holes in the roof I had a long discussion with a 3M engineer and he was able to steer me to the correct VHB tape and how many square inches I would need for the wind loads. I followed exactly the directions for prep and placement. Wind loads have been in excess of 140 mph. I found tamper resistant bolts/screws not in the Harbor Freight tamper resistant driver set. The panel, intended for a grid tie system puts out better than 70V no load and better than 30V shaded. fed in to a Morningstar MPPT Sunsaver controller.

[lrrowe]

I used the plastic mounts, which were not available in the US at that time so I imported them from China. Not wanting to drill holes in the roof I had a long discussion with a 3M engineer and he was able to steer me to the correct VHB tape and how many square inches I would need for the wind loads. I followed exactly the directions for prep and placement. Wind loads have been in excess of 140 mph. I found tamper resistant bolts/screws not in the Harbor Freight tamper resistant driver set. The panel, intended for a grid tie system puts out better than 70V no load and better than 30V shaded. fed in to a Morningstar MPPT Sunsaver controller.

Shadow Catcher, I have my two panels which I have yet to add to the roof. I do not want to drill holes and I am struggling to make that commitment to go with 3M materials or other adhesives. It is a matter of confidnce.

I notice for the long side of the panels, you have what might be an 18" black bracket. What do you think about adding them all the way down the side on the leading panel so no moving air, while traveling, could get under the panel, thus reducing the pull up forces?

[DirtyD1833]

I used the plastic mounts, which were not available in the US at that time so I imported them from China. Not wanting to drill holes in the roof I had a long discussion with a 3M engineer and he was able to steer me to the correct VHB tape and how many square inches I would need for the wind loads. I followed exactly the directions for prep and placement. Wind loads have been in excess of 140 mph. I found tamper resistant bolts/screws not in the Harbor Freight tamper resistant driver set. The panel, intended for a grid tie system puts out better than 70V no load and better than 30V shaded. fed in to a Morningstar MPPT Sunsaver controller.

What 3M product did you end up using on your mounts? Wind loads are my concern with mounting like this, but really don't want to drill holes in my roof.

[Esteban]

I bought plastic solar panel mounts similar to the ones Shadow Catcher used. The 160 watt solar panel that will be permanently attached on my roof is about 58" x 26". It will have four corner mounts and two longer air foil mounts in the center of the long side. Using tamper resistant bolts seems wise.

Home Depot now sells a 180 watt Grape Solar for $258.00 that is the same size as the 160 watt Grape Solar panel I bought about a year ago. A 39.5" x 39" Renogy 150 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel that costs $194.45 from Amazon is another higher capacity solar panel that could fit on the roof of many small campers.

There are pluses and minuses for roof mounting a solar panel to your camper. On the plus side there is no ongoing time and effort required to set it up or take the solar panel down to store it overnight. It will harvest power any time its out in the sunlight including while the camper is being towed. Installing a solar panel flat on a roof will often/sometimes not be the optimum angle to the sun. I figure using a higher wattage panel and a MPPT solar charge controller will help optimize the energy harvest. A minus is that camping under the shade which may be desirable on hot days means there is less opportunity to harvest energy to run devices or recharge a battery.

A portable solar panel can be placed in the sun while a camper is shaded. It can also be angled to the sun to maximize the power harvested. There will be ongoing time and effort to set it up, move it around to maximize the power harvested, protect it from theft, and to put it away at night. A portable solar panel will not generate power while you travel during daylight hours.

It is possible to roof mount a solar panel, or several of them, and to use one or more portable panels too for the best of both worlds. It would cost more for the extra solar panels, may require a more expensive higher capacity charge controller, will require more storage space and would add more weight.

There are valid choices and trade offs to consider/decide what's the best or preferred solar power solution we each may decide to use.

[aggie79]

needing a solar panel or 2 for my setup and im not really digging the idea of having them hard mounted to the roof of my ct. So my thought was to have a movable setup that i can place away from my shady camp spot, like a tripor or something, and just get a longer cord for the panels. My question is how can i make the tripod and panels LESS stealable? I know nothing is theft proof, but doe any of yall have experience with this situation? Could i just run a damn logging chain from a tree or my camper to the tripod? What about the actual panel? Locking nuts?

Any ideas?

As you said, a chain seems like a good idea as well as tamper-proof nuts and bolts. You may want to consider using a locking bike cable to tie the set-up together as a "blob". More work will scare off casual thieves.

Another couple of considerations:
1. If you camp in a windy area, you'll also need something to weigh down the panels so that they don't "sail off" in the wind.
2. You'll also need to watch the size of your cabling so you don't get too much voltage loss.

[flboy]

I mounted my panels on an aluminum bar that is just screwed into the trailer on the two sides and directly into the steel frame. Then, I mounted the panels to the rail. This could be modified for tilt also on each panel, but I chose not to do that.I just bought another panel to make up for the inefficiency so I have total power I desired. I actually have 5 panels now and I moved them closer together (bottom pic). But you get tje idea. This is my second install like this. They are not going anywhere and holes in roof are minimal with a good seal where the rails attach. Climbing up there to tilt and etc. would be a pain.

I am for the permanent mount for reasons others have said. Always charging batteries on the road or etc. and I run the fridge on the road. For the ocassions I am in a place with shade or a cloudy rainy day, I can run the small generator a few hours a day to recharge the battery bank. I always seem to find a place with at least partial sun for a few hours a day. Not hard in Florida or most places in the Southwest I'd imagine.

With your goals, may just be better off with a small quiet Honda generator to charge the bank as needed and forget the solar. Someone will run off with the panels laying around at ground level. Way too easy to steal and you'd have quite a few laying around if you plan to have any significant amount of power that the generator can make quickly.

I can tell you however, with proper insulation in roof and sides and an awning on the front side facing the sun most of the day (opposite side of trailer then casts its own shadow) , your camper should not heat up no more than the ambient outside temp. That has been my experience. The solar runs a Maxair fan that draws a breeze through and the trailer and awning itself is the shade.







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[lrrowe]

Don, your cross bars is where my head is at for my method right now. My roof to siding is curved so, I would like to fabricate a side bracket that flows with the curve for aesthetic reasons. Something like OTTCT did. I would post his photo if I could.

[flboy]

Don, your cross bars is where my head is at for my method right now. My roof to siding is curved so, I would like to fabricate a side bracket that flows with the curve for aesthetic reasons. Something like OTTCT did. I would post his photo if I could.

You could get the flexible panels to conform to the curves , in which case, I'd have no problem glueing those down. Not really anything to catch the wind. The flexible type are a little more expensive, but they would solve the aesthetic issue for sure. :-)

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[lrrowe]

Don, your cross bars is where my head is at for my method right now. My roof to siding is curved so, I would like to fabricate a side bracket that flows with the curve for aesthetic reasons. Something like OTTCT did. I would post his photo if I could.

You could get the flexible panels to conform to the curves , in which case, I'd have no problem glueing those down. Not really anything to catch the wind. The flexible type are a little more expensive, but they would solve the aesthetic issue for sure. :-)

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I could, but I have my two 160w panels already.