Can I go through car wash with solar panels on my roofrack?
Can I install them in such a way that this would be ok? Very protected and secured wiring, controller indoors, etc.? Or is hand washing a sacrifice I would have to make?
Forum Discussion
We had all kinds of vans and pickups at my work with cranes on them, and things like ladder racks on top of a van roof. They would catch the brushes and hanging rinse things on a typical gas station like automatic car wash, so you could not run a class B motorhome through that type of car wash with solar panels on the roof.
However we did have a power wash system that used high pressure wash nozzles, they where mounted about 10 feet off the ground and 9 feet wide, so that the vans and larger trucks could fit through it. While it only did a 'ok' job of cleaning the vans and trucks, it was a great way to rinse them off. Something like that was designed for the vans with ladder racks, and would work well with your solar panels.
You might look at a truck stop, and see if they have a 'trailer wash' system. It would have 14' high doors, and the power wash system inside a small building in most cases. How well will it wash and they normally use high pressure air to blow dry a car or class B might be questionable.
To wash my motorhome, I started using a high pressure washer. While not good for the EPDM roof to spray it with high pressure, if you hold it back far enough, you can give it a good rinse. The sidewalls hold up well to getting washed by the 1,600 PSI water, just keep the nozzle about 3-4" away from the surfaces.
The solar panels are pretty robust. Their mounts normally can handle being pulled up by the wind from 70 - 100 MPH winds every day you are out there driving around. They withstand hurricane force winds and rain while mounted on a house, and in RV use see even more sever abuse, and take it all in stride. .
Good luck,
Fred.
However we did have a power wash system that used high pressure wash nozzles, they where mounted about 10 feet off the ground and 9 feet wide, so that the vans and larger trucks could fit through it. While it only did a 'ok' job of cleaning the vans and trucks, it was a great way to rinse them off. Something like that was designed for the vans with ladder racks, and would work well with your solar panels.
You might look at a truck stop, and see if they have a 'trailer wash' system. It would have 14' high doors, and the power wash system inside a small building in most cases. How well will it wash and they normally use high pressure air to blow dry a car or class B might be questionable.
To wash my motorhome, I started using a high pressure washer. While not good for the EPDM roof to spray it with high pressure, if you hold it back far enough, you can give it a good rinse. The sidewalls hold up well to getting washed by the 1,600 PSI water, just keep the nozzle about 3-4" away from the surfaces.
The solar panels are pretty robust. Their mounts normally can handle being pulled up by the wind from 70 - 100 MPH winds every day you are out there driving around. They withstand hurricane force winds and rain while mounted on a house, and in RV use see even more sever abuse, and take it all in stride. .
Good luck,
Fred.
