Home solar panel on RV...anyone attempted?
Okay, I have one extra solar panel from my home system. The panel is 66.5" x 40" in size see the specs below. I have looked online and haven't been able to find many people who have done this. Am I mi...
Forum Discussion
An alternative to using a panel rail system:
The three "rails" that are attached to the trailer roof are 1 1/2" aluminum architectural channel. The panel in it's horizontal position attach with pins into these three channels. When tilted, the panel attaches to the channels on one end and the tilt struts are attached to the hole on the other end of the channel.
In this four-way tilt mechanism the panel is actually mounted to 1 1/2" aluminum angle and the angles are attached to hinges, as is the panel. That provides the opposed tilt angle. As I said, a simple two way or one way tilt is probably all that is needed.
Hinges:
If you wish to achieve a very engineered solution to storing the tilt struts, design the tilting mechanism so that the struts are stored within the mechanism. I did a good bit of head scratching to make that possible.
A large part of the solar installation should deal with 12V distribution and wiring. You may wish to use bus bars, disconnect switches, and circuit protection, to name a few.
The three "rails" that are attached to the trailer roof are 1 1/2" aluminum architectural channel. The panel in it's horizontal position attach with pins into these three channels. When tilted, the panel attaches to the channels on one end and the tilt struts are attached to the hole on the other end of the channel.
In this four-way tilt mechanism the panel is actually mounted to 1 1/2" aluminum angle and the angles are attached to hinges, as is the panel. That provides the opposed tilt angle. As I said, a simple two way or one way tilt is probably all that is needed.
Hinges:
If you wish to achieve a very engineered solution to storing the tilt struts, design the tilting mechanism so that the struts are stored within the mechanism. I did a good bit of head scratching to make that possible.
A large part of the solar installation should deal with 12V distribution and wiring. You may wish to use bus bars, disconnect switches, and circuit protection, to name a few.
