POPUPs with Solar Panels added to roof
Would like to see some photos of POPUPs with SOLAR PANELs added to the roof area. I am in the very early stage of looking into installing SOLAR PANELS on my Starcraft 14RT Off-Road POPUP roof. M...
Forum Discussion
I think I have a just come up with a good plan... I have two rain gutters on both ends that are level and goes from the front to the back. This is a VEE ALUMINUM DRAIN.
I can sit a 3/4-inch round aluminum tube into the VEE just perfect. Then can drop maybe 4each 1/4-20 bolts thru each side and use wing nuts. This would allow me to build up an light weight aluminum frame about 176" x 84" and could run more 84-inch cross sections for more support. Could just lay my solar panels on top of this frame real easy maybe...
My roof is level across the roof but has about a one-inch slope from the center to both ends. Using this method I would not touch the roof at all...
All of my wiring would follow the aluminum frame and penetrate the side walls of the roof to go where they need to go.
I'm almost thinking since I have this aluminum frame idea to work with maybe portable type solar panels might be a good choice. Could easily sit them on the aluminum frame or do the angle thing on the ground sitting out in the sun... Being that all of my setup work will be before I raise the roof then both feet are on the ground. Makes it real easy to work without hanging around on a ladder of some sort...
My two VEE rain gutters is supported with screws about every two inches all the way across the end of the roof so it will support
I use these two gutter already when I hang up my poor man GIZMO's as shown here. I just lay the tarps over the VEE and use a stretch rope over the top of the tarp to hold things in place in the VEE channel.
The only thing that need some thinking about going this method is how to support the 176-Inch aluminum frame going in-line to the end to end roof line. Just using a pad of some some sort probably would tear the fiberglass on the roof eventually. I can use L shape support from the side wall in the back but would have to deal with awning from the front side. Make can notch out the awning bag for the couple of supports I will need. My awning bag is bad at them moment any way. Right now I am just strapping the whole contents of the bag rolled up on top of the roof and then I can carefully extend it out to setup the awning. My bag is almost totally unraveled now. This was delivered in 2008. I was wanting to re-tread like you have Bondebond haha... Might be a good trip to ARKANSAS for that huh...
AFter getting the mounting of the solar panels covered then I have to think about how to route the cables. It just might be best to just plug long cables into a socket already mounted on the bottom half after it is set up. Having the long cables with plugs would also allow me to charge batteries when I am in the travel mode as well.
Roy Ken
I can sit a 3/4-inch round aluminum tube into the VEE just perfect. Then can drop maybe 4each 1/4-20 bolts thru each side and use wing nuts. This would allow me to build up an light weight aluminum frame about 176" x 84" and could run more 84-inch cross sections for more support. Could just lay my solar panels on top of this frame real easy maybe...
My roof is level across the roof but has about a one-inch slope from the center to both ends. Using this method I would not touch the roof at all...
All of my wiring would follow the aluminum frame and penetrate the side walls of the roof to go where they need to go.
I'm almost thinking since I have this aluminum frame idea to work with maybe portable type solar panels might be a good choice. Could easily sit them on the aluminum frame or do the angle thing on the ground sitting out in the sun... Being that all of my setup work will be before I raise the roof then both feet are on the ground. Makes it real easy to work without hanging around on a ladder of some sort...
My two VEE rain gutters is supported with screws about every two inches all the way across the end of the roof so it will support
I use these two gutter already when I hang up my poor man GIZMO's as shown here. I just lay the tarps over the VEE and use a stretch rope over the top of the tarp to hold things in place in the VEE channel.
The only thing that need some thinking about going this method is how to support the 176-Inch aluminum frame going in-line to the end to end roof line. Just using a pad of some some sort probably would tear the fiberglass on the roof eventually. I can use L shape support from the side wall in the back but would have to deal with awning from the front side. Make can notch out the awning bag for the couple of supports I will need. My awning bag is bad at them moment any way. Right now I am just strapping the whole contents of the bag rolled up on top of the roof and then I can carefully extend it out to setup the awning. My bag is almost totally unraveled now. This was delivered in 2008. I was wanting to re-tread like you have Bondebond haha... Might be a good trip to ARKANSAS for that huh...
AFter getting the mounting of the solar panels covered then I have to think about how to route the cables. It just might be best to just plug long cables into a socket already mounted on the bottom half after it is set up. Having the long cables with plugs would also allow me to charge batteries when I am in the travel mode as well.
Roy Ken
