solar location on Truck camper

Golden_HVAC wrote:

bigfootford wrote:

I made mounts similar to these, but my panels are a little closer to the roof. I used 6" long 2" angle aluminum from Home Depot with 3 holes 3/16" for #10 screws into the roof, and 5/16" hole with 1/4-20 screw into the solar panel frame.

You do not need to tilt the panel into the sun, while that is ideal, leaving it flat is only about a 5% - 10% loss. Tilting it away from the sun might give you a 12% loss, but that is still OK if the panels are large enough. And if you are driving every few days, that should fully charge the battery, if you have a large enough wire between the truck and camper!

I ran #10 UV rated grey direct burial romex - also from Home Depot, down the refrigerator vent to the controller and battery.

IF you look for 12 volt nominal panels (19-22 volt open circuit voltage) then you can use a much less expensive PWM controller. SunELec.com sells some in various voltages and with or without frames. Without frame - it would be difficult to mount it to your roof.

Good luck,

Fred.

I debated hard about having an extra inch higher panels off the roof. I wanted to be able to use a brush to clean the roof under the panels... V/S snug to the roof for air flow...
Being able to clean won!

I added a front air deflector for the front panel.... Riding in the camper to listen for any vibration proved that nothing rattled/vibrated. My panels are just pined to the homemade 3X3 aluminum L stock.

For the wire run I used 3/4 electrical conduit and 8 ga stranded wire. Kept the wiring from both panels Isolated until inside the rear of the fridge. There I installed a cutoff blade switch for the + lead going to the Solar controller for emergency disconnect (Lightening). I installed 2 bus bars + and - to combine them. This helps trouble shooting if a problem is isolated to wiring or a panel.

Jim