Solar Panel Mounts
I have an Arctic Fox 1140 with the round roof. I have some 200w panels that are 5ft by 26". I can use the simple z mounts and have the same issue if I ever want to remove them. So I have been consider...
Forum Discussion
memilanuk wrote:SoonDockin wrote:
With the thin luan on the top of my RV it seems picking the best screw can be challenging.
Look up 'well nuts'. There is a rubber sleeve with a flange on it, and a metal (brass) insert. You drill a hole big enough for the sleeve to slip into, so it stops on the flange. Then when you screw the bolt in, the threaded insert pulls it towards the head, mushrooming the rubber body and sandwiching the thin wall material (luan, in your case) between the flange and the mushroom. Think of it like a rubber rivet.
Other uses include attaching glass windshields to motorcycles, or providing attachment points on the sides of water craft. They provide a fairly water-resistant connection to begin with, and when utilized underneath a mounting bracket or rail and then covered with additional sealant like Dicor or Sikaflex you shouldn't have any issues with UV degradation either.
I'd double check with the manufacturer (Arctic Fox) about the actual construction of the roof. Adventurer has their 'TCC' i.e. 'true composite core/construction' equivalent, but even that has aluminum frame members, and weirdly enough, three additional random wood cross members. That's in addition to the cheap/light white pine stuff they put around the roof openings for screw holding. I'd be shocked if AF doesn't have *some* kind of structural cross members in the roof.
I tried well nuts for my solar panel mount (using Z mounts). They pulled right out. I wouldn't trust them at all.
I used aluminum rivet nuts placed through the rubber roof/luan and into aluminum roof crossbeams. They have held up since 2005 without fail. A healthy coating of sealant was used.....of course.
Marson Ribbed Rivet NUT KIT
