Advise on Solar Mounts ....

I would say that most of us that have solar panels make our own mounts out of aluminum angle iron.

My Solar Panel goal is to get something that will produce 17-20AMPS DC current when in high sun...

On my POPUP trailer roof where I really don't want to drill any holes in it. I am going for the ALUMINUM UNISTRUT mounts which will be mounted on the trailer roof but attached to sides where I have good wood to drill into...

Something like this google image...
This shows attaching to the top of the roof where I will be attaching to the down side of the roof...


Google image

The UNITSRUT mounts will allow me to slide off the panels with ease when needed...


Google Image

These are my thinking points only and there are many installs to look at on google search...

Roy Ken

Made my own the bottom is 6"(3 screws) and the mount on the panel is 3"(2 bolts) with 3" long flat stock all 1 1/2" wide.

No help here, but I have thin film and use mastic. No roof penetrations and no wind sheer at all...

I have the standard 4-corner mounts sold by solar suppliers. I don't make my own anything. My advice is to get those.

Check out AM Solar for the tiltable mounting feet.

http://amsolar.com/rv-solar-panel-kit/mounting-accessories

The best (IMHO): 2 piece Z-bracket, similar to that of ColoNative but a 2-piece. One piece of alum angle is bolted to the panel bottom, another piece is bolted to the first piece back to back, to make a Z. Adjust it to height by drilling the hole (between two pieces) where needed.

The easiest - buy a 2-piece Z-bracket online (don't remember where, google it up). Though they are often mere 1/8" thick (you might need 1/4", see notes below), with inadequately small footprint, and only one bolt holding 2 pieces together.

The foot of the lower bracket is attached to the roof with 2 or 3 sheet metal stainless screws #10. 3 screws if you don't hit the rafter, 2 screws if you use 6 brackets per panel vs 4 per panel. Put plenty of Dicor self-leveling sealant under the brackets and cover the screws heads as well.

I designed my system to be tiltable and used single-piece alum angle bolted to the side of the frame - not to the bottom. Into the frame I installed stainless rivnuts, so that the locknut under the frame becomes unnecessary.

Tilt is not as popular as it used to be, because panels are cheap and you can get more wattage instead. I would not bother with tilt, considering 750W array in CA.

AM Solar products are expensive. Have a look at their single-piece brackets in the link above, to get an idea how a Z-bracket looks like - and then make it RIGHT, of 2-pieces.

Sometimes brackets have to be 4"-5" tall, to clear plumbing vents - in this case, and considering monstrous size of 250W panel, I used 1/4" thick alum angle.

Places like onlinemetals.com will sell you any size and any length alum angle and will cut it for you for a nominal fee.

EDIT:
You failed to mention but it looks like your "RV" is a motorhome. On a of motorhome the shape, placement and attachment of brackets to the roof becomes quite different. In this case, disregard 60-70% of the above info, including mine.

This site is about technical answers to technical questions. Mostly.

Without details of the roof structure it will likely be shooting in the dark though. One thing I am sure of, is that people doing roof re-sealing in RV shop don't usually know much else. I wouldn't trust them with mounting panels on my cheap trailer.

I just use Strong Ties type L brackets. Cheap & available at Lowes, HD, Menards etc.. Home made are fine also, not rocket science.

Your speed isn't that important, you may be driving into a 50 knot headwind so not a good idea to mount them vertically.:B

hypoxia wrote:
I just use Strong Ties type L brackets. Cheap & available at Lowes, HD, Menards etc.. Home made are fine also, not rocket science.

Your speed isn't that important, you may be driving into a 50 knot headwind so not a good idea to mount them vertically.:B

That's a good point. I found some less expensive brackets online so I ordered them up. The roof is that typical plywood with snow coat on it. Nothing really sexy.

What I think I might do is screw these down into the roof, seal them up real good and then cable strap them to the A/C unit. This way should something want to get loose it will won't leave the coach. I'm certain I'd hear something if it even started to go loose but I never want to risk a lawsuit.

IT seems that solar is still a "new thing" and there isn't much of a standard on it yet. I'll photo up what I have when it's finished.

Thanks,