How safe are roof mounted solar panels

Never heard of it on this board. I never drive 75, and especially in wind.

Hi,

No one has reported such an incident.

They hug the roof and hang on. :)

If you are driving 75 MPH in high winds. Then you have a better chance of your awning coming unrolled and ripping off more then any solar panel.

75 MPH is the limit of most RV tires and more then some of them.

When I removed my panels to swap to new MH I had to use an 18" crescent to twist off the brackets held down with silicone sealant. Used lag screws through and sealant under each bracket. I could not pry them off, they just started to bend. The tilt brackets I use now only have 3M UHB double stick tape holding them on, been there for over 7 years without any problems.

At 75 MPH in a wind I would think the solar panel(s) would be the least of your problems! Perhaps that could be described as dangerous driving. I's just sayn!

Moved from technology
Considered putting it in the Class A forum, since it is a Speed question

The box breaks the wind. Just a few swirls and eddies close to the roof.
BTW I have but one screw at each corner and the large panels are mounted to catch wind on the broadside :E

Sagecoachdriver wrote:
Doesn't look like the 2 screws for each of the 4 mounting brackets are secure enough to handle driving down the road at 75mph in Utah and have wind to boot.

2 screws in each bracket should be enough, unless your brackets are taller than 5 or 6". Still, I wouldn't pull my trailer at 75 mph, no matter with panels or not. With motorhome - maybe so, it has a different dynamics.

Don't listen to what SMK says about one screw per each corner. Like they say, "wise people talk less" ;)... IIRC, his design is pretty solid, there is more to it then just 4 brackets. He's got 2 aluminum bars across under the panel, and then screws going through these bars at the ends.

Hi,

I used 3 screws on each of my roof mount brackets, and they have stayed in place for well over 18 years. I also have not read a complaint about a solar panel flying off. The sealant used between the bracket and roof is almost enough to hold it in place, but new I also have 3 small #10 screws into the thin 3/8 plywood under the roof, and have a roof coating going over all the roof membrane, so that also prevents me from removing the panel mounts.

Good luck with your installation, and don't worry about them leaving.

Fred

The roof on our teardrop is Filon and our panel large. I did not want to drill holes and found ABS mounts that I imported from China. I called 3M and talked with one of their engineers about the use of 3M VHB tape and how much surface area on the mounts and surface prep I would need. He made a recommendation which I followed to the letter.
Three years ago we took a trip to California, hit those 40+ MPH head winds at 70MPH with trucks passing in the other direction. Wind loads, way up there and held on with tape.