awesome job!! putting a wind blocking ramp on the leading edge of your system is probably a good idea. I can just visualize the wind coming off your truck and and running up the front of the trailer and slamming into the underside of the panels causing a lot of lifting pressure.
I agree a fairing would be a good addition. I haven't yet figured out how to do that as I'm too busy going on adventures and editing the TH-cam videos of said adventures. I probably would have figured something out by now if I wasn't making TH-cam videos instead. We have now driven with the panels as shown in this video on many trips including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada in addition to all the many Utah trips, so this solution works but could still be improved.
Really detailed and pro quality video. And, you’re also a good drone pilot! This video will be great to share w friends I’m trying to convince how useful solar is!
This is very similar to what i hope to do on our trailer! Since it spends most of the time parked next to the house it can provide nice for the car! I would like to add the ability to hinge for better solar gain, and a large battery bank for extra range while camping if we get our Rivian next year.
It's working great for us! I'm certainly excited to be able to start experimenting with charging an electric truck, but when we'll get that is uncertain at the moment until Tesla actually starts delivery and gives us all the details.
I had 3 solar panels rip off my roof while driving on I-70 in west Kansas this past September. The angle brackets (cheap amazon units from guess where) I used to connect the panels to the roof channel failed and they all came off. The structure acted like a big sail/wing. I'm starting over using new BougeRV panels with double the brackets from newpowa and 2 stainless bolts with threadlocker at every point. Hope this works this time.
Having something fly off the roof of a vehicle is certainly scary! Hopefully this new solution works correctly. I periodically check my unistrut bolts and the bolts holding the panels down to make sure they're all tight.
@@benkanobe7500 No there isn't a schematic. I intended to create one but couldn't decide what software program to use and ultimately I figured it would take too much time and I knew it all in my head. There isn't really anything special about being able to charge an electric car from the trailer though. The main thing the Tesla mobile connector requires is for the ground and common wires to be connected (bonded) together which I did in my breaker panel.
Excellent video. Thank you so much for posting it! One question about the air flow in relation to a flat rooftop array design. Now that you’ve put some miles on it, do you think there would be any benefit to installing a front “spoiler” to deflect the air up and over the array while you travel to improve gas mileage? Or do you think the best MPG is achieved when the airflow is both under and over the array?
I'm not an aerodynamics engineer but if I had to guess, there is probably some benefit having a spoiler to push the air up over the smooth flat top surface of the panels. Between the roof and panels there's lots of surfaces to cause drag, but to be clear the amount of drag they cause is far less than the large object of the RV itself hurtling down the road. I doubt the gain would be more than something like 5% but that's just all me guessing based on what I've seen about aerodynamic drag in my life. If I had the time, resources and skills I'd make a spoiler for it and do a before and after test to find out for sure, but I have no intention to do so at this point in time.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Based on the fact that semis use spoilers to direct air flow up and over their trailer, I can see that there might be a small MPG benefit to having a spoiler in this application. In this case, it would also have the benefit of reducing lift on the array, which could have value as the 3M tape ages.
@@ElectricTechAdventures after using these (I'm going to be installing something similarly), is there any learning lessons on drag/turbulence forces on these without a tilted leading edge?
@@OnyxRayven1 No lessons per say other than that it works fine. I don't have any insight into additional aerodynamic drag because the truck I use to tow it now is not the same one that I towed it with before the retrofit. In the future if I get a spoiler installed in front of the solar panels I will report whether or not there is a change in aerodynamics based on my gas mileage. I can report as well that I have had the trailer in varied situations with significant winds in the order of 35 mph gusts from the back and sides and have had zero movement of the panels.
Would be cool to have a solar panel that can tilt and slide to become an awning. Not only would that improve power output, but it would also give you an awning.
Yes I agree, and I've seen in forums others do that and they post pictures and videos of their various solutions. The biggest limitation for me is weight considerations. I kept things as simple as possible for cost and weight savings. I've seen projects where they make sliding trays of solar panels down the length of large greyhound bus conversions or class A RVs and I'm jealous of their cargo carrying capacity on those rigs! To be honest my solar array is plenty for the trailer's needs though. Also I do have a traditional awning already so that's not really a need, but having one made out of solar panels would be way cooler. If money was not a limitation I'd look into purchasing a heavy duty goosneck trailer then remove my trailer's axles and mount it on the flatbed. I'd get a flatbed trailer that's longer so there's room on the back for toys. I saw someone else do that very thing and I think the trailer's weight capacity was something like 20k lbs.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Is it that much weight to add at least something that can tilt the entire array by lifting one side up? That way the snow can slide off easily and you get more sun.
@@GeorgeOu It's probably possible. I didn't look into it much. Perhaps I'll add tilting someday, but so far that hasn't been a priority as I have more than enough energy when camping except for the dead of the winter which isn't when we're camping. I would be concerned about wind though if they were tilted up high enough to match the angle of the sun in the winter. The panels are about 7.5 feet long, so when they're tilted up there would be a nearly 7.5 feet by 18 feet cross section to catch wind.
My go to recommendation for a company to install solar in off-grid applications in Utah is Continuous Resources www.continuousresources.com?aff=78 out of Price Utah not terribly far from Utah County. Maybe they can help with the mini split too, I don't know on that point. I don't have any company recommendations for the mini split unfortunately.
the front wind will touch under those solar panels and make your van unstable when you drive you will feel driving wheel puul lefg abd right on highway and boulevard
This playlist th-cam.com/play/PLhYygFlMh_bdsFILlnuW7hlC3Loiceg9E.html contains all the videos that I've published so far of us going on trips in our trailer. The first 4 videos of the playlist are prior to the modifications. I'm just finishing up my latest video series of a trip to Moab titled "Unplugged In Moab" which has 8 episodes which is the most in depth video series on the performance of the trailer's electrical system to date, but I have many others coming I just have not had time to edit yet.
Prior to the addition of the solar panels we borrowed a couple different trucks from others, then during the retrofit is when we purchased our current truck which we've primarily used to tow our trailer so I don't have before and after data unfortunately. I'm confident it lowers the gas mileage, but by how much is just guessing as I've never measured it. I do see bugs splattered on the underside of the panels on the back side where the edges stick down so obviously there is significant air flow going through there. At this point the best way to objectively measure it would be to tow a standard Lance 2185 a specific distance, then do the same with ours and measure the difference in MPG. Ideally I'd prefer to do that test with an electric truck because the energy consumed details are nearly infinitely more precise. I've thought to do such a test once we have an electric truck, but alas that purchase is a complete unknown at this point in time. In the meantime I'm trying to catch up with the mountain of editing backlog I'm currently under and someday I hope to revisit the RV solar panels fairing concept.
I put lock washers on the bolts and if needed I would use thread lock on the threads. I have checked the bolts a couple of times and they have not loosened over the last 2 years and couple thousand miles. I did not cap the ends of the unistrut at all.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thanks for the response, absolutely love this build! I’m going to be imitating it with a 1.1kw system on a small TrailManor that I tow with my Model Y 🤘🏼
@@polykid101 nice! Someday I'd like to make a smaller version on a enclosed cargo trailer for something like a food truck but I have no intention of getting into food trucks myself. I just would love to be able to see a silent food truck powered by the sun. They're always accompanied by loud generators.
@@justinfowler2857 I have no way to measure that. Considering the whole trailer is a lot of drag I suspect that the panels don't add a ton more drag but probably some. In the future when I have an electric truck that gives me a lot more detail about energy consumption I will have the ability to tow a similar 2185 travel trailer down a certain distance and then do it again with mine and see if there is a measurable difference. If I am able to pull that off someday I'll probably make a TH-cam video doing it.
Nice work👍Solar panels flat. How’s the kWh production and sunlight capture? Any plans tilting panels, if need be? Also can you recommend infrared camera used? Awesome 👊 Thanks
The panels are producing great, but they could be better if they were tilted, especially in the winter since the sun is so low in the sky. I haven't added a tilting mechanism though, and I don't intend to because they're producing plenty of energy for us while camping and I'm too busy doing other higher priority things right now. The infrared camera I have and used on this project is the FLIR ONE Gen 3. amzn.to/3W7hDkW
It appears as though you were able to get the panels completely flush (frame edge to frame edge). Was this only possible and accessible to the nuts and bolts because you installed it lifted above the base strut channel that's bolted to the roof? Not sure if my question makes sense, but I need to do something similar (flush) in order to fit all my panels but don't plan on installing it lifted. Would greatly appreciate your insight on that particular point.
Typical solar panel clamps meant to go between solar panels (and thus called mid clamps) are half inch thick, which in my case added up to 2 inches between the 5 panels and I was trying to minimize rear overhang as much as possible. By bolting the lower inside flange of the solar panels to the unistrut I was able to secure them without a mid-clamp and one could argue my method is safer since it's a bolt through a hole instead of a clamp pinching the panels down. Would it be possible to bolt them down flat to a roof? I imagine it's possible, but probably not as simple as mine being lifted and thus giving me easy access to the underside of the panels. Perhaps you can run a piece of unistrut along under the panels so as to only lift them an inch or two, but still give you something to bolt them to? Or perhaps unistrut run between the panels that you can bolt the panels to, but it runs out the sides to give you access to bolt it to the roof or something? I hope you're able to figure out a solution!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Could you speak at all to the type of fastener or screw you used going from the base strut channel directly ontop of the roof? I was thinking of going with a zinc coated #10 or #12 about 1.5" length.
The base strut channel is glued to the roof with VHB tape. No screws. The front is reinforced with four cables going to the luggage rails. All of that is outlined in the video. I also have some reinforcement in the back with the ladder. We have camped in very windy areas and we have driven thousands of miles on the road over two and a half years with no problems and no adjustments or changes to the mounting that is outlined in this video.
I own the same 2019 Lance 2185 and while I wont add as many solar panels and will likely go with a 12V rooftop AC, you have inspired me to make the travel trailer much more off-grid compatible. Was the replacement refrigerator a great fit, or did it require modifications to the opening. Did you utilize the space underneath the sofa for the the additional batteries, inverter and other solar system components. Incidentally I added the ProPride 3P Anti Sway Hitch (previously known as the Hensley Hitch), its a little pricy but the stability when towing is incredible!
@@AndrewKidgell The replacement refrigerator fit in the opening almost exactly the same. I put a half inch piece of plywood underneath it to bring it up so that there was no gap above or beneath it. So I guess that tells me that vertically it's about an inch or so shorter than the prior fridge. I did utilize the space under the couch for the additional components which I outlined in this video th-cam.com/video/dse_QW7fDmk/w-d-xo.html
@@AndrewKidgell regarding an anti-sway hitch I have not purchased one of those because my truck and trailer combo is very stable even with high sideways winds and I like the ease of hitching and unhitching without and anti-sway hitch. I think part of the reason why my rig is so stable is because I am pretty tongue heavy due to the electrical components under the couch.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thanks for your reply, I look forward to viewing that video later. Its great you don't need a sway hitch, the only reason I selected the ProPride hitch is because all the sway bar hardware is permanently mounted to the travel trailer and I back up and attach it to my truck in the same way you would with any other hook up, I didn't want the hassle I'd seen with other examples. The factory solar panel on my roof is to the right of the AC as you look down the roof line from the ladder. I wonder if mid build they realized the issue with shading on the solar panel you experienced and relocated it.
Excellent job - overengineered a might. I am planning on racking 8, 455 watt panels 13" off the roof of my MH to power a 48v DC Hotspot mini-split (with a 302ah 48v battery bank). Have you noticed any handling issues with an extra 550lbs or so mounted high on your roof? I would imagine that you must be close to your ccc on a trailer that small.
Thanks. I'm not sure which part you're referring to as overengineered (unless all of it perhaps) but if I had to guess I think you're referring to the quantity of rated Watts. It is very much overkill in the summer just for the trailer, but it's actually inadequate in the winter. If I figured out how to tilt the panels then that would help during the winter, but not fix the problem. Heating takes a lot of energy and the days are too short in the winter to fully power heating the trailer even with a 33.1 SEER heat pump mini split. My goal when designing this system was to fit as many panels up there as physically possible because I intend to tow this trailer with a Tesla Cybertruck some day and I want to be able to have excess electricity to charge the truck with. I understand electricity enough to understand that compared to the Cybertruck's energy demands this array is very small, but even just a little bit of extra electricity from the trailer while camping is fun to be able to get. I actually charge my Model S from my RV electrical system on a daily basis and so far the trailer has produced 3,028 kWh in the last 11 months and the vast majority of that has gone towards my Tesla. I intend to make a TH-cam video about this in the near future. I'm giving it a year of doing it before making a video of my findings. My panels are 9" off the roof and they could have been as little as maybe 7 inches off the roof, but I wanted to have enough room for the vents to move some air still. Removing the rooftop AC is of course what enabled that height. Regarding the weight on the roof I have noticed no effects from the panels being up there and actually there's only roughly 200 lb extra weight up there. I asked Lance what my rooftop storage rails are rated to hold and they responded up to 500 lb. My panels are 63 lb each and there's 5 of them so 315 lb of panels. The unistrut weighs 75 lb. That means I added 390 lb up there and it's equally spread across the entire length of the roof. Then there's the subtraction of the weight of the AC unit that was up there at around 100 lb and the rooftop luggage rails were surprisingly heavy at around 75 lb that I removed. The majority of the added weight is coming from the batteries and inverters under the couch which is much lower weight. As part of this project I replaced the axles on the trailer and had them welded to heavy duty 6 foot long angle iron that is then welded to the trailer frame. In the entire project I removed some things and replaced others and the net difference ended up being 700 lb additional weight added to the trailer. When we go on trips I only put very light things in the passthrough storage, and I put the heaviest things in the bed of the truck which has thousands of pounds of additional payload capacity. I use a Weigh Safe hitch to keep on eye on my tongue weight. If you're interested I have additional videos on my channel outlining the components under the couch, the net weight difference after modifications as well as the Weight Safe hitch unboxing and tour of the factory.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Good deal. It's a well thought out project. By overengineered I meant that your racking appears stronger than needed with the cables in front and using the ladder for support in the rear. Overengineering is not a bad thing, as living Ft on the road for the last 4 years has taught me. Sometimes the weather changes still surprise me. It's good to hear that you don't have any handling issues. I think your beefed-up running gear is very smart and will surely save you problems down the road. I expect the weight and size array I'm planning will require a little more caution on my part, as I will be adding about 475 lbs. on the roof of my 36ft Class A. I might remove my rear AC unit as I never use it, now that I put a new Furrion AC on the front. That thing blows super cold air and is easy to start, as it uses an efficient scroll type compressor, not the old, hard starting piston compressors most rooftop ACs use. I plan on adding a mini split to the rear bedroom, blowing forward down the hall into the living/kitchen area of my MH. I might even use the ductwork currently used by my rear AC to redistribute cool air to the front where it's needed. I once used the 620w array mounted to the side of my MH to charge a pair of electric bikes, but I recently sold them to free up that weight in preparation for my bigger, rooftop system and rear mounted mini split. I will retain my side mounted array to charge my 12v 560ah LiFePo-4 bank. A side mounted array has several advantages. I lift it to the exact angle needed based on latitude and season to optimize production. This is especially important in winter when that 620-watt array pointed directly at the sun performs more like a 900-1,000 watt flat mounted one would when the sun is low in on the horizon sky. The other big advantage is that I can clean it easily without climbing on the roof, which means I clean it more often. Keeping it spotless improves production too. At 66 yrs. or age I don't like climbing on the roof unless I absolutely have to. Good luck using a cyber truck as a tow vehicle. As a general rule, the range of electric trucks is extremely limited when towing - at least for the ones currently on the market. It's smart to tie in your trailer's array to help extend your range a tad. It also prevents you from getting stuck somewhere deep in the boonies where there's no solar charger available, and you've got a day or two of sunshine to bring your batteries back up. It surely makes more sense than running a generator to get you unstuck - as I've seen people do.
@@SuperSushidog regarding electric trucks I agree, but we currently have extremely limited data to go off of. Currently available truck manufacturers (Ford Lighting and Rivian R1T) have very little experience with electric vehicles and the Munroe teardowns have shown those manufacturers struggle with efficiency and other factors that effect range. I'm hopeful with Tesla's experience the Cybertruck will prove better, but obviously Tesla can't change the drag and this inefficiency my travel trailer will add. I'm planning to get their longest range truck at around 500 miles of range not towing. I anticipate getting half that range while towing which will get me the same range I have with my Model S I have now which works for us. Then if we're not in a hurry and we are camping during the summer when there is plentiful solar then we will be able to slowly charge the cybertruck a little bit everyday and gain that much more range. And worst case scenario just not be losing any range on the truck while in the boondocks.
Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful. I purchased my panels from Santan Solar in Arizona, but they don't always have these panels available. I outlined all the costs in this video th-cam.com/video/7W9E0Y3H-aY/w-d-xo.html and in the video description there's a link to a google spreadsheet that lists all components I used in the project and how much I spent on them.
@@sjf67gto Line 105 docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wVE8St80sVX7o2nARthmwOq_jNoYdScJQRD76iBfDlE/edit?gid=2135436946#gid=2135436946 or $1,618 for 5 panels.
I have checked Santan solar many times through the years since I purchased mine from them and they haven't had over 500 Watt solar panels until now. Since I had the spreadsheet pulled up I checked and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that they have several options such as this one www.santansolar.com/product/new-byd-545w-split-cell-bifacial-mono-solar-panel/
Did you have to order the 10 minimum with SanTanSolar? Also have you noticed any problems driving with the unistrut having the columns raise it up? Mine will be going on a box truck so I don't want it coming loose because of wind drag or anything
I ordered 5 panels from SanTan Solar and they never mentioned a 10 panel minimum, so either that's a new policy or they disregarded it perhaps because these panels are much larger than their normal panels. The panels bolted to the unistrut have been rock solid with zero movement. I've checked the bolts a couple times to ensure they stay tight. I have not noticed a difference in driving performance towing the trailer with the panels on the roof. I expect it's probably hurting my gas mileage a little bit, but I have no idea how much since I used a different truck prior to the panels vs after.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thanks for the reply man! I found some panels like 6 hours away so I think I'll just have to drive up there to grab them. They're only 70lbs so arnt to heavy but they're almost 8ft tall and 4ft wide like yours, was it a PITA to get them on the roof? Lol
@@timcorona5069 Luckily my wife helped me, otherwise it would have been more difficult by myself. I parked my truck next to my RV as an intermediate platform to get them up. It was not terribly hard to get them up into the truck, then I tilted them onto the edge of the RV roof and had my wife hold the other end while I climbed onto the roof of the RV, then she passed it up to me. The big advantage to having them be the size they are is it simplifies the racking as I outlined in the video.
I hope you don't camp in the winter months.... The winter days in arizona leave the sun way down to the south. The days also are much shorter. I have 6 panels on my truck camper and I double the power coming in by tilting my panels to the south around 35 degrees. You should test your panels by laying one flat on the ground then tilting it towards the sun. Then you will see the difference in power produced.
I'm very well aware of the difference in solar production based on the orientation to the sun. I thought for a long time while planning my system about how I could create a mounting mechanism that allows the panels to tilt and decided ultimately to just go flat for a couple reasons. We don't typically camp in the winter when tilting is especially helpful. I installed a lot of solar panels that would hopefully help to overcome some of the inefficiency of flat mounted panels in the winter. If I tilt the panels on their long sides so that they don't stick up as far then they would shade each other. If I tilted longwise so as to avoid shading then they'd stick up in the air like a sail (they're 8 feet long) and be a big liability when wind kicks up suddenly. Plus there's the additional weight and complexity which added cost and effort on my part to figure it all out. The whole project was a lot to figure out in the time frame I was trying to get it done in and I can still add a tilting mechanism in the future potentially. I have done tests with my panels in the winter such as this one th-cam.com/video/HN_RJgR9sjw/w-d-xo.html where we took it out camping in the winter for the first time as well as this one th-cam.com/video/4WnTRNTNUXE/w-d-xo.html where I tested the power production on the shortest day of the year. The difference of power production from the longest to the shortest day of the year is significant. Shortest day of the year can charge the battery 51%, longest day of the year can charge the battery 200%. If you're looking for the best power production in the winter then you most certainly must tilt the panels. In my case it's a rare enough use case that I'd just use a generator to supplement in the winter if needed. Alternatively I'd just use the propane furnace in the winter instead of the heat pump mini split to reduce my electricity consumption.
Anyone have links to any other panel installs ABOVE the A'Cs? I have been searching for 2 hours and can't find any examples to watch and then build from. I have a 2003 Bounder class A I want to install on.
The majority of the installations that I saw pictures from if I remember right were from Facebook groups about solar and RVs. Good luck in your search!
@@LifeMyWay007 One of the groups is Solar Powered RV's and Boondocking facebook.com/groups/solarpoweredrvsandboondocking/ if you search in that group for Steve Davies he has a lot of posts showing his RV with solar panels over the top of his rooftop AC unit.
Where did you get the panels? Your spreadsheet links to a store that only has 540w panels (no 530w), but the 540w panels only come in a pallet of 30 panels, rather than 5 panels or fewer.
I got my panels from the same company (Santan Solar) and shortly after I purchased my panels they were unlisted from their website. Now, yearly 2 years later I found the pallet of 540 Watt panels listed on their site so I put that link in my spreadsheet instead to just point people as close a product to what I used as possible from the same company instead of a broken link. I recognize it's not realistic to buy all 30 for an RV project, so hopefully you can find the panels you need from a different company which is why I added in that cell right before the link "No longer listed but this is the closest they now have". Pointing people to an exact product to buy is likely going to be a moving target for the foreseeable future unfortunately. I also asked Matt at Continuous Resources if they could be a source for these large high Wattage commercial type solar panels and they weren't able to get them at the time I asked back in 2021.
@@AT-py6uqThe solar panels (4, 425W each) are raised above the roof, clearing the A/C and other stuff. Can you see this one?... If so, I'll share more: drive.google.com/file/d/1pEoTGMx93XDdbStps8CYHkqutFfIK134/view?usp=share_link
In the JA Solar spec sheet the panels are 2267 mm by 1123 mm by 40 mm. They are mono sells. The panel weighs 28.5 kg. The exact model number is JAM72S30 510-530/MR Series for which to google and find the spec sheet. Although I would assume there are newer panels with higher capacity.
JA Solar from santansolar.com but unfortunately they don't have them listed anymore. Perhaps call them and see if they can procure similarly sized panels from a different manufacturer? Here's the parts list of my build with more details docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L2IxNuZ8ZQl3-Fey8dBsKHQH7RidaSkTDCVPGTeikKc/edit?usp=drivesdk
I would love to talk with you about your install. I just purchased 10 panels of 540 W apiece. I have to raise the panels 11 inches to go over the rooftop air conditioner. I have room on my truck camper for four panels. I would love to get your email to send you pictures and you would and ask for advice. Thank you, Dan.
i would not trust tape. would have been better to make a small cut were the bolt/screw goes through the roof, and install a larger galvanized washer,(1 -1 1/2 inch dia by b1/4 in thick) to make the roof lift up a bit at the hole, then another just smaller galvanized washer (3/4 in dia) on top of the roof membrane. (there should be a easy way for water to flow under the beams and away). tape over , and after all is in, put on the roofing tube glop. over kill on sealant is good. and no worry's about wind, and a air dam up front for freeway speeds. but the dam is only under the solar. going back each side for a couple feet.
I've seen many methods of attaching solar panels to RVs documented in online forums such as Facebook groups. Some have used a similar method to mine and have already put tens of thousands of miles on their rigs with zero issues. I've now put thousands of miles on mine with zero issues. Good thing there's options we can choose for ourselves.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Ditto experience here from using VHB tape for a wide variety of applications including double stacked (on full extension drawer slides) PV panels atop our Escape trailer without issue. The key is matching the specific type of VHB tape to the surface energy of the substrates as well as properly cleaning the surfaces prior to VHB apply. I also applied 3M 5200 to encapsulate the joint area of both substrates and eliminate any possibility for wind driven rain to penetrate & potentially compromise the VHB bond. The other pertinent detail when using VHB tape is to pay attention to shelf life & expiration date of the tape itself. And to purchase the tape from reputable sources...
There is significant variability when it comes to a solar production. Even perfectly sunny days in a row will have slightly different amounts of solar production. In over 7 years of monitoring solar I have only seen two days that were literally identical to the hundredth of a kW from one day to the next. The purpose behind this video was all about how I attached the solar panels on the roof of the RV. I have a ton of other videos that cover the production in varied circumstances from the winter to the summer. Here is a playlist of a trip that we went on and I cover the solar production throughout the trip and there are many other videos on my channel when we take the RV out and I always cover the solar production in our camping videos. In brief summary on the shortest day of the year on a perfectly sunny day the trailer can produce about 5 kWh and on the longest day of the year on a perfectly sunny day it can produce 20 kWh. Then of course the panels can produce as little as zero when they are covered with snow or on a completely cloudy day it could be just a little bit more than zero. Then because this is a mobile device there are times that we park in forested areas and then there is all kinds of variability there with how the shade from trees moves across the panels throughout the day. I have several more camping trips that I'm still working on editing that will be published eventually covering varied circumstances. Unplugged In Moab Sun Powered RV Camping Trip: th-cam.com/play/PLhYygFlMh_bf2OAz4WKTpbJtgnwinx0FD.html
I own a solar company i understand variable and thank you for the response i asked the question and slowly over your videos i found answers keep uploading the awesome content
Nicely done!
I've got 800 watts of solar on my trailer using strut channel, and that has worked out wonderfully.
awesome job!!
putting a wind blocking ramp on the leading edge of your system is probably a good idea. I can just visualize the wind coming off your truck and and running up the front of the trailer and slamming into the underside of the panels causing a lot of lifting pressure.
I agree a fairing would be a good addition. I haven't yet figured out how to do that as I'm too busy going on adventures and editing the TH-cam videos of said adventures. I probably would have figured something out by now if I wasn't making TH-cam videos instead. We have now driven with the panels as shown in this video on many trips including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada in addition to all the many Utah trips, so this solution works but could still be improved.
Wow, the level of detailed information and work you put into this video is amazing!
Thanks!
Really detailed and pro quality video. And, you’re also a good drone pilot! This video will be great to share w friends I’m trying to convince how useful solar is!
Thanks!
Very interesting and do-able. Thank you for the video!!
This is very similar to what i hope to do on our trailer! Since it spends most of the time parked next to the house it can provide nice for the car! I would like to add the ability to hinge for better solar gain, and a large battery bank for extra range while camping if we get our Rivian next year.
It's working great for us! I'm certainly excited to be able to start experimenting with charging an electric truck, but when we'll get that is uncertain at the moment until Tesla actually starts delivery and gives us all the details.
I had 3 solar panels rip off my roof while driving on I-70 in west Kansas this past September. The angle brackets (cheap amazon units from guess where) I used to connect the panels to the roof channel failed and they all came off. The structure acted like a big sail/wing. I'm starting over using new BougeRV panels with double the brackets from newpowa and 2 stainless bolts with threadlocker at every point. Hope this works this time.
Having something fly off the roof of a vehicle is certainly scary! Hopefully this new solution works correctly. I periodically check my unistrut bolts and the bolts holding the panels down to make sure they're all tight.
In all of your amazing TH-cams is there one that shows a schematic on how you wired the solar charging for the Model S from the trailer's solar?
@@benkanobe7500 No there isn't a schematic. I intended to create one but couldn't decide what software program to use and ultimately I figured it would take too much time and I knew it all in my head. There isn't really anything special about being able to charge an electric car from the trailer though. The main thing the Tesla mobile connector requires is for the ground and common wires to be connected (bonded) together which I did in my breaker panel.
Great overview! Unistrut can be very useful!
Thanks! It sure is.
Wow, that’s very impressive 👏
Thanks, it works really well.
Excellent video. Thank you so much for posting it! One question about the air flow in relation to a flat rooftop array design. Now that you’ve put some miles on it, do you think there would be any benefit to installing a front “spoiler” to deflect the air up and over the array while you travel to improve gas mileage? Or do you think the best MPG is achieved when the airflow is both under and over the array?
I'm not an aerodynamics engineer but if I had to guess, there is probably some benefit having a spoiler to push the air up over the smooth flat top surface of the panels. Between the roof and panels there's lots of surfaces to cause drag, but to be clear the amount of drag they cause is far less than the large object of the RV itself hurtling down the road. I doubt the gain would be more than something like 5% but that's just all me guessing based on what I've seen about aerodynamic drag in my life. If I had the time, resources and skills I'd make a spoiler for it and do a before and after test to find out for sure, but I have no intention to do so at this point in time.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Based on the fact that semis use spoilers to direct air flow up and over their trailer, I can see that there might be a small MPG benefit to having a spoiler in this application. In this case, it would also have the benefit of reducing lift on the array, which could have value as the 3M tape ages.
@@ElectricTechAdventures after using these (I'm going to be installing something similarly), is there any learning lessons on drag/turbulence forces on these without a tilted leading edge?
@@OnyxRayven1 No lessons per say other than that it works fine. I don't have any insight into additional aerodynamic drag because the truck I use to tow it now is not the same one that I towed it with before the retrofit. In the future if I get a spoiler installed in front of the solar panels I will report whether or not there is a change in aerodynamics based on my gas mileage. I can report as well that I have had the trailer in varied situations with significant winds in the order of 35 mph gusts from the back and sides and have had zero movement of the panels.
Would be cool to have a solar panel that can tilt and slide to become an awning. Not only would that improve power output, but it would also give you an awning.
Yes I agree, and I've seen in forums others do that and they post pictures and videos of their various solutions. The biggest limitation for me is weight considerations. I kept things as simple as possible for cost and weight savings. I've seen projects where they make sliding trays of solar panels down the length of large greyhound bus conversions or class A RVs and I'm jealous of their cargo carrying capacity on those rigs! To be honest my solar array is plenty for the trailer's needs though. Also I do have a traditional awning already so that's not really a need, but having one made out of solar panels would be way cooler. If money was not a limitation I'd look into purchasing a heavy duty goosneck trailer then remove my trailer's axles and mount it on the flatbed. I'd get a flatbed trailer that's longer so there's room on the back for toys. I saw someone else do that very thing and I think the trailer's weight capacity was something like 20k lbs.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Is it that much weight to add at least something that can tilt the entire array by lifting one side up? That way the snow can slide off easily and you get more sun.
@@GeorgeOu It's probably possible. I didn't look into it much. Perhaps I'll add tilting someday, but so far that hasn't been a priority as I have more than enough energy when camping except for the dead of the winter which isn't when we're camping. I would be concerned about wind though if they were tilted up high enough to match the angle of the sun in the winter. The panels are about 7.5 feet long, so when they're tilted up there would be a nearly 7.5 feet by 18 feet cross section to catch wind.
I need to hire for install mini split and solar panels on my RV.
In Utah County, any suggestions?
My go to recommendation for a company to install solar in off-grid applications in Utah is Continuous Resources www.continuousresources.com?aff=78 out of Price Utah not terribly far from Utah County. Maybe they can help with the mini split too, I don't know on that point. I don't have any company recommendations for the mini split unfortunately.
Really cool walkthrough!
Damn. Sunny Days
the front wind will touch under those solar panels and make your van unstable when you drive you will feel driving wheel puul lefg abd right on highway and boulevard
No, it's been 2.75 years and many thousands of miles since I installed the panels and there's zero effect on the driving.
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the positive feedback!
You may want to check the certified reviews for that JuiceBox you listed in your items list. Scary stuff.
I've been using mine for many years now with no problems. Where does one find a "certified review"?
I have a thor vegas and interested to know which video contained the roof mount solar panels that was shown in this video. Thanks and excellent build
This playlist th-cam.com/play/PLhYygFlMh_bdsFILlnuW7hlC3Loiceg9E.html contains all the videos that I've published so far of us going on trips in our trailer. The first 4 videos of the playlist are prior to the modifications. I'm just finishing up my latest video series of a trip to Moab titled "Unplugged In Moab" which has 8 episodes which is the most in depth video series on the performance of the trailer's electrical system to date, but I have many others coming I just have not had time to edit yet.
Great vid, man!!
Thanks!
did you notice any gas milage change or wind resistance from the solar panels?
Prior to the addition of the solar panels we borrowed a couple different trucks from others, then during the retrofit is when we purchased our current truck which we've primarily used to tow our trailer so I don't have before and after data unfortunately. I'm confident it lowers the gas mileage, but by how much is just guessing as I've never measured it. I do see bugs splattered on the underside of the panels on the back side where the edges stick down so obviously there is significant air flow going through there. At this point the best way to objectively measure it would be to tow a standard Lance 2185 a specific distance, then do the same with ours and measure the difference in MPG. Ideally I'd prefer to do that test with an electric truck because the energy consumed details are nearly infinitely more precise. I've thought to do such a test once we have an electric truck, but alas that purchase is a complete unknown at this point in time. In the meantime I'm trying to catch up with the mountain of editing backlog I'm currently under and someday I hope to revisit the RV solar panels fairing concept.
After you installed the solar panels. did you encounter stability issue when you was driving?
@@coco9004 No. Zero change in handling.
How do you keep the bolts attaching the panels to the unistrut from unthreading? Also, how did you cap the ends of the unistrut?
I put lock washers on the bolts and if needed I would use thread lock on the threads. I have checked the bolts a couple of times and they have not loosened over the last 2 years and couple thousand miles. I did not cap the ends of the unistrut at all.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thanks for the response, absolutely love this build! I’m going to be imitating it with a 1.1kw system on a small TrailManor that I tow with my Model Y 🤘🏼
@@polykid101 nice! Someday I'd like to make a smaller version on a enclosed cargo trailer for something like a food truck but I have no intention of getting into food trucks myself. I just would love to be able to see a silent food truck powered by the sun. They're always accompanied by loud generators.
Great work. Fantastic video! Ty!
How much drag does that create while towing?
@@justinfowler2857 I have no way to measure that. Considering the whole trailer is a lot of drag I suspect that the panels don't add a ton more drag but probably some. In the future when I have an electric truck that gives me a lot more detail about energy consumption I will have the ability to tow a similar 2185 travel trailer down a certain distance and then do it again with mine and see if there is a measurable difference. If I am able to pull that off someday I'll probably make a TH-cam video doing it.
Nice work👍Solar panels flat. How’s the kWh production and sunlight capture? Any plans tilting panels, if need be? Also can you recommend infrared camera used? Awesome 👊 Thanks
The panels are producing great, but they could be better if they were tilted, especially in the winter since the sun is so low in the sky. I haven't added a tilting mechanism though, and I don't intend to because they're producing plenty of energy for us while camping and I'm too busy doing other higher priority things right now. The infrared camera I have and used on this project is the FLIR ONE Gen 3. amzn.to/3W7hDkW
It appears as though you were able to get the panels completely flush (frame edge to frame edge). Was this only possible and accessible to the nuts and bolts because you installed it lifted above the base strut channel that's bolted to the roof?
Not sure if my question makes sense, but I need to do something similar (flush) in order to fit all my panels but don't plan on installing it lifted. Would greatly appreciate your insight on that particular point.
Typical solar panel clamps meant to go between solar panels (and thus called mid clamps) are half inch thick, which in my case added up to 2 inches between the 5 panels and I was trying to minimize rear overhang as much as possible. By bolting the lower inside flange of the solar panels to the unistrut I was able to secure them without a mid-clamp and one could argue my method is safer since it's a bolt through a hole instead of a clamp pinching the panels down. Would it be possible to bolt them down flat to a roof? I imagine it's possible, but probably not as simple as mine being lifted and thus giving me easy access to the underside of the panels. Perhaps you can run a piece of unistrut along under the panels so as to only lift them an inch or two, but still give you something to bolt them to? Or perhaps unistrut run between the panels that you can bolt the panels to, but it runs out the sides to give you access to bolt it to the roof or something? I hope you're able to figure out a solution!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Could you speak at all to the type of fastener or screw you used going from the base strut channel directly ontop of the roof? I was thinking of going with a zinc coated #10 or #12 about 1.5" length.
The base strut channel is glued to the roof with VHB tape. No screws. The front is reinforced with four cables going to the luggage rails. All of that is outlined in the video. I also have some reinforcement in the back with the ladder. We have camped in very windy areas and we have driven thousands of miles on the road over two and a half years with no problems and no adjustments or changes to the mounting that is outlined in this video.
@@ElectricTechAdventures sorry must have missed it! Man that VHB is crazy stuff. Just ordered some! Thanks!
@@brycecastleton5863Yes I agree. VHB tape is basically super glue in tape form.
I own the same 2019 Lance 2185 and while I wont add as many solar panels and will likely go with a 12V rooftop AC, you have inspired me to make the travel trailer much more off-grid compatible. Was the replacement refrigerator a great fit, or did it require modifications to the opening. Did you utilize the space underneath the sofa for the the additional batteries, inverter and other solar system components. Incidentally I added the ProPride 3P Anti Sway Hitch (previously known as the Hensley Hitch), its a little pricy but the stability when towing is incredible!
@@AndrewKidgell The replacement refrigerator fit in the opening almost exactly the same. I put a half inch piece of plywood underneath it to bring it up so that there was no gap above or beneath it. So I guess that tells me that vertically it's about an inch or so shorter than the prior fridge. I did utilize the space under the couch for the additional components which I outlined in this video th-cam.com/video/dse_QW7fDmk/w-d-xo.html
@@AndrewKidgell regarding an anti-sway hitch I have not purchased one of those because my truck and trailer combo is very stable even with high sideways winds and I like the ease of hitching and unhitching without and anti-sway hitch. I think part of the reason why my rig is so stable is because I am pretty tongue heavy due to the electrical components under the couch.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thanks for your reply, I look forward to viewing that video later. Its great you don't need a sway hitch, the only reason I selected the ProPride hitch is because all the sway bar hardware is permanently mounted to the travel trailer and I back up and attach it to my truck in the same way you would with any other hook up, I didn't want the hassle I'd seen with other examples. The factory solar panel on my roof is to the right of the AC as you look down the roof line from the ladder. I wonder if mid build they realized the issue with shading on the solar panel you experienced and relocated it.
Excellent job - overengineered a might. I am planning on racking 8, 455 watt panels 13" off the roof of my MH to power a 48v DC Hotspot mini-split (with a 302ah 48v battery bank). Have you noticed any handling issues with an extra 550lbs or so mounted high on your roof? I would imagine that you must be close to your ccc on a trailer that small.
Thanks. I'm not sure which part you're referring to as overengineered (unless all of it perhaps) but if I had to guess I think you're referring to the quantity of rated Watts. It is very much overkill in the summer just for the trailer, but it's actually inadequate in the winter. If I figured out how to tilt the panels then that would help during the winter, but not fix the problem. Heating takes a lot of energy and the days are too short in the winter to fully power heating the trailer even with a 33.1 SEER heat pump mini split. My goal when designing this system was to fit as many panels up there as physically possible because I intend to tow this trailer with a Tesla Cybertruck some day and I want to be able to have excess electricity to charge the truck with. I understand electricity enough to understand that compared to the Cybertruck's energy demands this array is very small, but even just a little bit of extra electricity from the trailer while camping is fun to be able to get. I actually charge my Model S from my RV electrical system on a daily basis and so far the trailer has produced 3,028 kWh in the last 11 months and the vast majority of that has gone towards my Tesla. I intend to make a TH-cam video about this in the near future. I'm giving it a year of doing it before making a video of my findings. My panels are 9" off the roof and they could have been as little as maybe 7 inches off the roof, but I wanted to have enough room for the vents to move some air still. Removing the rooftop AC is of course what enabled that height. Regarding the weight on the roof I have noticed no effects from the panels being up there and actually there's only roughly 200 lb extra weight up there. I asked Lance what my rooftop storage rails are rated to hold and they responded up to 500 lb. My panels are 63 lb each and there's 5 of them so 315 lb of panels. The unistrut weighs 75 lb. That means I added 390 lb up there and it's equally spread across the entire length of the roof. Then there's the subtraction of the weight of the AC unit that was up there at around 100 lb and the rooftop luggage rails were surprisingly heavy at around 75 lb that I removed. The majority of the added weight is coming from the batteries and inverters under the couch which is much lower weight. As part of this project I replaced the axles on the trailer and had them welded to heavy duty 6 foot long angle iron that is then welded to the trailer frame. In the entire project I removed some things and replaced others and the net difference ended up being 700 lb additional weight added to the trailer. When we go on trips I only put very light things in the passthrough storage, and I put the heaviest things in the bed of the truck which has thousands of pounds of additional payload capacity. I use a Weigh Safe hitch to keep on eye on my tongue weight. If you're interested I have additional videos on my channel outlining the components under the couch, the net weight difference after modifications as well as the Weight Safe hitch unboxing and tour of the factory.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Good deal. It's a well thought out project. By overengineered I meant that your racking appears stronger than needed with the cables in front and using the ladder for support in the rear. Overengineering is not a bad thing, as living Ft on the road for the last 4 years has taught me. Sometimes the weather changes still surprise me.
It's good to hear that you don't have any handling issues. I think your beefed-up running gear is very smart and will surely save you problems down the road. I expect the weight and size array I'm planning will require a little more caution on my part, as I will be adding about 475 lbs. on the roof of my 36ft Class A. I might remove my rear AC unit as I never use it, now that I put a new Furrion AC on the front. That thing blows super cold air and is easy to start, as it uses an efficient scroll type compressor, not the old, hard starting piston compressors most rooftop ACs use. I plan on adding a mini split to the rear bedroom, blowing forward down the hall into the living/kitchen area of my MH. I might even use the ductwork currently used by my rear AC to redistribute cool air to the front where it's needed.
I once used the 620w array mounted to the side of my MH to charge a pair of electric bikes, but I recently sold them to free up that weight in preparation for my bigger, rooftop system and rear mounted mini split. I will retain my side mounted array to charge my 12v 560ah LiFePo-4 bank. A side mounted array has several advantages. I lift it to the exact angle needed based on latitude and season to optimize production. This is especially important in winter when that 620-watt array pointed directly at the sun performs more like a 900-1,000 watt flat mounted one would when the sun is low in on the horizon sky. The other big advantage is that I can clean it easily without climbing on the roof, which means I clean it more often. Keeping it spotless improves production too. At 66 yrs. or age I don't like climbing on the roof unless I absolutely have to.
Good luck using a cyber truck as a tow vehicle. As a general rule, the range of electric trucks is extremely limited when towing - at least for the ones currently on the market. It's smart to tie in your trailer's array to help extend your range a tad. It also prevents you from getting stuck somewhere deep in the boonies where there's no solar charger available, and you've got a day or two of sunshine to bring your batteries back up. It surely makes more sense than running a generator to get you unstuck - as I've seen people do.
@@SuperSushidog regarding electric trucks I agree, but we currently have extremely limited data to go off of. Currently available truck manufacturers (Ford Lighting and Rivian R1T) have very little experience with electric vehicles and the Munroe teardowns have shown those manufacturers struggle with efficiency and other factors that effect range. I'm hopeful with Tesla's experience the Cybertruck will prove better, but obviously Tesla can't change the drag and this inefficiency my travel trailer will add. I'm planning to get their longest range truck at around 500 miles of range not towing. I anticipate getting half that range while towing which will get me the same range I have with my Model S I have now which works for us. Then if we're not in a hurry and we are camping during the summer when there is plentiful solar then we will be able to slowly charge the cybertruck a little bit everyday and gain that much more range. And worst case scenario just not be losing any range on the truck while in the boondocks.
Your video was very inspirational, good work. I have two questions where did you buy your panels, and how much did you pay for your panels
Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful. I purchased my panels from Santan Solar in Arizona, but they don't always have these panels available. I outlined all the costs in this video th-cam.com/video/7W9E0Y3H-aY/w-d-xo.html and in the video description there's a link to a google spreadsheet that lists all components I used in the project and how much I spent on them.
@@ElectricTechAdventures I checked out all the links on your video and I could not find the solar panels on those spreadsheets
@@sjf67gto Line 105 docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wVE8St80sVX7o2nARthmwOq_jNoYdScJQRD76iBfDlE/edit?gid=2135436946#gid=2135436946 or $1,618 for 5 panels.
Or line 143 on this spreadsheet docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L2IxNuZ8ZQl3-Fey8dBsKHQH7RidaSkTDCVPGTeikKc/edit?gid=0#gid=0
I have checked Santan solar many times through the years since I purchased mine from them and they haven't had over 500 Watt solar panels until now. Since I had the spreadsheet pulled up I checked and I'm pleasantly surprised to see that they have several options such as this one www.santansolar.com/product/new-byd-545w-split-cell-bifacial-mono-solar-panel/
Did you have to order the 10 minimum with SanTanSolar? Also have you noticed any problems driving with the unistrut having the columns raise it up? Mine will be going on a box truck so I don't want it coming loose because of wind drag or anything
I ordered 5 panels from SanTan Solar and they never mentioned a 10 panel minimum, so either that's a new policy or they disregarded it perhaps because these panels are much larger than their normal panels. The panels bolted to the unistrut have been rock solid with zero movement. I've checked the bolts a couple times to ensure they stay tight. I have not noticed a difference in driving performance towing the trailer with the panels on the roof. I expect it's probably hurting my gas mileage a little bit, but I have no idea how much since I used a different truck prior to the panels vs after.
@@ElectricTechAdventures thanks for the reply man! I found some panels like 6 hours away so I think I'll just have to drive up there to grab them. They're only 70lbs so arnt to heavy but they're almost 8ft tall and 4ft wide like yours, was it a PITA to get them on the roof? Lol
@@timcorona5069 Luckily my wife helped me, otherwise it would have been more difficult by myself. I parked my truck next to my RV as an intermediate platform to get them up. It was not terribly hard to get them up into the truck, then I tilted them onto the edge of the RV roof and had my wife hold the other end while I climbed onto the roof of the RV, then she passed it up to me. The big advantage to having them be the size they are is it simplifies the racking as I outlined in the video.
I hope you don't camp in the winter months.... The winter days in arizona leave the sun way down to the south. The days also are much shorter. I have 6 panels on my truck camper and I double the power coming in by tilting my panels to the south around 35 degrees. You should test your panels by laying one flat on the ground then tilting it towards the sun. Then you will see the difference in power produced.
I'm very well aware of the difference in solar production based on the orientation to the sun. I thought for a long time while planning my system about how I could create a mounting mechanism that allows the panels to tilt and decided ultimately to just go flat for a couple reasons. We don't typically camp in the winter when tilting is especially helpful. I installed a lot of solar panels that would hopefully help to overcome some of the inefficiency of flat mounted panels in the winter. If I tilt the panels on their long sides so that they don't stick up as far then they would shade each other. If I tilted longwise so as to avoid shading then they'd stick up in the air like a sail (they're 8 feet long) and be a big liability when wind kicks up suddenly. Plus there's the additional weight and complexity which added cost and effort on my part to figure it all out. The whole project was a lot to figure out in the time frame I was trying to get it done in and I can still add a tilting mechanism in the future potentially. I have done tests with my panels in the winter such as this one th-cam.com/video/HN_RJgR9sjw/w-d-xo.html where we took it out camping in the winter for the first time as well as this one th-cam.com/video/4WnTRNTNUXE/w-d-xo.html where I tested the power production on the shortest day of the year. The difference of power production from the longest to the shortest day of the year is significant. Shortest day of the year can charge the battery 51%, longest day of the year can charge the battery 200%. If you're looking for the best power production in the winter then you most certainly must tilt the panels. In my case it's a rare enough use case that I'd just use a generator to supplement in the winter if needed. Alternatively I'd just use the propane furnace in the winter instead of the heat pump mini split to reduce my electricity consumption.
Anyone have links to any other panel installs ABOVE the A'Cs? I have been searching for 2 hours and can't find any examples to watch and then build from. I have a 2003 Bounder class A I want to install on.
The majority of the installations that I saw pictures from if I remember right were from Facebook groups about solar and RVs. Good luck in your search!
@@ElectricTechAdventures Ah ok, I been on YT the entire time, I will try FB, THANKS!
@@LifeMyWay007 One of the groups is Solar Powered RV's and Boondocking facebook.com/groups/solarpoweredrvsandboondocking/ if you search in that group for Steve Davies he has a lot of posts showing his RV with solar panels over the top of his rooftop AC unit.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Awesome, thanks for taking the time to help, much appreciated.
@@LifeMyWay007 No problem, I hope your project goes well!
Thanks!
No problem, and you're the first "Super Thanks" I've ever received, so thanks for that!
Love it!
Where did you get the panels? Your spreadsheet links to a store that only has 540w panels (no 530w), but the 540w panels only come in a pallet of 30 panels, rather than 5 panels or fewer.
I got my panels from the same company (Santan Solar) and shortly after I purchased my panels they were unlisted from their website. Now, yearly 2 years later I found the pallet of 540 Watt panels listed on their site so I put that link in my spreadsheet instead to just point people as close a product to what I used as possible from the same company instead of a broken link. I recognize it's not realistic to buy all 30 for an RV project, so hopefully you can find the panels you need from a different company which is why I added in that cell right before the link "No longer listed but this is the closest they now have". Pointing people to an exact product to buy is likely going to be a moving target for the foreseeable future unfortunately. I also asked Matt at Continuous Resources if they could be a source for these large high Wattage commercial type solar panels and they weren't able to get them at the time I asked back in 2021.
So you're going down the road with just 3M double sided tape 🤔
@@bignicnrg3856 no, there's cables too. Thousands of miles in all seasons with zero movement.
Super nice!
BTW, you could shave off some weight using Aluminum Angle-brackets & such (McMaster Carr carries them),
Thanks. Mine is done, but maybe someone else will find then at Carr.
@@ElectricTechAdventures LOL... I did. (I managed 1700W of Solar on a Winnebago Navion).
Thanks again for sharing your work.
@@hookem7060 got any photos you have shared on your install? Did you do uni-strut for the base (attached to roof) and then attach aluminum extrusions?
@@AT-py6uqThe solar panels (4, 425W each) are raised above the roof, clearing the A/C and other stuff.
Can you see this one?... If so, I'll share more:
drive.google.com/file/d/1pEoTGMx93XDdbStps8CYHkqutFfIK134/view?usp=share_link
I would be more concerned about electrolysis caused by 2 dissimilar metals. You might want to keep an eye on this over time.
If it is not in the links and they are still available, what is the height and width of the panels (I want to see if they fit my motorhome)?
In the JA Solar spec sheet the panels are 2267 mm by 1123 mm by 40 mm. They are mono sells. The panel weighs 28.5 kg. The exact model number is JAM72S30 510-530/MR Series for which to google and find the spec sheet. Although I would assume there are newer panels with higher capacity.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Thank you (yet again) for answering my many questions. Did you use Signature, San Tan, ...to purchase them?
I purchased them from Santan Solar yes, I'm not sure what you mean by Signature.
😄👍Good Stuff, Great Tips
Thanks! I hope it helps you on your own projects!
What brand panels and where did you get them?
JA Solar from santansolar.com but unfortunately they don't have them listed anymore. Perhaps call them and see if they can procure similarly sized panels from a different manufacturer? Here's the parts list of my build with more details docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L2IxNuZ8ZQl3-Fey8dBsKHQH7RidaSkTDCVPGTeikKc/edit?usp=drivesdk
I would love to talk with you about your install. I just purchased 10 panels of 540 W apiece. I have to raise the panels 11 inches to go over the rooftop air conditioner. I have room on my truck camper for four panels. I would love to get your email to send you pictures and you would and ask for advice. Thank you, Dan.
Sure I can chat for a bit. That's awesome that you got 540 Watt panels! You can email me at electrictechadventures@gmail.com
my apologize my son had another video open on the back ground
No problem, but I'm not sure what comment this is in response to.
i would not trust tape. would have been better to make a small cut were the bolt/screw goes through the roof, and install a larger galvanized washer,(1 -1 1/2 inch dia by b1/4 in thick) to make the roof lift up a bit at the hole, then another just smaller galvanized washer (3/4 in dia) on top of the roof membrane. (there should be a easy way for water to flow under the beams and away). tape over , and after all is in, put on the roofing tube glop. over kill on sealant is good.
and no worry's about wind, and a air dam up front for freeway speeds. but the dam is only under the solar. going back each side for a couple feet.
I've seen many methods of attaching solar panels to RVs documented in online forums such as Facebook groups. Some have used a similar method to mine and have already put tens of thousands of miles on their rigs with zero issues. I've now put thousands of miles on mine with zero issues. Good thing there's options we can choose for ourselves.
@@ElectricTechAdventures Ditto experience here from using VHB tape for a wide variety of applications including double stacked (on full extension drawer slides) PV panels atop our Escape trailer without issue. The key is matching the specific type of VHB tape to the surface energy of the substrates as well as properly cleaning the surfaces prior to VHB apply. I also applied 3M 5200 to encapsulate the joint area of both substrates and eliminate any possibility for wind driven rain to penetrate & potentially compromise the VHB bond.
The other pertinent detail when using VHB tape is to pay attention to shelf life & expiration date of the tape itself. And to purchase the tape from reputable sources...
hw are you?.omg! cool ~ ;))
I wish you said how much production you see on sunny cloudy and snowy days that woukd be huge for the solar camper community
There is significant variability when it comes to a solar production. Even perfectly sunny days in a row will have slightly different amounts of solar production. In over 7 years of monitoring solar I have only seen two days that were literally identical to the hundredth of a kW from one day to the next. The purpose behind this video was all about how I attached the solar panels on the roof of the RV. I have a ton of other videos that cover the production in varied circumstances from the winter to the summer. Here is a playlist of a trip that we went on and I cover the solar production throughout the trip and there are many other videos on my channel when we take the RV out and I always cover the solar production in our camping videos. In brief summary on the shortest day of the year on a perfectly sunny day the trailer can produce about 5 kWh and on the longest day of the year on a perfectly sunny day it can produce 20 kWh. Then of course the panels can produce as little as zero when they are covered with snow or on a completely cloudy day it could be just a little bit more than zero. Then because this is a mobile device there are times that we park in forested areas and then there is all kinds of variability there with how the shade from trees moves across the panels throughout the day. I have several more camping trips that I'm still working on editing that will be published eventually covering varied circumstances. Unplugged In Moab Sun Powered RV Camping Trip: th-cam.com/play/PLhYygFlMh_bf2OAz4WKTpbJtgnwinx0FD.html
Here is a playlist of just trips in the trailer. Trips In Our Lance 2185 Travel Trailer: th-cam.com/play/PLhYygFlMh_bdsFILlnuW7hlC3Loiceg9E.html
I own a solar company i understand variable and thank you for the response i asked the question and slowly over your videos i found answers keep uploading the awesome content
Thanks! Will do. I have another one publishing in an hour.
next time you do another video lower or shut off the background noise. so annoying
The only sound the entire video is just me talking so what are you talking about that is background noise?
You commented on wrong video mate.