Mount solar panels on roof

[kevintbach]

Hey there,
I have a 2017 Sunset Trail Ultra Light 264BH, the kind where you aren't supposed to walk on the roof. Has anyone mounted solar panels to the roof? I am just wondering if I would need anything more than finding a good "stud" to mount it into? I know the AC and all is mounted fine, just don't want it to fly off on my first trip!

thanks in advance all,
Kevin

[Lloyd]

Yes you should be able to find rafters to anchor the panel/panels to. I did.
They also have the glue on panels. I guess they don't dissipate the heat has well as the type that is raised up off the roof and anchored with the brackets and screws.
Here is a couple pics.
Good luck. Let us know what you do.

[morphrider]

Mount with the “z” clips and make sure to use plenty of Dicor self leveling roof caulk before you screw into the roof and then cover the screws with even more of it once complete.

[Aceallenk]

I just installed my panels today. As mentioned get the mounting hardware (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) then premount them to your panels so you get the proper spacing to match your rafters. Probably 32'' and that'll get you 1 hole on every mount directly into a rafter. You'll want to confirm your spacing with a stud finder. A frosty morning will also give you a nice pattern of the rafters, but the stud finder will give exact,use a pensil for your marks as they'll wash off in a little while when you prepare the area for caulking Then place your panels to match your rafters and mark there positions with a permanent sharpie jiffy marker and the 1 screw hole you'll be making on each mount. then move your panels aside and wash the area soap and water and rinse, replace your panels on the marks, and drill a hole,and just slightly screw in a screw, drill another, place a screw just a little bit again and drill your last 2 holes. lift the panel out of the way, put down your dicor within you jiffy marks, carefully place your panel and screw down your panel. Don't strip the threads of the screw as your rafters are likely aluminum. I didn't like the sheet metal screws that came with the mounts and went to the lumberyard and got a courser thread sheet medal screw. I also never worried about 2 screws per mount as the other hole would only be sgrewing into the 3/8'' plywoog and would be the first thing to let go and crack, allowing water to enter. Now you can do your next panel. Note, today I just used Dicor lap sealant as I had a half tube, that worked perfectly and when the temperature gets hotter up her in Saskatchewan I will add another layer of self leveling, but till then these are absolutely guaranteed water proof. and took me 2 hours to mount the panels on the trailer after placing mounts to panels and marking everything where they should be. That type work is always a lot of fun and tomorrow the 6AWG cable gets ran to the controller.

[Aceallenk]

Just another small note when placing the mount onto the panel, I wan't overly impressed with the hardware, so I added a 1/4'' flat washer on the backside to provide a larger holding area. running the bolt through the washer upwards through the frame, then the mount, then the small provided flat, then the lock, then I also added a tiny dab of locktite, then nutted it. That's going nowhere anytime soon, and only cost 16 extra flat washers.

[Photobob]

Hi, I took a different route and used eternabond tape. I did not want to drill through the roof at all. Plus I wanted the flexibility to remove the panels easily at will if needed.

Prep:
I cut small 2"x 2" 1/4" thick squares of teak for each mounting hole in the solar panels.

Then I mounted these Stayput Horizontal Fasteners by Salerite onto the center of each piece of teak. They screw on. But I put some eternabond tape under each fastener and then around the fastener base to the teak.

These fasteners allow me to take the panels off very easily if needed for replacement for some other problem or cleaning.


Mounting on roof:
I installed two 100W panels. I selected a open location in the back of the trailer. I laid the 2 panels out and marked where each of the panel mounting holes were on the roof with a sharpie.

I put a 2" square double sided enterabond tape patch on the bottom of each teak square.


I then centered and placed a teak square on each mounting hole location on the roof. Then I cut 4" squares of single sided enterabond tape, one for each mounting hole. I cut a slit in the center so the fastener could pass through the tape. I put a 4" square of enterabond over each fastener/teak square and pressed to make sure I had a good seal on the roof around the squares on all sides.

Cooling:
From Menards I got a 4' x 8' sheet of Twin Wall Polycarbonate - 10mm thick - Clear. Using a Dremel I cut out sections to fit between the solar panel mounting/teak squares holes and a few inches short of the total length.
I got it a Menards because it was dirt cheap for some reason. It is normally pretty expensive stuff.

I use a small amount of enterabond tape to mount these sections on the bottom of the solar panels.

This allows air to pass below the panels to keep them cool



At this point all I had to do was take the panels up the ladder and place the solar panel mounting holes onto the fasteners and twist.

Then of course all the wiring. Went down the refrigerator vent, then underneath to the dual battery box with solar charger on the tongue.

Been working very well. I plan to add at least two more 100W panels - maybe 4 more. We will see.

Driven at 70mph and nothing. Been in storms and nothing. The panels have stayed put.

Good luck,


We have a Sunset Trail Super Lite 289QB (Suppose to be a 2019 model but we got it in April 2018)