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Old 10-08-2021, 07:39 AM   #1
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Location: Michigan
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Cruiser roof

Hello from NW Michigan. I have a 2007 cruiser m30sk. I wanted to put solar panels on the roof but when I got on the roof it doesn't look strong enough. Also along the edges towards the rear where the slides are it looks like the roof has dropped a little. The rubber is delaminating along the edges. Does anyone have information about the trusses and construction of these roofs. We want to go to Florida for the winter but I don't know if it's safe to pull it down the highway.
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Old 10-09-2021, 09:41 AM   #2
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I will chime in and pass along my thoughts. I sold my 2007 30SK about 4 months ago and have been lurking here just out of habit and do like to keep tabs on what friends are doing. I agree with you the roof is a bit flimsy. The unit is all aluminum and the roof is 2x2" or 1x3" rafters. It is covered in 3/8" plywood and then the rubber roofing material. Personally, I would not put anything with any weight on the roof. I think the roof could handle the weight if parked, but once you start traveling and the weight bounces as the road dips, bumps and turns, the loading will eventually damage the plywood and trusses. As to the dropping on the sides, there is a curved radius piece of aluminum. This mounts under the rain gutter and goes up and over the edge of the rig and stops about 5-7" from the corner of the roof and runs all the way from front to back. This creates a small drop or lip where the aluminum stops and the rubber roof material continues. Not sure if this is the "drop" you are referring to. I am not sure what the delaminating issue is. I never had that problem. A picture may help. Good luck....
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Old 10-13-2021, 01:16 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrmaggee View Post
Hello from NW Michigan. I have a 2007 cruiser m30sk. I wanted to put solar panels on the roof but when I got on the roof it doesn't look strong enough. Also along the edges towards the rear where the slides are it looks like the roof has dropped a little. The rubber is delaminating along the edges. Does anyone have information about the trusses and construction of these roofs. We want to go to Florida for the winter but I don't know if it's safe to pull it down the highway.

The roof on your rig should have 3/8 plywood for decking. The roof rafters should be OC aluminum on 16 in. centers. There shouldn't be any problem mounting all the solar panels you want up there. They don't weigh much at all.
I just spent a half day on my roof working on the AC. I do try to step on the rafters as much as possible.
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Old 10-14-2021, 02:49 PM   #4
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Solar Panel Solution

I have a pretty solid roof but didn't want to risk drilling holes in my roof so I bought these flexible solar panels. They are 100W Semi-flexible and very light. I used Eternabond tape to hold them down. Have had them on for 5 trips now and have inspected them after the last trip and no problems. I would be most worried about getting on your roof to put on the tape. You really need to use a roller with Eternabond to make sure there are no gaps. You will want to put a sheet of corrugate plastic between the panel and the roof since solar panels lose efficiency when they get hot and that helps them not stay cool. Some say you need to leave part of the front and back open so air can get through the corrugated plastic but tests I've seen show the efficiency drop is negligible. I would suggest checking out this guy's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRi...oLItfwLEsbVvJg
I've used a lot of his techniques and it helped a lot. Also this guy has probably forgotten more about solar than I will ever know:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj...q8kmJme-5dnN0Q
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