The water system upgrades
#1 flexible 3/8 pex tubing in a coil on both sides of the water pump to take the vibration out of the water piping that was transfering through out the trailer had to tap in barb fittings onto the waterpump

#2 added a Watts 1 gallon blader pressure tank (half water&half air set at 27psi)in line with the water pump so it keeps better pressure and even flow when running off the fresh water tank

#3 upgraded water heater/ added higher adjustable thermostats on waterheater to heat water to 140 degrees installed a new T&Pvalve for safety installed an automatic thermostatic mixing valve (that is used on boilers) to mix in cold water so outlet temp is 105 degrees by doing this I get 9 gallons of hot water out of my stock 6 gallon water heater

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Les & Patricia
2006 22ft towlite (replaces 97 21TL)
2006 Toyota tacoma pre-runner 4.0 L V-6 quad cab
w/ 98 chevy Powervision towing mirrors
2017 Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3 v8 (replaces Toyota)
2 Hobie mirage pedal drive kayaks

Thank you Greg for the wonderful presentation! I have been looking at doing solar panels, but I do not do well with wiring etc so I was really unsure what to do once I got the equipment. Thank you again! This should assist me in doing a similar set up in my camper

Tawna

I'm going to push back on this statement, because in my experience, having one of my panels (connected in series) shaded does not stop power output if the other(s) is/are in sunlight. Yes, overall Wattage is reduced, but power is still generated. AND, even if a panel is in shade, it will produce SOME power, just not as much depending on the density of the shade. The panels do very well on cloudy days if the sky is not obstructed by trees. However, heavy shade from trees will definitely limit output. This would have the same effect on panels hooked in parallel or series.

Here's another way to think about it too. The individual cells in a panel are connected in series. Shading one of those cells does not kill the panel's output. However, if one of the cells goes bad due to an open circuit (broken wire internally) then, yes, the entire panel will be scrap. And if a panel hooked it series electrically fails, then yes, the entire array will stop producing power. But if you bridge the failed panel with a jumper wire, then the remaining panels will produce power again.

I DO agree that a failed panel connected in parallel will not kill the array. But, wiring is more difficult and you get more line loss in the wiring to the controller due to the higher Amperage.

Once the panels are secured to the roof, there is virtually no stress on them, so they should not experience many "mechanical" failures.

So, those are my thoughts on the subject and my defense of a series setup.

- Jack

I deleted my big response. Not here to hijack your thread or make you defend yourself.

Please, my use of the word "defense" was not personal. It referred to the concept of a series panel connection. If you have contrary opinions, please don't hesitate to express them. This is how we all learn.

AND, I was not naysaying the idea of connecting them in parallel. I thought long and hard before going with a series connection. There are certainly advantages in going parallel too.

- Jack

I've been working on my solar setup to the point that I can run an extension cord (from camper) to my office and have it power my work computer. I Was telling that to a friend and he insists to not do that and to just plug it right into my wall house outlet!? Really?

Your friend has been drinking Kool-Aide all his life? That's the mentality I see from "environmentalist" who insist people drive tiny cars, yet themselves drive a large suv for no reason.
The true environmentalist drive efficient vehicles smartly and do things like run solar power into their house to reduce grid load.
Good job.

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

He actually has a masters in mechanical engineering and barely drinks lol. If this where the case maybe I can start my small inverter/generator (if gas $ is low) and plug it in too when it's record heat here!

haha. Coal plants are way more efficient at producing electricity than any generator. But your solar is free. A degree is no substitute for intelligence.

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

I discovered, when I added the third panel to my setup, that the top-only tape was not holding that panel properly. I found this after our long distance trip to Crater Lake, so I decided I needed to improve that hold-down. The two original panels are fine, so I don't really know why there should have been a problem with the third, but it was "lifting". Maybe, the fact that I had to use narrower tape to hold this panel down contributed to the problem. Had I spaced the two original panels a bit further apart, I could have used 4" tape on the new panel too.

So, I got some 3-inch wide double-stick EternaBond tape. I applied it all around the perimeter of the underside of the third panel to provide additional mounting security as a first step. Then, I reapplied the regular EternaBond around the top edges as before.

This has proven to be very secure, and all panels look just like they did when I mounted them following our recent trip to Great Basin and Bryce Canyon.

If you decide to use EternaBond tape to mount panels like I did, I recommend you give serious consideration to using double-stick tape underneath them too, for additional peace of mind.

- Jack

marininn, In adding my last post I reviewed the thread and in particular, your post where you showed how you mounted your tempered glass panels. As I understand it, you applied the tape to the angle iron underneath the panel, fastening it down before adding the panels over the angles and bolting them in place?

I like this idea a lot, since it protects the tape from the elements and actually lifts the panels slightly off the roof surface providing some ventilation. How is it working out for you? You mentioned you added caulk to the front edge roof/panel interface to minimize air lifting. Did you leave both sides and the rear edge open?

And, would you have done anything differently now that you have hindsight and the wisdom it brings?

- Jack

Hindsight: I think the long aluminum angle iron taped on front to back only with VHB and using self-tapping screws to hold the solar frames in is the best. It is not really necessary to have the angle under the panel (does look cleaner), I think it is fine either way, and when you screw the panel on you can make the gap wherever you attach it. BUT since hILo has a sloping roof then angle iron on the front and back, not the sides, allows the water to run down and not get trapped by the angle iron, and this keeps the highway air out too.


The one with the aluminum angle iron worked very nice. I used VHB tape, not double sided eterna bond tape. I think the VHB is a stronger bond. I have used Eternabond to tape down the flatter flexible panels and it does seem to lift a little at the edges of the panel, but have not lifted to the edges of the tape.
I used caulk really just to keep water from flowing in at highway speeds and making a gunky mess under the panel. I would think airflow would be minuscule that close to the roof, but yes, would keep it from blowing off.
I left it open on the downslope side and back so water can drain out and to ventilate it.

My first one, maybe the one you refer to with the angle iron, I ran a long threaded rod all the way to the other side, this is a great and secure way to mount it (I used double nuts to lock tight) but a big pain to put back in if you have to remove it to line up the holes on both sides wile you push through a threaded rod. The next project I just used self-tapping screws into the angle iron, seemed to work fine.

Yet another project I used aluminum square tubes (on the HILO) as I was out of angle iron, and feeling cheap. I drilled a big hole on one side so the cordless drill bit could fit through and the other hole just big enough for the screw threads. Same effect as the angle iron.

The HILO had a more corrugated roof, not flat, so made it more challenging. I doubled up in the low spots and had just a single layer in the high spots. The high spots are probably doing most of the sticky work as the low spots the two layers were barely enough to fill the gap.
There was a bit of curve on HILO left to right where I could have placed the mounts into the channel, so had to go front to back over the corrugations.
I also used a much shorter aluminum piece, where the other camper got a full length angle iron, the HILO just got about 5 inches worth of these 1 inch aluminum square tubes on the 4 corners.

btw, I have had 5 RVs, and did solar on 4 and the first had a little 15 watt thing that hardly counts, but kept the batteries from discharge in winter.

I did several cross country trips in HILO, probably 25,000 miles with the HILO solar. No issues at all. Well, take that back. Originally I had a flexible panel that got damaged somehow (they are not covered with glass so susceptible to falling sticks), and replaced that with the glass panel. I can't remember how deep into the 25,000 mile year this took place.
Then I sold it. 4 RVs in 4 years. I will try to keep my current one more than a year…

In summary, VHB tape seems to work magic. Clean the surface well.
Hope this helps.

I have a truck camper now. I did so much work (some fixes, some modifications( on the HILO that all i could see when I was camping is all the work, lots of work, so being #4 of a line of RVs I worked on I was happy to sell it.

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

Thank you, marininn, for that extra information. Now I see why you had two pictures in that post (two trailers!) I think the taped down aluminum angle would be VERY secure, especially since you have a full inch to apply the tape to. That was one weakness in my taping of my panels. I had to avoid having the tape cover any of the cells, which meant that I had a bit less than 1/2" of surface to tape to. The double sided tape on the back surface really helped.

Regardless, I like your hold-down solution for the glass panels a lot! I'll probably do something like that if I ever change my panels or get a different trailer.

- Jack

You're welcome.

I recently saw someone use the dicor Lap sealant to hold down a flexible panel. He just ran a bead along the edge. I assume it held. The Lap sealant is easy to remove so would be easier to un-do than the tapes.

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

However, anything easy to remove would be pretty "iffy", in my opinion to hold something down under the considerable force of wind. All it takes is a small opening at the front to allow lifting action in. Once that starts, it self-perpetuates, allowing more and more in. The panel is suddenly a big sail and nothing will hold it.

I certainly see putting Dicor along the front of a rigid panel that's held down much like yours are. All it would be doing then is prevention of wind underneath. And, there'd be no stress on it in that case.

- Jack

Probably not in reality. There will also be suction created by the panel helping it stick. Roof wind is turbulent so may not even be pushing at the leading edge of the panel, wee as it is. The panel would have a very small profile into the wind so the sealant would be more than enough.
There are people who glue it with caulk under the panel and leave open edges of the panel in the wind and somehow it works…
It might b one of those things, that in theory, you will need a much higher wind force than can be accomplished on a highway.
But, yes the other method should be stronger

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

The VHB tape is a means to deliver a chemical glue to bond the materials together, it is different than just really sticky glue. I have not ever tried to remove VHB tape. I assume a heat gun will do the trick.
I have an old friend who was in the Navy, not that they had this back then, but he calls VHB "Navy tape" as if they invented it. Maybe they did,but he is usually wrong, lol

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

What are your thoughts about taping solar panels to a rubber roof?

What if you needed to remove the tape?

I think I'd be a bit reluctant to tape solar panels to a rubber roof. I'd be worried wind loads could put significant stress on the membrane, possibly ripping it.

- Jack

Kinda what I was thinking, oh well, have to figure out something. Thanks