Community Forums

deSanford · 05-25-2011, 04:19 PM

Has anyone put a solar panel up on their roof? I believe there is a "decal" on the roof of our Cayman in front of the rear air conditioner. I was told there is a BLACK wire there that runs down to one of the battery compartments. Any heads up on this project would be appreciated. deSanford

deSanford · 07-03-2011, 08:15 PM

Found out there is NO decal on my roof or any pre wiring for solar panels. I purchased a battery isolator ..........so I can feed both the house and chassis batteries at the same time without any feed back to the controller. Now I have to figure out weather I want to mount the controller inside the coach ( make a hole in the wall for it) or? Anyone else mount their panel on their roof? Where did you run the wire down. I have a large slide out with the frig being part of the wall. No vent on top of the motorhome for the frig. Might have to run the hot wire down in the back where the engine is. deSanford

rpasetto · 07-04-2011, 06:24 AM

On both the Monacos we've owned the wire from the solar panel runs into the refrig. compartment , then down under coach to the house battery compartment. Depends on the layout of the coach but if compartments are nearby that may be the best way.

rex · 07-04-2011, 07:39 AM

My Diplomat has an air intake on the roof in the rear cap for the engine. Part of that is open all the way down. I removed the grill on this scoop and dropped a string with a large nut on it, then fished it out from the side of the radiator (have a rear radiator) and pulled the wire down. Drilled a small hole below the scoop. No penetration of the roof itself.

I cut a 4" gray electrical box in to 4 equal parts so I would have a cover screw hole in each piece. I glued these to the roof using 3M 5200. This stuff doesn't look like it will stick when first applied and takes a couple of days to cure, but then it really sticks. Make sure you put the box piece where you want it as you will not be able to move it once the 5200 cures. This gave me a good way to mount the panel without drilling into the roof. Also provided the needed air space under the panel.

deSanford · 07-04-2011, 11:23 PM

My frig vent is on the side of the coach not the roof rpasetto. My old Rockwood had the vent on the roof and that set up was straight forward. My "air" vent for the engine air is on the top rear of the rear cap. I will figure out a way to get the "wire" from the panel down to the compartments where the batteries are kept. Not to sure that I get what you tried to explain about cutting the electrical box into 4 equal parts Rex. The cover screw hole in each piece is also confusing to me. Is this where you screw the panel to the box? The 3M 5200 sounds like something I could use to stick the unit to the roof. In my past installation I screwed the panel to the roof with lots of silicon to prevent leaks. deSanford

rex · 07-05-2011, 07:54 AM

If you look at the top of a 4" electrical box you will see 4 screw holes for the cover. These run from the top to the back of the box. I cut the box up so I would have one screw hole in each of the 4 pieces to use as mounts for the solar panel. The bottom of that piece being the original bottom of the box was glued with the 3M 5200 to the coach top. Then the solar panel was connected to each of the 4 electrical box pieces, one on each corner of the solar panel, using the screw hole in the box. You need air space under the solar panel for cooling, and this raises the panel off the roof the thickness of the electrical box. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and look at a 4" plastic electrical box and you should get the picture.

Rather than using silicone on your roof, use Geocel 2300 or RV Proflex which is also made by Geocel. Camping World sells the Proflex and the 2300 cam be obtained locally from a roofing supply company. Both are paintable and will last a long time. Silicone must be redone every year. Use denatured alcohol to clean the area where the silicone was applied.