I will be mounting two 120 watt panels to the top of my rig. I would like to call on anyones experience of drilling and securing anything like these panels to the fiberglass roof on our clippers.
I have fabricated a piece of 2x2x1/8 aluminum angle 6 inches long as feet to lay flat on the surface. Then I bolted a 5 inch upright on the angle to fasten to the panel. Four of these per panel. I have planned on drilling two holes per pedestal that are about an 1/8th inch in diameter in the fiberglass then using 1/4inch lag screws 3/4 inch long to secure the aluminum to the surface.
Would welcome any input on this matter.
Hi Mac,
hows the project going?
the glass on the roof is not that thick so I would suggest using molly and an adhesive between the bracket and roof panel.
let us know how its going.
Rodney
Thanks for the reply.
I will have three holes per foot plate. Do you reckon that with, say a 3/16th hole and using a 1/4 in lag screw I might have enough of a bite in the fiberglass to hold those panels down
Are you saying I should use something like a butterfly molly?
Hi Mac
I have some pics of the roof construction over the bunk. FYI, the aluminum strip that joins the ceiling panels at the 4' mark is really an 13/4X3/4" I Beam with an 2X2 on each side screwed together thru it. The center area of the roof is a three part composit of gelcoat wood and figerglass. I will try to show this in my pics. I have some solar questions for you but am out of time right now.
JerryT
I had a 100 watt panel mounted on my roof for three or four years and took it off because of leaks which I just did not want to put up with anymore. Living in Oregon the trade off to me is not worth the hassle. All I could manage was one winter leak free. I lived in Chico for 17 years so I am quite sure you will have less of a problem. If I had it to do over again, I would try to do so with out screwing into the fiberglass. How that would be done, I am not sure. If you have any specific questions I would be glad to try to answer them for you.
Thanks for the replies.
I'm scheduled to put the panels on Friday. Will try and take some pictures and put them on the forum.
I finally got the panels mounted. They are now cranking out the amps to keep those two big Trojan L-16 heavy duty batteries charged. We?re leaving this week to head to the desert to do some serious boondocking (dry camping).
I used a 3/16 bit to drill holes in the roof. Then after applying a very generous portion of a good roof cement/caulk I used some 1/4 inch lag screws to hold the feet down.
I used some wire loom around the wires to cut down on the UV effect and ran the wires into the vent pipe. I ran them down about two inched then came out in the closet.
I used the same method to mount my Direct Tv Satellite dish just behind the vent over the bathroom.
I will leave the mounting bracket and pipe on while we travel and take the dish off and store it on the bed.