use stainless steel anti theft screws,protect it just in case you meet up with some white or black trash out on the road.You might want to clean, wax and touch up any bad area's on the roof.
@ozzyjohn57 Yes you are right! The van is parked under a huge sycamore tree in my front garden. It drops sap a few times a year and it gets like that in a few days sometimes!
Why did you mount them with the brackets running longitudinally? If you had mounted them laterally bent to the curve of the roof, you could have avoided having to put those drain holes in. Also it would have prevented air getting under the panel when driving, so there would be far less chance of the panel taking off on the motorway? no?
@stum05 Both fair points. But it would have been hard to bend them to the curve of the roof without saw cutting them, and also the high corrugations on the roof where the angles sit on, don't coincide with the panel long sides.
The adhesive is so strong they would never lift off and hardly any water gets underneath so I am covered on those counts :)
@berniesbargreece It was a guy called AL8 on Wildcamping for motorhomes forum. He had some spare from work. He advertised them on the forum. You can get similar ones from Ebay etc. They are all made in China! Probably even the same factory. Look to pay about £150 to £170 for a 90W panel. Of course you will find other people selling them at horrendous mark ups. £300 to £400 or more is not uncommon.
@MakeYourOwnMotorhome That seems like pretty good value to me. If you can generate around 50A per day that should cover just about everything you need. I put my requirement at about 40A per day and I was quoted getting on for about GBP1,000 - although I won't be doing any fitting or work myself as I don't want it falling off on the motorway.
I am looking to get traction batteries too which I think will be more efficient than leisure batteries. I am a heavy user - spend months in the van!
Interesting and full of practical advice as always. I'd like solar panels one day but that would be pushing my luck with the insurance at the moment! ;o)
use stainless steel anti theft screws,protect it just in case you meet up with some white or black trash out on the road.You might want to clean, wax and touch up any bad area's on the roof.
inagod 2 months ago
Very informative, thanks for sharing.
You may need to keep the surface of the solar panel a bit cleaner than the rest of the roof is in the video :) :) :).
ozzyjohn57 3 months ago
@ozzyjohn57 Yes you are right! The van is parked under a huge sycamore tree in my front garden. It drops sap a few times a year and it gets like that in a few days sometimes!
MakeYourOwnMotorhome 3 months ago
@MakeYourOwnMotorhome cover the roof with a tarp or ? when sitting,protect your investment.
inagod 2 months ago
One question on the solar panel mounting....
Why did you mount them with the brackets running longitudinally? If you had mounted them laterally bent to the curve of the roof, you could have avoided having to put those drain holes in. Also it would have prevented air getting under the panel when driving, so there would be far less chance of the panel taking off on the motorway? no?
stum05 3 months ago
@stum05 Both fair points. But it would have been hard to bend them to the curve of the roof without saw cutting them, and also the high corrugations on the roof where the angles sit on, don't coincide with the panel long sides.
The adhesive is so strong they would never lift off and hardly any water gets underneath so I am covered on those counts :)
MakeYourOwnMotorhome 3 months ago
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dieselplow 4 months ago
Hey mate, where did you buy your panel from? I cant make out their name, do you have a web address?
berniesbargreece 4 months ago
@berniesbargreece It was a guy called AL8 on Wildcamping for motorhomes forum. He had some spare from work. He advertised them on the forum. You can get similar ones from Ebay etc. They are all made in China! Probably even the same factory. Look to pay about £150 to £170 for a 90W panel. Of course you will find other people selling them at horrendous mark ups. £300 to £400 or more is not uncommon.
MakeYourOwnMotorhome 4 months ago
@MakeYourOwnMotorhome That seems like pretty good value to me. If you can generate around 50A per day that should cover just about everything you need. I put my requirement at about 40A per day and I was quoted getting on for about GBP1,000 - although I won't be doing any fitting or work myself as I don't want it falling off on the motorway.
I am looking to get traction batteries too which I think will be more efficient than leisure batteries. I am a heavy user - spend months in the van!
alanheath 2 months ago
Interesting and full of practical advice as always. I'd like solar panels one day but that would be pushing my luck with the insurance at the moment! ;o)
rossrabbits 5 months ago
Excellent work again my friend.
Can't wait to see the next video
Greetings from Belgium
Erik
rikkiesix 5 months ago
As always very professional,you should convert vans for a living.
MrBirdy64 5 months ago
@MrBirdy64 I was thinking exactly the same thing!
alanheath 2 months ago
great stuff, keep us up to date...
9inety9 5 months ago
cool video
deskpaperclips 5 months ago