Rail adapter for solar panel bracket

[chin_k]

I got the Renology solar panels that are wider than the original panel, so I would need to add some kind of adapter to the rail to mount the bracket. Any of you have some DIY solution or manufactured adapters that is good for the purpose? I guess I can use zip tie or use steel strips for the purpose, but I don't want to have mine come off when I drive down the freeway at 95 mph with gusty head wind...

[Blue~Go]

I'm just mounting panels now (got kinda lazy about it when ground panels worked so well)

I'm not sure what you mean by "rail adapter," but my panels just have the typical box-section construction where the panels themselves are basically made of aluminum C- or L-channel (depending on how you look at it). Basically like 99% of panels.

The way I'm doing it each bracket pair (four pairs per panel) is comprised of two sections of aluminum angle. These are attached on the leading and trailing edges of the panels. One section (which I made of larger angle for more VHB contact area) is taped to the roof. The foot goes under the panel and the vertical section comes up just touching the panel. The second piece of angle (doesn't need to be as large) is like a "knee" that is attached to the underside of the panel rail and then hangs down so its vertical face slides right next to the upstanding face of the bottom bracket. Then these two vertical faces are bolted together. Essentially the two brackets make a giant U-shape sitting on it's side and the two sections bolt together at the base of the U (which is vertical since the U is on its side).

Notes:

1) I made the contact area of each foot about 2" x 3.5". The more VHB the better. I may also use a fastener on the front two feet of each panel (which will see the most wind/force). Haven't decided yet.

2) The way I did this, the outer bracket can be right at the outer edge of the roof section that the panel sits on, but the panel can just extend on out as much as it needs to (around 2" in my case). The panel can also sit tight to the center hump with the inner brackets mounted wherever they need to be to allow that.

3) With the two-part bracket it will a) accomodate any slight roof variation; and, b) you can remove the panel without de-VHB-ing the roof part of the bracket. Only the base angle pieces would remain on the roof.

[blueduetto]

I have been considering using wider panels as well and have been looking for clamp style rail mounts. The bars on my roof measure fairly close to 7/8" in diameter. I have attached a photo of some clamp mounts I found on ebay that look like they may be adaptable to this situation.

Additionally I am curious as to what panels you are using. I've seen pictures of the 20 inch/100 watt Renogy panels mounted on a chinook in another post and they fit the existing flat of the roof very nicely. However, Renogy makes a 26 inch panel that puts out 175 watts. It would extend out just past the tube railing on the roof but the up side is you could get 350 watts out of just two panels.

And yes I have been using an un-mounted 175 watt panel that I stow inside when traveling. It works very well as you can optimize positioning but am growing tired of having to haul it out, hook it up etc.

[chin_k]

I think I have the exact same clamp mounts, but I might have got the 1" version. I had it for a few months, but was too busy to get it installed.

I have two of the 100 W Renogy, but as you expected, I have not install it yet. The solar charger I got did poorly with the panels due to inefficiency of the MPPT. Laying flat on the roof, it hardly do any charging in the low winter sun. It won't do anything until the panels are putting out 60W. If it isn't the 3kW inverter and the large battery, I would have return it. I tried to work with the manufacturer to see if they can fix the issue with firmware update, but have not have time to resolve this.

I really want to get it installed on the roof, since the panels is pretty heavy, and cumbersome to put away and move around. There is just not much room inside the rig for two panels.

[Roly]

Chin,

I cobbled together aluminum solar panel mounts that could tilt to a more efficient angle, if you parked facing East or West, and went up there and messed with them.

Roly

[chin_k]

Roly, I am thinking using two actuators to tilt it in both directions, but I feel it is overkill for the extra electricity that I will get from it. I probably need to do a simple mechanism like what you have, and see if I can get around the issue with the inefficient MPPT charger problem with a second solar charger. I have one that I put away about a year ago, but forget where I stored it. Getting senile here