fifth wheel trailer solar project, panels hanging out over side a bit?

[rockwind1]

i've got a choice between 39" wide panels or 41" wide panels, my working area is between 36" and 39",, so the panels may stick over the sides of roof a couple inches.

has anyone done this with fine results,, doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

it seems like mostly sprinter vans on this forum,,,hopefully some fifth wheel DIY'ers on here as well

my fifth wheel is 33 ft long and was going to be putting panels on their long axis, in line with each other,, on both sides of roof with a walking area in between

 

[WYtreasure]

i've got a choice between 39" wide panels or 41" wide panels, my working area is between 36" and 39",, so the panels may stick over the sides of roof a couple inches.

has anyone done this with fine results,, doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

it seems like mostly sprinter vans on this forum,,,hopefully some fifth wheel DIY'ers on here as well

my fifth wheel is 33 ft long and was going to be putting panels on their long axis, in line with each other,, on both sides of roof with a walking area in between

I have not done this yet. When I do put panels on the roof of my enclosed trailer, I will not allow any overhang. I tow my trailer at speeds up to 80mph and we get "surprise gusts" which could create undesirable results. Arizona was having "surprise gusts" when I lived there.
Food for thought.

 

[rockwind1]

I have not done this yet. When I do put panels on the roof of my enclosed trailer, I will not allow any overhang. I tow my trailer at speeds up to 80mph and we get "surprise gusts" which could create undesirable results. Arizona was having "surprise gusts" when I lived there.
Food for thought.

i was thinking of that,, also in arizona kinda,, down near prescott. but the panels will be the same height above roof whether they overhang or not,, i just can't imagine it being that much more of a windload,,, or significant.. if i hang over , i can get about 3200 watts on the roof,, if i don't,, i down to maybe 2800 ish

 

[chrisski]

IMO, to get any real amount of power on in a fifth wheel from solar, need ground panels.

I have 1550 watts on the roof and 900 on the ground. The 900 watts of ground panels provide watt for watt way more than the much bigger roof panels, and yesterday provided around 3 kWh or power before/after the roof started to produce. I made 15.1 kWh total of power with the 35’ trailer to easily run the AC for 6 hours in central AZ.

I will also third the winds being bad.

So, I advise to not do the overhang but really look at supplementing the2800 watts with a ground panels if you need it.

 

[rockwind1]

IMO, to get any real amount of power on in a fifth wheel from solar, need ground panels.

I have 1550 watts on the roof and 900 on the ground. The 900 watts of ground panels provide watt for watt way more than the much bigger roof panels, and yesterday provided around 3 kWh or power before/after the roof started to produce. I made 15.1 kWh total of power with the 35’ trailer to easily run the AC for 6 hours in central AZ.

I will also third the winds being bad.

So, I advise to not do the overhang but really look at supplementing the2800 watts with a ground panels if you need it.

where do you store your ground panels when not in use,,,, are you pretty much stay in place for months? or are you constantly traveling and resetting up? where in az,, anywhere near prescott?

 

[chrisski]

I live in the phoenix valley. i store the panels in a bunk room at night. In the four months this year, I’ve used it for 6 weeks. To move back and forth to the trailer it take up the pick up.

i really did find the rv’s vents, and antennas on top of the roof of the Rv really cut into the production. if i have three panels in series and a arm sized shadow crosses a single panel, the whole series loses 1/3 to 2/3 production. my roof panels are 100watts set up 3S2P and 175 watts set up 2s3p.

 

[rockwind1]

I live in the phoenix valley. i store the panels in a bunk room at night. In the four months this year, I’ve used it for 6 weeks. To move back and forth to the trailer it take up the pick up.

i really did find the rv’s vents, and antennas on top of the roof of the Rv really cut into the production. if i have three panels in series and a arm sized shadow crosses a single panel, the whole series loses 1/3 to 2/3 production. my roof panels are 100watts set up 3S2P and 175 watts set up 2s3p.

Just out of curiosity, why don’t you leave the Ground panels out at night? I mean so you don’t have to move them out the next morning

 

[WYtreasure]

I live in the phoenix valley. i store the panels in a bunk room at night. In the four months this year, I’ve used it for 6 weeks. To move back and forth to the trailer it take up the pick up.

i really did find the rv’s vents, and antennas on top of the roof of the Rv really cut into the production. if i have three panels in series and a arm sized shadow crosses a single panel, the whole series loses 1/3 to 2/3 production. my roof panels are 100watts set up 3S2P and 175 watts set up 2s3p.

Ya gotta share where the ground panels go when the wind gets crazy.

 

[chrisski]

Just out of curiosity, why don’t you leave the Ground panels out at night? I mean so you don’t have to move them out the next morning

I take them inside to prevent them from getting blown away from the wind. I tend to stay at the edge of the mountains and valleys and afree sunset or before sunsrise, the trailer can feel like its on waves from the wind. The ground panels are 100 watt, 25 lbs panels and will get blown around most days if I’m not careful. I need to use the trailer or pickup for a wind break. That is usually around sunset and sunrise, but sometimes other days.

Ya gotta share where the ground panels go when the wind gets crazy.

i had originally made a cable to keep them from getting stolen and found them one night blown to the end of the cable a couple panels needing repair. I was keeping them out overnight, but after I payed them flat, and they still blew away, i put them in at night. in the day i am very careful putting them up and taking them down.

I’m sure you must have the same issues in Wyoming.

i use the same panels in my tiny walled in yard and have no issues with them wind and can leave them out for days. Just when I go to the open range is when wind is an issue.

 

[Bobert]

i've got a choice between 39" wide panels or 41" wide panels, my working area is between 36" and 39",, so the panels may stick over the sides of roof a couple inches.

has anyone done this with fine results,, doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

it seems like mostly sprinter vans on this forum,,,hopefully some fifth wheel DIY'ers on here as well

my fifth wheel is 33 ft long and was going to be putting panels on their long axis, in line with each other,, on both sides of roof with a walking area in between

How wide is your 5th wheel? Some 5th wheels are already at max allowable width. 4” over might get you a ticket.

 

[WYtreasure]

Not to "Deflect" from the OP's topic, but if you want to put panels on the ground, in the wind I suggest this.
3' piece of 1/2" rebar, half in and half out of the ground,
4' stick of 1/2" thin wall PVC pipe,
Zip ties and snow fence

You might need to anchor the fence down a bit, I don't.

Wednesday's wind here in Wyoming included 75mph gusts.

 

[chrisski]

How wide is your 5th wheel? Some 5th wheels are already at max allowable width. 4” over might get you a ticket.

I think panels protruding is a bad idea, but I don’t think they’d stick out passed a rolled up awning on one side and a rolled up slide topper on the other.

Not to "Deflect" from the OP's topic, but if you want to put panels on the ground, in the wind I suggest this.
3' piece of 1/2" rebar, half in and half out of the ground,
4' stick of 1/2" thin wall PVC pipe,
Zip ties and snow fence
View attachment 90469
You might need to anchor the fence down a bit, I don't.

Wednesday's wind here in Wyoming included 75mph gusts.

Nothing I come up with for an anchor system is practical since the key to me using them is rotating three times through the day. If I got to where I could leave them out for weeks with some anchored in the three directions, could work for me.

75 mph. Yikes!

 

[rockwind1]

How wide is your 5th wheel? Some 5th wheels are already at max allowable width. 4” over might get you a ticket.

well,, i don't think so, because the awning on the side already sticks out 7" or more on one side, and one the other side the ladder sticks out, i usually drive with it on

 

[WYtreasure]

well,, i don't think so, because the awning on the side already sticks out 7" or more on one side, and one the other side the ladder sticks out, i usually drive with it on

It sounds like you already have a "Stall Fence" sticking out on one side of your RV. That changes everything. The awning will prevent help keep the wind from blowing straight up the side and lifting the panels. The ladder LOL ain't gonna help.

 

[HRTKD]

The issue with panels extending beyond the edge of the trailer is how do you mount them? If you use the usual Z bracket, then you'll only get the brackets at the ends of the panels (front/back when running parallel to trailer) instead of on the sides (street/curb side of trailer). No support in the middle is a bad idea in my opinion. Because of the winds in Wyoming, I chose to put six Z brackets in my 320 watt panels. They aren't going anywhere. The brackets were quite close to the edge of the trailer.

If you're using unistrut or some other mounting system like that then you might be able to get away with hanging the unistrut beyond the edge of the trailer with a clamp at the end.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, panels over the edge just looks bad.