diy solar

diy solar

Panel Mounting on Flat Roof Aluminum Cargo Trailer

No idea why this did not occur to me earlier, but Rivnuts/Nutserts/Plusnuts are a decent option for mounting to the manufacturer's 2x2 aluminum cross bars. So I think I'm going to end up ordering four cross bars and using standard issue z-brackets and angle brackets to mount the panels in pairs parallel to the axis of the trailer. Angle brackets on the outboard side and z-brackets on the inboard/middle sections. I really need to draw this.
 
Full 3D model: https://a360.co/3sbJ4YJ

This is what it looks like:
pv rack.png

I plan to use rivet nuts (instead of the included t-nut) to fasten panel mid-clamps to secure the panels to the three captive crossbars, for a total of 6-9 mid clamps that look like this:
HS8805-solar-panel-rail-mid-clamp-35mmImageMain-515.jpg
Then I will add 1/8th aluminum plate to secure the first and last panel to the crossbars, and finally a pair of 1x1/8th angle "rails" going down each side to further stiffen the whole assembly. This is sort of visible in the render. Now I need to plan the wiring…
corner detail.png
 
my trailer i used a premade ladder rack with 2 aluminum beams and panels are mounted to the beams. Works great and if i ever upgrade to a different trailer the whole thing comes off easy.
 
my trailer i used a premade ladder rack with 2 aluminum beams and panels are mounted to the beams. Works great and if i ever upgrade to a different trailer the whole thing comes off easy.
In my case, the panels have to be as close as 0.5" together in order to all fit, so there is not a lot of room for fastening systems/feet/etc. And the panels actually come nearly flush to the sides of the trailer, not a ton of room there, either. How are you fastening them?
 
panels were attached to the 2 main beams first to create a big rectangle of panels , used a large tree some rope and block/tackle as a diy lift 4 bolts hold the beams to ladder rack bars

the racks attach to the trailer at the top corners into the 2 inch trailer frame.... i
 
Well, I'm making progress on this, finally. Got the first panel into position, and everything appears to be working as I expected, which is nice. These panels are seriously beefy, almost no flex than I can discern, so I'm hoping not to run into any issues. For reference, they are Q-CELL Q.PEAK DUO L-G8.3 425W panels.

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My 320 watt panels weigh 44 lbs, but they have a very high wind rating (5631 Pa front and back load (117 psf) tested load to UL1703). My trailer roof is 12' off the ground. I had two people on the ground lifting the panel to me. It still sucked.
 
I'm looking forward to my new business model of selling Beer Refrigeration Tokens at camp for top dollar. Cost will increase each day as my friends' batteries deplete… :cool:
 
i would look into a weather guard van ladder rack you can buy the modules and the brackets it comes with should screw right into the frames of the roof ,wish i went that way with my cargo trailer
 
Thanks for the tip @Hendo7 , but I wanted something much lower profile than that. I also wanted no penetrations of the roof.
 
Thanks for the tip @Hendo7 , but I wanted something much lower profile than that. I also wanted no penetrations of the roof.
with some ladder racks they could penetrating the roof by just screwing in the sides , either way your going to have to make penertrations unless you go the flexible glue down solar panel myself and many others will advice not to go that route. i know of a guy around here that has racks on his box truck and installed the panels in-between the racks so he could still use the racks for lumber hauling etc.
good luck with your project ?
 
I realized that I never posted any more updates, but I have a fully working system in this trailer now and have been using it continuously for nearly a year:
  • 7.1 kWh of LFP
  • 1.7 kW of PV
  • 3 kVA inverter/charger
It has worked out better than I hoped.
 
Its funny they have 101 rules and the city permit gestpo comes out and splits hairs when you mount panels to a house roof cause they might blow off in a storm but if you want to put them on a vehicle and drive 70+ mph (with people behind you doing the same) hitting bumps ect ask an internet forum.
 
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