Mounting A Solar Panel

**WildWG** · 03-26-2008, 09:38 AM

Sorry if I am asking old questions, but I am going to mount a solar panel on the roof of my TM and I need a little clarification.

Do I need to screw the mounts into the TM shell, and if so, where on the TM roof will screws reliably stay tight?

Some of you seem to be only using glue to hold on your panel mounts. Is this reliable?

By adding the weight of a solar panel to a TM shell, I understand that the torsion adjustment for that shell must be "tweaked". How much "tweaking" is necessary and more importantly, where does the "tweaking" take place?

Have those of you who have mounted solar panels on the TM roof done anything to secure the panel against theft?

Thanks for your help.

WGW

PS I am working with a 2000 2619, no air conditioner

**grill-n-go** · 03-26-2008, 04:49 PM

Rocky Mountain Ray used to have a very detailed set of instructions (which I followed) for mounting solar panels. Maybe someone else can show you how to access the the archived files.

Mine are mounted with Loctite Depend 330 since August 2006 and are still there. Every once in a while I pull on them to make sure they're holding tight. Other folks on here I believe have used Gorilla glue. You can see more about my install in the solar section of this forum I have post with the same subject as yours.

We have a 130 watt (28 Lbs) panel mounted on the front shell along with an air conditioner and did the adjusting myself to get it where opening and closing my TM was manageable. The impact 28 Lbs is significant. I maxed out on the amount of lift available from the torsion bars. It definitely did not behave the same as before mounting the panel.

Last October we went to the Smoky Mountains, not far from Lake City. We stopped at the factory (with an appointment) to get the panel mounting blessed. Ed ended up changeing one of the torsion bars to get the right amount of lift. Apparently more lift was needed.

Specific to your questions:

- No you don't need screws. Maybe someone else can tell you about using screws but I believe most everyone used glue. I'd be curious to know what the factory does.

- There are eight(?) bolts on the bottom of your TM, four for each shell attached to one of the torsional bars. If you crawl under your TM and follow the lifting arms to their origin, there you will find the adjustment bolts. I think if you do a search for torsion bars you'll find some good instructions on how to adjust the lift.

- As far as the weight goes, you know my story. Depends on the size of the panel. If you don't have air I think you will have plenty of lift left. I believe Rocky Mountain Ray mounted two panels one like mine and a second on his roof, and got by adjusting the bars because he too had no air. Feel free to ask all the questions you want.

**rtcassel** · 03-26-2008, 07:23 PM

http://trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1034

Harry Womack · 03-28-2008, 08:15 AM

I mounted two 100 watt panels to the back of my trailer roof. The panels measure about 20" x 60". I cut two pieces of 1/16" thick aluminum into 3" x 20" pieces and glued them to the roof at both ends of the panel with Loc-tite Depends. I drilled 3 holes through the aluminum and into the roof, filled the hole with clear silicone, and installed jack nuts with 10-24 SS screws.