Mounting A Solar Panel

[WildWG]

In addition to body damage problems (You can check my post under EXTERIOR), I have had an interesting experience with the mounting of a solar panel onto the roof of our TM. Prior to a trip last summer to British Columbia, I mounted an 85W solar panel onto the roof of our TM. Going on advice from this forum, I mounted this panel along side the awning on the front shell of the TM. I never did get instructions that I understood as to how to adjust the shell's torsion system to compensate for the solar panel. I tinkered around a little with the big black bolts under the TM but was afraid to change them more than 1/2 to 1 turn. I never did know which way to turn the bolts. Well, the solar panel performed flawlessly. We were able to camp for up to 2 weeks, sometimes using the furnace, and we never ran out of electricity. I love solar panels. Unfortunately, my inability to adjust the front shell torsion resulted in a very unbalanced front shell that was markedly more difficult to lift.

I have contacted my nearest TM dealer (400 miles away) about this problem and they have told me the following: !. That they only mount solar panels onto the rear shell of the TM and recommend the same. 2. That adjustment of the shells' torsion adjustment is so complicated that it can only be done by a TM dealer and that they refuse to advise me how to do it.

So, I guess that no matter how alike our efforts are, we can expect very different results.

Wild Bill