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The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Bloggsy For This Useful Post:
AJTich (23rd July 2015), cgm (13th April 2015), Dinger (12th April 2015), DX grunt (13th April 2015), jay see (14th April 2015), Stropp (12th April 2015), threedogs (12th April 2015)
Not quite today, but having recently removed the rooftop tent I have now replaced it with the portable solar panels I previously carried inside the pod, (in addition to the cab mounted one which has had a frame height reduction). No more lugging panels around for me. Previously I attached the panel mounts on our bus using Sikaflex 11FC & rivets. Having learned a bit since then this time I only used Sikaflex 11FC. Sika recommend their 252 product which is stronger than 11FC provided the correct primer & Aktivator are use with it. It is *very* expensive & *much* harder to use though. Many folk I know have used 11FC alone very successfully, including on 4wd’s. To be sure I removed all paint from the areas to be glued, back to bare aluminium, & roughed it & the mounts up with 60 grit sandpaper, before giving both a good clean with isopropyl alcohol. I used cut up adhesive pads (as sold to put under chair & table legs) to ensure the right thickness of Sika (needs to be a ceratin thickness to allow for the expansiion/contraction of the roof & mounts). Ended up using 5 tubes of Sika to fit the 4 panels. The panels themselves are bolted to aluminium angle which in turn attaches to the angle glued to the roof using riv nuts & allen head bolts.
The front roof panel overhangs the pod roof by just a smidgen so ‘just to be sure’ I added an extra mount at each side of it. The rest are only mounted with mounts along their long sides. I’m confident they wont come off. They were tested at 130kph today, having allowed 3 days for the sika to cure.
Total panel wattage is 425w. Mounted as they are I expect their maximum combined output (i.e. if batteries are low enough to accept the max) to be around 25amps using the ’70% rule of thumb’ which allows for flat mounting ( this equates to between 100Ah to 150Ah on a good solar day, dependent upon time of year & location. Possibly down to 75Ah in Tassie in winter. So hopefully we are covered for any part of Australia at any time of the year. (Our battery capacity gives a minimum of a week’s buffer against poor solar weather or being camped under trees) without need to drive to recharge. This is more than many would need for short breaks or only running a single fridge .... my goal is indefinite self sufficiency in power with the batteries returned to a float charge most days (ensuring long life), whilst running a separate fridge & freezer, lights , radio water pump, 2 laptops & a few other gadgets.
Next is replacing the plastic gutters (cracked) on the pod with aluminium angle.
What brand of dash cam you got? I think I need another solar panel on the cab, to keep up with you. lol.
Are you running 2 batteries or 3?
Rossco
Winner of 'Best 4 x 4 ' at the 2017 Albany Agricultural Society Inc - Town n Country Ute Muster.
Ex Telstra - 2005, 4.2 TDi ute -with pod and more fruit than a grocery shop.
Originally Posted by Dinger
Previously I attached the panel mounts on our bus using Sikaflex 11FC & rivets. Having learned a bit since then this time I only used Sikaflex 11FC. Sika recommend their 252 product which is stronger than 11FC provided the correct primer & Aktivator are use with it. It is *very* expensive & *much* harder to use though. Many folk I know have used 11FC alone very successfully, including on 4wd’s. To be sure I removed all paint from the areas to be glued, back to bare aluminium, & roughed it & the mounts up with 60 grit sandpaper, before giving both a good clean with isopropyl alcohol. I used cut up adhesive pads (as sold to put under chair & table legs) to ensure the right thickness of Sika (needs to be a ceratin thickness to allow for the expansiion/contraction of the roof & mounts). Ended up using 5 tubes of Sika to fit the 4 panels. The panels themselves are bolted to aluminium angle which in turn attaches to the angle glued to the roof using riv nuts & allen head bolts.
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