Mounting Solar Panel

[JimS]

I have a Starcraft 11RT and I want to mount a solar panel on the roof.  What method have others used to mount the panel?  How did you run the wiring from the panel to the controller?
Thanks,
Jim

[wavery]

I have a Starcraft 11RT and I want to mount a solar panel on the roof.  What method have others used to mount the panel?  How did you run the wiring from the panel to the controller?
Thanks,
Jim

Just a suggestion.......

You may want to consider not mounting the panel on the PU (for many reasons).

You may find it very handy to be able to move it around for a better orientation to the sun. Often times, we park our campers in shaded areas. It might be nice to have a 50' or 100' extension cord so that you can mount the solar panel remotely from the camper. The solar panel doesn't do much good if it's in the shade and it is a lot more effective if you can move it to point directly at the sun as it transverses the sky.

[JimS]

Just a suggestion.......

You may want to consider not mounting the panel on the PU (for many reasons).

You may find it very handy to be able to move it around for a better orientation to the sun. Often times, we park our campers in shaded areas. It might be nice to have a 50' or 100' extension cord so that you can mount the solar panel remotely from the camper. The solar panel doesn't do much good if it's in the shade and it is a lot more effective if you can move it to point directly at the sun as it transverses the sky.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have seriously thought about this option as I am worried about putting holes in the roof; don't need leaks!  I too, often park the camper under shade and the ability to move it around is very appealing.  I just worry about someone walking off with it.

[wavery]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have seriously thought about this option as I am worried about putting holes in the roof; don't need leaks!  I too, often park the camper under shade and the ability to move it around is very appealing.  I just worry about someone walking off with it.

That is a reasonable concern of course. However, putting it somewhere that it won't be effective isn't going to be a happy solution either.

I don't have solar panels on my camper for these very reasons. I was even considering mounting a couple of them on the top of my truck's camper shell and running a cable to the PU. It would be very difficult to take them off of my shell because I have a motion detector alarm. The downside (for me) is that I carry our kayak on many camp-outs and I would be concerned about damaging the solar panels.

For now, I am happy with having dual batteries that serve me well over a 3-day camp-out, even running the microwave on my inverter. I have a back-up generator and I think that I would keep that even if I do install solar panels. I don't think that it is wise to put your faith in solar panels as your primary charging source.

[ForestCreature]

Portable is the way to go. We've had ours portable for 7 yrs? and no one has walked off with it. A bear walked on it, but left it for us.. in pieces. So if you go portable, be sure to put the panels under the TV for the night when in bear territory.