Solar Installation Tilting + Trackinging Solutions

coronan

New member
Hello,

I'm getting ready to install a 100w solar panel on my travel trailer.
I'm curious to see that other have done with tilting and tracking solutions.
I have decided that it makes since for my application because if I am camping with the trailer it will be parked for several days so why not tilt it and get the 20% gain.
Some say $ is better spent on more panels but the mounting system will be custom build by my self out of materials i have laying around. (basically free). Ther other reason I dont want more panels it this might be swapped between a trailer and 4x4 camper van. (smaller is easier).

Auto tracking is definitely out of the budget. I'm think about hand tracking via adjusting the swivel 2 or 3 times per day. If i plan to be gone all day I will just point it south and say good enough.

The tricky thing about a mobile solar system is I can not guarantee what direction the trailer will be oriented when parked.
2 way tilt: piece of cake to fabricate but there is a 50% chance It will be parked the wrong way. And no tracking as the sun sweeps 180 to 200+ deg.
4 way tilt: better but it will be pointed the wrong way 25+% percent of the time. And It will probably not be perfectly oriented south.

It could be mounted on a pillow block bearing but i'm not sure how to lock it into place. The other issue is small surface area connecting to a weak aluminum shell/foam room.
I need a big cog with a spring loaded pin or something....

The last issue becomes wind resistance and strength so that wind can not move it out of adjustment or rip it off.

Ideas???

Any accolades of wisdom for what has and has not worked for folks???


Thanks!!!
 

jays0n

Adventurer
I tried to come up with a way to do the tilt as well and decided the money it would take to do it with 80/20 as I did the slideout for the panel just didn't make sense. I just got back from a week out with the trailer and running my ARB fridge, some lights and a water pump with daily charging from the 100w panel and my batteries are at 75% so I figure for how much I need the loss of that 20% is tolerable, at least for me. I say leave it flat and spend the money elsewhere :)
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
In my opinion - tilting is worthwhile - but rotating is not. Cheaper to just by a 20% bigger solar module. If you are considering using it in the winter up here in the northern latitudes (i.e. WA state) then tilting is critical.

The only either idea I see people do is "portable" mounting to allow putting it out in the sunshine with the vehicle in the shade - but then I worry about the possibilities of wind blowing it over and theft.
 

protohyp

Adventurer
Hello,

I'm getting ready to install a 100w solar panel on my travel trailer.
I'm curious to see that other have done with tilting and tracking solutions.
I have decided that it makes since for my application because if I am camping with the trailer it will be parked for several days so why not tilt it and get the 20% gain.
Some say $ is better spent on more panels but the mounting system will be custom build by my self out of materials i have laying around. (basically free). Ther other reason I dont want more panels it this might be swapped between a trailer and 4x4 camper van. (smaller is easier).

Auto tracking is definitely out of the budget. I'm think about hand tracking via adjusting the swivel 2 or 3 times per day. If i plan to be gone all day I will just point it south and say good enough.

The tricky thing about a mobile solar system is I can not guarantee what direction the trailer will be oriented when parked.
2 way tilt: piece of cake to fabricate but there is a 50% chance It will be parked the wrong way. And no tracking as the sun sweeps 180 to 200+ deg.
4 way tilt: better but it will be pointed the wrong way 25+% percent of the time. And It will probably not be perfectly oriented south.

It could be mounted on a pillow block bearing but i'm not sure how to lock it into place. The other issue is small surface area connecting to a weak aluminum shell/foam room.
I need a big cog with a spring loaded pin or something....

The last issue becomes wind resistance and strength so that wind can not move it out of adjustment or rip it off.

Ideas???

Any accolades of wisdom for what has and has not worked for folks???


Thanks!!!

I think tilting actually has more to do with the size of your battery bank. If you're using one battery and running LED's and an efficient fridge, water pump etc. a 50-60 amp hour battery should be sufficient for over night use for multiple days as even if you don't tilt your solar controller will boost input till charged and then trickle after the max battery voltage is reached and at that point tilting doesn't matter. I find that my 130 watt Kyocera charges my 35 amp hour battery from 80% to 100% in less than two hours without tilting and even in the shade will still trickle in about 1 amp to the battery. The other thing which might not apply to you is my panel is mounted to my tow vehicle which has a tonneau cover and my battery pack is portable so if we do park the trailer in the shade (which is pretty much always the case) and leave for the day my truck will almost always be in the sun and I will always be able to charge then when I get back to camp my trailer has high amp Anderson plugs so I just plug it into my battery pack and I'm good to go. If thats not an option then some companies make tripods for solar panels and you could just do a long run of wire so that the panel can be in the sun and your trailer can remain in the shade. Lots of options but it more begins with what amount of energy you think will consume in a day and test it out at home to decide whether tilting is necessary or not when your battery needs the charge.
 

coronan

New member
protohyp:

Thanks for the thoughts on real world application.

The most demanding usage is at Burningman. Its also the best for making solar.
Right now the trailer has 1 deep cycle battery. It gets by just barely 1 week at burning man. We are bare bones on power usage. (water pump, lights)
Instead of getting a generator and dealing with fuel spills and smell, and noise, We are going solar.
I would like to add Swamp Cooler (4a), better radio (8a). Inverter (10a), toaster(10a)

The best camp layout is a corral of Trailers circled up tight like a cult de sac with cars parked else were. (Other wise I love your mobile batter pack idea.)

I'm getting a oversized charge controller so a 2nd panel may be in the future.
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
The dust a burning man can be a real issue - be sure to check the panels after any white-out dust storms.

The circle of trailers makes orienting the panels tricky - I have a sprinter van and like to have the sliding door on the north side (passenger) so I get as much afternoon shade - so my panels are mounted on the drivers side (vertically) with an adjustable tilt system. I keep the roof free to allow carrying stuff up there. I have 250 watts of PV. I don't need to get the solar when the vehicle is driving down the road and I can tilt them up easily when parked if I am worried about keeping the battery charged. The wall mounting also makes it easier to clean off snow in the winter when snow camping.

The consumption of the toaster isn't that big of a deal as it only runs usually for about 10 minutes - assuming your battery and inverter can handle it... The swamp cooler is more of an issue as it needs to run for a long time to make a difference. I just tend to use fans at BM myself.

I assume the numbers you are quoting are at 12Vdc?
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
56 AH (flat) compared to 70 AH ( fixed tilted) is 80% - so a 20% loss. Of course this would be with the panel facing towards the south most likely.

The losses for flat mounting vary with the time of the year - it is far worse in the winter especially at higher latitudes.



Flat Panels are only operating at ~50% if left flat.
Quote from:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26854712.cfm
Actual calculations based on last year with the 130w showed it got 56AH/day flat, 70AH fixed tilted, and 90AH in contraption moved three times a day.
So a second 130w added would get us 112AH flat,


BFL13 Built his out of wood. (cheap, heavy)
 

coronan

New member
Half E:

I'd like to see your side mount setup.
I am envisioning something with 180* deg of flip that could rise above the roof line to get sun from either side. Then maybe add some rotation.
It could only be mounted on the side opposite the awning. Which is fine. I think the panel is narrow enough to fit between the roof line and the windows.

When I said ~50% I was referring to the 90ah potential compared to 56 ah flat. That to me is a lot of loss of potential from poor / cheap installation.
If you actually crunch the numbers its 37%

But I'm just a welder. I am new to solar; so what do i know.


Out of sight is out of mind on on the roof?
Half-e:
Do you worry about your panels being easier to steal being on the side?
 

eggman918

Adventurer
This is what I did but mine is only 45 watts,with the Alaskan I didn't want it on the roof but also didn't want to be as limited in trailer orientation to the sun and wanted to use it with the truck still hooked up.
100_1446.jpg

100_0757.jpg

100_1207.jpg

100_0733.jpg

100_0735.jpg
 

coronan

New member
Nice setup!
I like the tongue mount. It looks like it could tilt and track to me.
Does the swivel get secured with a set screw???
How does it do in the wind?
 

eggman918

Adventurer
The panel tilts and swivels the arm the panel is mounted to can slide in and out and is long enough to clear the truck and trailer to either side and the whole thing swivels,all the articulated joints lock with 1/2" set screws.It is a bit over built,I needed more tongue weight so the wind has little affect on it other than shaking the whole trailer but that was in the Mojave and it was really blowing.
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
Side Mounted Solar Panels

Here is a pic of my sprinter van with the solar panels mounted on the side - they happened to be about the same size as the windows which would have gone there... each is 125 watts - Sanyo brand.

They are hinged at the top with a continuous stainless steel piano hinge that is riveted to the frame of the solar module and screwed into the van's body with stainless screws and a couple of through bolts on the end to prevent theft. I usually have a aluminum roof deck on the top of the van but it was off in these pics.

They can be tilted up from the bottom using a simple support pipe to the body which is stored in the frame of the solar module (behind the cells). I have a simple latch which holds the solar modules in the closed position when driving as they tend to be lifted up when driving down the highway or when making right turns.

I have an awning on the other side and usually want to have the sliding door side shady so it works well.

Sprinter PV 1.jpg
Sprinter PV 2.jpg
 

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