How Do I Mount My Solar Panels to My RV?
There are three ways we considered mounting our rigid solar panels to our RV, and we had backups just in case our preference failed. If you have an Airstream or a rounded RV and have to purchase flex solar panels instead of rigid ones, there are other mounting options to consider than the ones listed below. Our Winnebago Hike came with a Go Power flexible solar panel that was mounted with an glue type adhesive. We have heard of other ways to mount flex panels, but because we did not need to purchase flex panels, we did not research this and just left our already installed panel alone. Flexible solar panels do not last as long as rigid solar panels, and also are more expensive. Most of the camper vans and other RVs we have seen, are using rigid type solar panels.
Read Next: Roof Versus Portable Solar Panels and How Much Solar Do I Need?
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Drilling into the Roof - Some RVers drill holes into their RVs to mount their solar panels with mounting brackets you can purchase with the panels. Holes are then filled to ensure their is no leakage from water into the RV. We did not want to even consider this option as we did not want to create any issues regarding water seeping into our trailer.
VHB - We read that a lot of people use this super strong tape, made by 3MM, to mount their solar panels. We actually bought a role of it here, just in case, but did not end up needing it after all. This tape ensures that your panels are not going anywhere for a long time (if applied correctly). However, we had an issue with using the tape due to the exoskeleton on our Winnebago Hike. If we would have mounted straight to the roof, the exoskeleton would have cast shadows on our solar panels throughout the day. Therefore, we would have lost some solar power. We bought our VHB here.
Roof Rack or Exoskeleton - We ultimately decided to go with mounting brackets that fit around the round bars of our exoskeleton. This ensured that we did not have to drill any holes and that shadows are not being cast on our solar panels. Many other RVers (such as those in a van), install a roof rack and mount to the rack instead. We found brackets that were able to adjust to various sizes, and they worked perfectly for our setup. We have enough room on our exoskeleton to accommodate another panel on top, if we decide to in the future. You can find the same mounting brackets here.
We used the mounting brackets that are shown above, which went onto our exoskeleton. The clamps came with various sizes of rubber inserts, to fit anywhere between 1” - 2” round bars. We ensured they were spaced the correct distance apart before mounting our Renogy tilt brackets onto the clamps, and then the Renogy solar panels onto the tilt brackets. The Renogy solar panels have quite a few holes drilled into the frame already, so we were able to make the spacing between our exoskeleton bars work. You could easily do this with the normal solar panel brackets as well, if you were not wanting to go with the tilt brackets. If you do choose to go with the tilt brackets, they come plenty long so you can mount them on the long side or the short side of the solar panels. We decided to mount them on the short side, making them hang over the edge by several inches. They are easy to cut through, and we ended up sawing the excess off with a hack saw (a table saw would be a faster method). You can find the Renogy tilt brackets here or the normal Renogy mounts here, if you do not plan on tilting your solar panels.