Hi all! Hoping to get some advice on mounting solar on my van roof.
My van is a Vandura with the fiberglass top. The solar kit I’m using includes the Renogy Z brackets and standard hardware. I initially planned to mount the panels using a bolt and nut to secure through the wooden studs that line the inside. I’ve since decided against that because I would lose headroom.
Now I’m trying to figure out if when using the screws that Renogy included in the kit the full length of the screw goes through the fiberglass top and into the wood below is that going to be secure enough or do I run the risk of the screws pulling up with the wind or something?
The area that the panels are going are not perfectly flat so I believe that cancels out the option of only using VHB tape.
If I were in your shoes I would probably use nuts, bolts, and large fender washers or sheet metal plates inside to distribute the stress in the areas between the ribs. Between the ribs wouldn’t impact headroom if you cut off the excess bolt threads after it’s installed. Use self-locking nuts or thread locker. Would also use a good silicone sealant between the brackets and roof, in the bolt holes before installing the bolts, between the fender washers/plates and inside, and cover the bolt heads with it. I wouldn’t trust just screws into the fiberglass/wood.
Ideally I would have liked to go with the bolts for all of them but based off where I had to attach the mounts to the actual panel it limited my options. 4 of the bracket pairs I was able to use a bolt with plywood and a washer/nut on the inside of the van. The other 4 unfortunately would have come down to far if I went with the bolt so it’s the self drilling screws through the fiberglass into the wood studs.
So, like all my posts, this is purely my opinion and by no means a professional one…
But honestly, the thought of mounting just in the fiberglass scares the crap out of me. I just mounted my solar panels to my metal roof, and even that scares the crap out of me! Because I just used the Z brackets and bolts as well.
But, in the front and rear, I couldn’t bolt through (for various reasons) and so ended up just having to screw them in.
Again, purely my opinion here, but maybe try some Steel Flats in the interior underside or something? Just anything to give it more hold than a fiberglass roof. You might be fine 95% of the time, but I was just watching a video where a guy mounted his solar with FAR more hardware than I did mine, and a strong storm rolled through and blew one of his off while on the highway.
So if he had more hardware up there than me, and I have more than you… You see what I’m getting at there.
