I have a 20’box truck with a translucent roof. It is 38 years old, and surprisingly enough, is in decent shape, with only one old 4” square patch showing! The metal supporting the roof seems to be only enough to support the roof. In order to have insulation below as well as rooftop solar panels, along with a roof deck, I would love to know what others have done to beef up the roof support, and do people cover the plastic roof with any other covering? I anticipate using 2x6 or 2x8”joists 2’ on center with 2” foam insulation.
Oh I love those! I had a step van with that roof, and loved it. Always bright & cheery inside, plus I added opening bus windows all the way around. Had that rig for several years before it was stolen.
I just kept the roof stock, gave up on solar long before, just too unreliable. I was using a 23k BTU kerosene heater to keep me toasty during frozen north winters, and a swamp cooler to keep me cool in the summer. Mounted a 3500w suitcase inverter generator with a remote start into a box vented to the outside, and it would run 8+ hours on a gallon of gas. Between that and driving, I never ran out of power. That generator had rubber feet, and was nearly silent in it’s insulated box.
The promoters like to promote solar, but even the solar experts are still running generators to fulfill their needs. If it wasn’t for my laptop & phone, I rarely require any power at all. Ummm… I guess I do have a fair amount of rechargeable stuff though that I charge off a usb port on my laptop.
I am hoping that a pipe rack bracket for a van would fit the top side rails well enough to provide enough support for a solar array. I’m hoping to fit on 1200 watts of solar panels and have about 800AH of batteries, a diesel heater as well as small wood stove for the ambiance and emergency heat. If I have solar panels, what should I cover translucent roof with?
I really wouldn’t cover the roof. I’d mount the solar panels high enough above the roof too still let light in.
Wood stoves sound good, but really don’t work out well. For ambiance a wall mounted blue flame heater might be a better choice.
I DIY’d a table top fire pit following instructions I found on YouTube using dollar store parts, and I really enjoy it.
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The drawback for leaving the roof unobstructed would be the lack of insulation as well as limited space for lighting and wiring runs. I want to have a big skylight/ access hatch using a repurposed glass full light exterior door. It would be mounted on a raised curb, and supported/balanced by gas struts. It would be big enough to walk through for access to the rooftop deck using inside steps. In the interest of stealth, I am going to try to have no windows showing. When not being in the stealthy mode, the box truck looking rear would open up revealing a door and window wall.
Sounds like you have a plan, so I’ll just wish you well.
If you haven’t done so yet, check out the facebook group called “Box Truck-to-RV Conversions”. Find the search icon and type in topic such as “roof” or “translucent” and see what other people have done.
In my opinon fiberglass translucnet roofs are a problem waiting to happen. They are brittle and can develop cracks and/or pin holes, especially after setting out in the sun for years getting hit with all the UV rays and heat. A lot of people just coat them with some kind of RV Roof Coating, however, for me, I am planning on replacing the translucent roof with a roll of aluminum metal known as an “aluminum coil”. You can replace it yourself if you are mechanically inclined along with some hard work, or have a semi-tractor trailer repair center do it for you. You can also add more roof “bows”, (the metal ribs that hold up the translucent roof), to increase support for the overall roof, which would help if wanting to walk on the roof or add equipment such as roof top air conditioners, etc. Also, you might want to check out this youtuber, “Chuck Cassady”, and his approach to converting school buses into living spaces. Even though he is converting school buses, you can utilize a lot of his well thought out practices in a box truck. Especially when it comes to framing and insulation ideas. You might want to look into Spray Foam insulation instead of Prodex.
Thanks for the input. I am only in the planning/dreaming stages at this point; nothing fully determined yet. One of my stumbling blocks is how to mount the support for the solar panels without putting a load on the plastic panels. I do like the spray foam insulation, and will probably use that in the walls and under the wood floor of the box. I want to sand the original beautiful butcher block flooring that has survived the last 39 years! I was thinking of cutting some ceiling joists from 2x6s or 2x8s to help for support, and to be able to have a “coffered” ceiling with 2” foam board for insulation. I haven’t seen one so far in any that I have seen so far… I am planing on being as stealth as possible with no windows on the sides of the box. Only skylights and the view through the cab and front of the 4’ ceiling height GRANNY addition over the cab. The skylight will be a repurposed 3’ x 6’ glass exterior door set on a hatch opening in the rooftop, hinged, and supported with gas struts. There will be a set of inside steps built in leading up to the hatch and roof top deck. The big job for me will to design and fabricate a nice aerodynamic GRANNY addition over the cab and have it blend with the short roof extension designed to hide the solar panels.
You can mount supports for a roof rack to the outside of the box walls.
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Thanks for the note, I was wondering if there is a pre made bracket that will be low profile ( shorter than most regular cargo van pipe racks that clamp onto the drip edges of the older style van). And what would span 8’, be light, and support solar panels?
There are gutter clamp brackets where you supply the pipes for the cross bars.