Off roof solar?

[Crisfole]

So planning electric for our conversion and we'd really like solar, but our bus is tall. Like 13'6". Any ideas on how we can still have some solar?

The options seem to be:

1. Portable. Get foldable panels and set them up each time we park, either up on the roof or on the ground.
2. A complicated roof rack that folds to a side of the bus. No real specific plan for how... But I imagine it's probably over engineered.

Y'all have any other ideas? Is solar even feasible without roof space?

[alpine44]

Picture of the bus would help. Is this a double decker with open-air seating on the top?

[john61ct]

The first option is doable but a PITA if you up and move frequently, also theft can be more of an issue. Depends if you need only four panels or a dozen too.

I've seen vertical racks attached to a side, hinged at the top, swing up like an awning.

Or just leave vertical and live with the reduced output.

not crazy difficult but need solid engineering / fab work.

Finally, semi-flex panels, expensive and short-lived, but can be fixed directly to even a curved roof. Will get super hot, but should add less than 1/2" to the height.

[alpine44]

Found pictures of the bus in the OP's album

Hinging solar panels on the roof edge, storing them against the walls while traveling, and propping them up when stationary is going to cost you some of the views from the top while driving but will allow you to orient the panel surface against the sun.



You could also mount the panels on the wall section with the Herberts Travel logo and prop then up to the correct angle on the sun-facing side. The panels on the other side will be pretty useless though in this configuration.

[kazetsukai]

Originally Posted by Crisfole

Y'all have any other ideas? Is solar even feasible without roof space?

I used superstrut to mount six panels to the side of my bus on hinges. The cool part is that I knew this would be temporary, I could just take the panels off the strut when I had a place for them. This could be applied in a way where you could move panels from one side to the other depending where you were parked.





I have since removed them. The strut is still useful- I can haul stuff with it, and I plan multiple uses for it including support for a removable workbench, outdoor seating, etc.


I do need to add another strut underneath it.

[Crisfole]

Wow! Super helpful! I had thought about attaching to the side and having them flip all the way into the roof, it hadn't occurred to me to just leave them on the side like an awning!

The flexible ones sound... Overpriced? How fragile are they really?

[john61ct]

If you install perfectly, might average 3 years lifespan

[Native]

If you mount the "struts" high enough, they could also function as an awning.

[Crisfole]

I really like the idea of the awning. I had planned on installing a regular awning anyway.

I have a friend who's a really talented welder, so setting up a frame should be doable. setting up a crank to extend the awning should also be doable...I've got to work out how high to place it...I still like the idea of swinging it all the way on top of the roof (maybe having the whole set of panels on a spinning center.



Not really sure how realistic this is. I'd really _love_ to be able to create a rooftop section...maybe to counterbalance the one-side weight I could do a solar awning on one side, and a flip-to-top deck on the other...these are currently mostly crazy ideas that would happen _after_ getting everything working. Apart from the solar, of course. That's important for quiet daily operation.