Question regarding solar system and weight capacity

[glassjawa]

Newbie here. Having heard tons of horror stories about exceeding the weight capacity and the issues that come with that, I am stupid paranoid about doing just that with my own build. I got a 4000W solar system for my 30' bus, and I'm likely going to mount some on the roof, some on the side. I have 20 195W panels so I kind of have no option if I want to use them all (which I would like to do if possible).

Can anyone give me some insight on how many of these panels I can put on my bus without compromising structural integrity and without possibly exceeding weight capacity? I plan on pretty meticulously spreading them out and displacing weight as evenly as possible, if that helps at all.

[TJones]

The weight of the panels shouldn't be an issue. The roof is designed to support the weight of the bus in a roll over. The important thing with the solar panels is to make sure they securely fastened to bus. Many people bolt unistrut or super strut to the roof and then attach the panels to the strut. If you spend some time searching through the build threads there are some good pictures of how this was done.

Ted

[dzl_]

20 x 200W PV panels should weigh considerably less than 20 x school children.


For reference:

100 gallons of water = ~830 lbs
100 gallons of diesel = ~700 lbs
1000 Amp-hour AGM = ~700 lbs