Best Solar Panels for Airstreams

[KellySLC49]

Gee! Thanks for the compliments! It's coming along really nicely. We arrived home with the Clipper in its "before" state on May 28th and started tearing her apart a couple days later. We've been working non-stop and this solar, inverter, and charging system are really the only holdup we've had. I've wired two fiberglass egg trailers before, but they only had cheapo Harbor Freight portable panels with jumper cable connections to the batteries from their no-name charge controllers. All LEDs along with dual Trojan T-105 6V batteries worked fine for what we asked those trailers to do. This time everything is different.

We've decided not to install panels below the first seam on either side of the roof - mostly for esthetic reasons. We can't go beyond the seam on the curbside anyway due to the heater flue. After reworking things this evening, it looks like we can get 400 watts up there without removing a vent! Woo hoo!

To answer your question on combiner boxes and wiring, we won't need a combiner box. We'll have 8 panels total, wired in 2 sets of 4 panels each. Each set will be wired in series, and the 2 series sets will then be wired together in parallel using MC4 "Y" connectors. That gives us 400W, 69.67V and 9.48A (adjusted for cold temps) coming from the panels on 10 AWG wire, and 32A going from the charge controller to the batteries on 6 AWG. I've attached my drawing. Hopefully it makes sense. I've learned a ton from a blog called Explorist life. He has videos that explain this stuff in a way I understand.

I just ordered 8 of the 50W panels. We'll soon see how this all comes together.

[Humboldt Air]

I think the panel layout looks really nice!!! You shouldn't have any problems with that setup, and I think that it will install very cleanly. Thank you for sharing your plan!! Can't wait to see the install photos. Please post them after the install. Im so excited to see one of the coolest airstreams get some streamlined solar!!!!

[KellySLC49]

Us too! We can't wait to hit the road and try it all out! Our trailer is the odd man out in this forum since the '52 Clipper was actually made by Silver Streak. The design was a collaboration between the guys who created Silver Streak, Airstream, and Curtis Wright, which is why they look very similar. The early Airstreams, like my 1949 Trailwind (which has remained at the new frame/floor stage for several years now), only had one "alien eye" window. FYI - We've removed that window on the back, but now it's a gaping hole. Been waiting until we felt our fab skills were up to rebuilding that rear cap ... or until we could find someone to do it. In the meantime, we wanted something to camp in, hence the Clipper.

[KellySLC49]

@Humboldt Air - Our MiaSole 50W panels arrived today, woo hoo! We've mocked them up and will be installing shortly. These had velcro on them, which pealed off pretty easily. Do you recall what brand double-sided tape yours had? I'm thinking of using the 3M VHB tape I've seen used in youtube vids ... One shows the guy using the 3M tape and then sealing all around with Sikaflex, though he doesn't say which type.

Thoughts?

[truckasaurus]

Interested too, I have 4 of those Mia’s waiting to go on

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by KellySLC49

I know this is a bit of an older post, but we're looking at using the same panels on our '52 Silver Streak Clipper. We're thinking of using MiraSole's 50W panels, since their smaller size will allow us to run them east-west and get more watts on the roof. I've seen videos where they install these over that corrugated white plastic-cardboard stuff, but thought I'd ask if the additional 5-degree increase in inside temps has been noticeable. The interior of our trailer will be shiny aluminum as well and it still gets hot during our 100 degree days here (Utah), despite 1.5" of blue foam insulation and Armaflex pipe insulation on the ribs. BTW, we're doing a series-parallel install in a 3x2 configuration for a total of 6 of the smaller, 40x14, 50W panels. We'll be installing a mini-split system and will have another 400W-500W on the ground with a second MPPT Victron controller. 12v-only Isotherm fridge too. How have you found your array capacity? Does it still keep up with your needs?

Thanks!

It's the curmudgeon in me...."they are only original once' TETO
Beautiful trailer BTW.

Bob
🇺🇸
Unrestored

[n2916s]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

It's the curmudgeon in me...."they are only original once' TETO

Beautiful trailer BTW.



Bob

[emoji631]

Unrestored

DeSoto?

[Humboldt Air]

Originally Posted by KellySLC49

@Humboldt Air - Our MiaSole 50W panels arrived today, woo hoo! We've mocked them up and will be installing shortly. These had velcro on them, which pealed off pretty easily. Do you recall what brand double-sided tape yours had? I'm thinking of using the 3M VHB tape I've seen used in youtube vids ... One shows the guy using the 3M tape and then sealing all around with Sikaflex, though he doesn't say which type.



Thoughts?

Ohhhh how fun!!!! I don’t have a clue what type of adhesive was factory on the back of the panels. We used some tape for the wires and I don’t remember off hand what that was either. We are on the road and won’t be back for a week. When I get hone I will check. I don’t recall it being very special. Just tape you would use for a normal trailer.

[KellySLC49]

Beautiful car! Believe it or not, I actually love authentic restorations, too. I had someone from the AS Restoration group send me a bag of rusty slotted screws they weren't reusing since husband chucked ours. And I've spent a lot of time and money tracking down and/or rebuilding authentic parts. It will look and feel original inside, but I want it to function even better than the new ones. I figure if the brilliant engineers and workmen who made this trailer would have had this cutting edge CIGS technology, they probably would have used it on this trailer. I feel I'm honoring their enginuity while taking this into it's next 70 years. ��

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by n2916s

DeSoto?

1953 Ford Victoria. My DW's grandmother's first new car.
Purchased in 1953. We purchased it in 1976, and consider ourselves very lucky to be the custodian of such an original unrestored car.

Bob
🇺🇸

[n2916s]

Very, very nice!

[KellySLC49]

Simply gorgeous!

[gator.bigfoot]

Originally Posted by KellySLC49

@Humboldt Air - Our MiaSole 50W panels arrived today, woo hoo! We've mocked them up and will be installing shortly. These had velcro on them, which pealed off pretty easily. Do you recall what brand double-sided tape yours had? I'm thinking of using the 3M VHB tape I've seen used in youtube vids ... One shows the guy using the 3M tape and then sealing all around with Sikaflex, though he doesn't say which type.



Thoughts?

Sikaflex 221

[KellySLC49]

I have a bunch of Sika 221, so that's convenient. I'm thinking a bead around the edges and maybe an X in the middle?

[Humboldt Air]

Originally Posted by KellySLC49

I have a bunch of Sika 221, so that's convenient. I'm thinking a bead around the edges and maybe an X in the middle?

Hey,
Did you get the array up? Would love to see some pics and hear how it went.
[emoji106]

[KellySLC49]

Originally Posted by Humboldt Air

Hey,
Did you get the array up? Would love to see some pics and hear how it went.
[emoji106]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Hello again!

We did get them on the roof and all wired up. We still need to go around the edges with the Sika 221. We installed them directly on the roof with the tape I've linked. We mounted them as you see because we could get more watts (400w) by going length-wise around both sides of the vents. These panels would have fit going cross-wise (14"x43") but since they have to be in pairs, we would have only been able to fit 6 panels (300w). Plus the panel wiring would have been more visible from the ground since it would have been on the lowest part of the street side. We've been busy with work and haven't hooked the interior components up yet to get a sense of their actual production. I did test each panel with a multimeter to make sure their output was as rated.

[Humboldt Air]

Originally Posted by KellySLC49

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1





Hello again!



We did get them on the roof and all wired up. We still need to go around the edges with the Sika 221. We installed them directly on the roof with the tape I've linked. We mounted them as you see because we could get more watts (400w) by going length-wise around both sides of the vents. These panels would have fit going cross-wise (14"x43") but since they have to be in pairs, we would have only been able to fit 6 panels (300w). Plus the panel wiring would have been more visible from the ground since it would have been on the lowest part of the street side. We've been busy with work and haven't hooked the interior components up yet to get a sense of their actual production. I did test each panel with a multimeter to make sure their output was as rated.

Great installation!!! Wow it looks really good!!! 400 watts is a good amount of power and it fits the space very well. Looking forward to performance updates!!

[Humboldt Air]

Originally Posted by KellySLC49

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1





Hello again!



We did get them on the roof and all wired up. We still need to go around the edges with the Sika 221. We installed them directly on the roof with the tape I've linked. We mounted them as you see because we could get more watts (400w) by going length-wise around both sides of the vents. These panels would have fit going cross-wise (14"x43") but since they have to be in pairs, we would have only been able to fit 6 panels (300w). Plus the panel wiring would have been more visible from the ground since it would have been on the lowest part of the street side. We've been busy with work and haven't hooked the interior components up yet to get a sense of their actual production. I did test each panel with a multimeter to make sure their output was as rated.

Btw, have you guys noticed any difference in internal temperatures?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Humboldt Air

Btw, have you guys noticed any difference in internal temperatures?

Hi

Nope

Bob

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by Humboldt Air

Btw, have you guys noticed any difference in internal temperatures?

Why would you see an increase in internals temps?

Unless of course you had previously installed a reflective coating to reduce internal temps, and are now covering up that reflective coating with a black body which absorbs heat.