Arvy Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Whilst I am confident enough to set up the solar once fitted I am unsure of how to bring the cable through the roof of my van. I understand that a hole would need to be drilled but how should I go about this. I am unsure of what damage I may cause by drilling through the roof of the van. Can anyone please assist me in this matter. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 If you google waterproof glands for caravan roof it will bring up lots of suppliers including amazon, eBay etc. The entry gland must face rear of van and streamlined end the front. Find a suitable part of roof for cable entry avoiding internal structures,cables etc. depending on where you are going to fit regulator with cable access to battery. Drill suitable size hole through roof and thread cable from panel, through gland and through roof. Then suggest you Sikaflex gland to roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arvy Posted July 1, 2013 Author Share Posted July 1, 2013 Thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Are you sure you need one? Do you have twin leisure batteries and that not enough? do you tend to camp of grid for extended periods. Also we don't get a lot of sun in the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corky 8 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I,m in the process of fitting a 120 watt Bosch solar panel to the roof of our motorhome, within the kit is a Double entry cable block with waterproof glands, as stated previously you can buy these on ebay, ensure the sloping side faces the front of the vehicle with the cable entry on the lea side ,the Block is intended to be held down with Sikaflex 521 as is the solar panel mounts , before I actually drill the roof I intend to use a stud finder to try and make sure there are no electric cables running over the part of the roof I intend to drill, I have found if I follow the gas heater flue I can get from the roof to under the motorhome along side the heater tube but not close enough to cause the cable problems, aswell as using sikaflex to hold down the cable entry block I will also to use it to seal the hole around the cable, the output from the solar panel on a dull day inside the house on my Multimeter read 16 volts proving it does not need full sunshine to be charging the batteries, this 16 volts then has to go through the solar controler then onto the batteries, Although I have duel leisure batteries fitted which have separate feed/charge leads they discharge and charge at the same rate and have been advised by the suppliers to connect the charge from the Solar control unit to one battery only even though my controller has dual battery charging connections. I will use the other side for lighting etc. hope this is of some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Just make sure it is 'securely' fitted to the roof. On my way home yesterday,up the M5 I saw a a quite Large Solar panel laying on the hard shoulder, I was going to stop, then realised that the fall from the roof of the motorhome would have damaged it beyond repair anyway. An expensive bit of 'Wind blown' flotsam. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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