Great use of Uni-strut. Glad to hear that wind noise was not an issue. FYI - virtually every bolt and nut on modern vehicles - especially foreign brands - is metric - not 1/4 x 28 pitch.
Well I watched this video. I walked out to my 2017 soul. I looked around at a couple jeep xj . After looking and doing some measurements. Using the factory rack side supports off a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. All I need to do is purchase the correct screws and a little dremmel work. And use of a hack saw. I’ll have a roof rack support for hauling some odds and ends. Not counting the free xj. I’ll have the cost of the fasteners and a cut off wheel in the project. Thank you
I was thinking, it may be a good idea to include a lock washer, what do you think? Vibration over time. Also, aluminum is a soft metal, upgusting will cause torque force from under panel, iton L channel over the top edges of the solar frame will ensure a bolt through the is secure for torque forces. Bolts tear through aluminum all the time and that is one major reason for panels flying away, that is just science of math torque ratios.
Nice project. Surely the bolts work loose? Theyre not tightened as theyre squeezing the floormat. Better to add a metal shim inside to tighten against.
I already have a rack rails any idea how I can get his down with already rails? Also how to hide the wire down? did you have a charge controller or some electronics?
Nice! Wonder if would be a good application for nylon insert locking nuts? The uni-strut looks like a great idea compared to something like aluminum square extrusion..
I was going to drill a hole/rubber grommet thru the rear hatch area, but I ended up just taping them & laying them across the upper portion of the rear door gasket. Coming up on 2 years - no problems with that method.
can i ask to what speeds you have gone with this setup on your car? Im in the process of doing this kind of setup on a different car, but im scared that they might break at higher speeds
I've gone up to 90mph - usually 70mph in all manner of cross wind/gusts. The key is to use lock washers. I've not had to tighten a single component yet (which amazes me). The rubber floor mat has also helped as far as I can tell as well as the lower profile. I would go with a panel angle of parallel to the ground or slightly pointing down toward the front. Stainless parts for the bolts at a minimum.
im going with nylock nuts wich i think work better then most lock washer(nordlock excluded) and just zink coated bolts, but mine is only staying outside 2 weeks a year for maybe 2-3 years. So stainless would be overkill in the rust prevention matters. But if it where to be my daily i would go for stainless as wel, no risk of rust spots because of a bolt that started to rust and leak rusty water. And i have hear 90 mph from more people now, so i guess 90mph should still be safe then. Offcourse its still my own fault if mine where to fly apart at that speed. But i was scared they might actually break apart at like 50mph on the roof of a car, and the would be kind of dangerous. I dont want to hit a biker in the face with pieces of broken solar panel.
Sounds reasonable to me! Good call on the nylon lock nuts as well. If you are worried/concerned about the integrity of those z-bars - maybe add another one or two along the front edge. I suppose if it were a very long and flexible panel - it could wobble and loosen/fatigue connections over time - the compact 100W Renogy has some beefy edges.
just use thin superglue on the threads and let it dry a bit before you ratchet down the nut, same principle as plastic filled stop nuts/ lock nuts or whatever they're called
it helps reduce the amount of water through the channel but honda's seam sealer is what is really sealing out the water. just make sure the seam sealer is not cracked before doing this. deteriorating seam sealer is a common problem on hondas with rain leaking
Great use of Uni-strut. Glad to hear that wind noise was not an issue. FYI - virtually every bolt and nut on modern vehicles - especially foreign brands - is metric - not 1/4 x 28 pitch.
rubber pads and unistrut are a great work flow. very easy to come across if you check out abandoned foundries or factories that are closing
this is the best rack mounting system i have seen on youtube
Per Honda, the "correct" nut to fit these studs is Honda part # 90305-SZA-000 which is listed as 6mm (aka M6) .
Anyone know the correct metric bolt size/thread? Cars are not made in USA. So...
Well I watched this video. I walked out to my 2017 soul. I looked around at a couple jeep xj . After looking and doing some measurements. Using the factory rack side supports off a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. All I need to do is purchase the correct screws and a little dremmel work. And use of a hack saw. I’ll have a roof rack support for hauling some odds and ends.
Not counting the free xj. I’ll have the cost of the fasteners and a cut off wheel in the project.
Thank you
Cool, thanks for sharing Conrad!
thanks James - I used some other material under the first test rail for a while before settling on this floor mat material.
I was thinking, it may be a good idea to include a lock washer, what do you think? Vibration over time.
Also, aluminum is a soft metal, upgusting will cause torque force from under panel, iton L channel over the top edges of the solar frame will ensure a bolt through the is secure for torque forces. Bolts tear through aluminum all the time and that is one major reason for panels flying away, that is just science of math torque ratios.
well done fo rthe cost, I used extruded aluminium with 45 degree faces for th e look, cost a little more but has a finished look thanks
Nice project.
Surely the bolts work loose? Theyre not tightened as theyre squeezing the floormat. Better to add a metal shim inside to tighten against.
I already have a rack rails any idea how I can get his down with already rails? Also how to hide the wire down? did you have a charge controller or some electronics?
Darn, wanted to see how you ran the cables.
Me too I’m going to run mine threw the tail gate light
Nice! Wonder if would be a good application for nylon insert locking nuts? The uni-strut looks like a great idea compared to something like aluminum square extrusion..
Why do I not see any roof storage options below the solar panel? Can someone tell me?
What is the size of the hardware?
I took great plans from Avasva . It help me a lot with my own solars.
Hi Conrad. Thank you for posting this. What gauge unistrut did you use? Is there road noise?
Nice. Thanks for posting. I wonder how do you feed the Renolgy wires into the van. Thanks again.
I was going to drill a hole/rubber grommet thru the rear hatch area, but I ended up just taping them & laying them across the upper portion of the rear door gasket. Coming up on 2 years - no problems with that method.
How’s the wire ran???
How did you install the studs?
how much drag does this produce at 60mph? could severely offset the car system net power.
it's quite low and I hear no wind noise.. choosing the correct angle for it to sit at is fairly important.
if i only had your skill... and more money.
Is Matt Damon your narrator?
Washer stacking seems goofy...why not simply acquire the proper length bolts?
He said he had to special-order them online and probably was too much hassle to order more
I think you can see some good advices on Avasva solutions.
Did you find SS fender washers? They will rust if not...
I think I skipped the SS washers - it's dry most of the time in Colorado. I can handle a bit of rust there!
can i ask to what speeds you have gone with this setup on your car? Im in the process of doing this kind of setup on a different car, but im scared that they might break at higher speeds
I've gone up to 90mph - usually 70mph in all manner of cross wind/gusts. The key is to use lock washers. I've not had to tighten a single component yet (which amazes me). The rubber floor mat has also helped as far as I can tell as well as the lower profile. I would go with a panel angle of parallel to the ground or slightly pointing down toward the front. Stainless parts for the bolts at a minimum.
im going with nylock nuts wich i think work better then most lock washer(nordlock excluded) and just zink coated bolts, but mine is only staying outside 2 weeks a year for maybe 2-3 years. So stainless would be overkill in the rust prevention matters. But if it where to be my daily i would go for stainless as wel, no risk of rust spots because of a bolt that started to rust and leak rusty water.
And i have hear 90 mph from more people now, so i guess 90mph should still be safe then. Offcourse its still my own fault if mine where to fly apart at that speed. But i was scared they might actually break apart at like 50mph on the roof of a car, and the would be kind of dangerous. I dont want to hit a biker in the face with pieces of broken solar panel.
Sounds reasonable to me! Good call on the nylon lock nuts as well. If you are worried/concerned about the integrity of those z-bars - maybe add another one or two along the front edge. I suppose if it were a very long and flexible panel - it could wobble and loosen/fatigue connections over time - the compact 100W Renogy has some beefy edges.
just use thin superglue on the threads and let it dry a bit before you ratchet down the nut, same principle as plastic filled stop nuts/ lock nuts or whatever they're called
👍👌❤️🇨🇦, thanks
how bad is the rust so far?
haven't noticed any so far - I sprayed the saw cut ends of the bars before mounting... stainless parts and some galvinzed nuts/bolts used.
With Avasva plans doing something like that was easy.
I did something similar with Avasva solutions.
The project like this step by step is described on the Avasva website and many more plans you can find on that website.
work goes much faster with Avasva plans.
You can find best solutions on Avasva website.
He did it without avasva help. That is the best way to learn. Do it yourself . Someone has to be the creative talent
You can learn from inplix scripts how to make it yourself.
Uh, those rubber seals are on there for a reason bruh...
it helps reduce the amount of water through the channel but honda's seam sealer is what is really sealing out the water. just make sure the seam sealer is not cracked before doing this. deteriorating seam sealer is a common problem on hondas with rain leaking