How to Tilt/angle roof solar panels on newer Ollies?

[rich.dev]

I would love to be able to tilt/angle my roof solar panels like @John E Davies did in THIS thread. However, the solar panel mounting brackets on the newer Ollivers are different than the earlier rigs like John's. I'm not sure when they changed the solar panel mounting brackets, maybe 2022? Has anybody with brackets similar to mine (below pics) figured out a way to tilt the solar panels?

 

[topgun2]

14 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

Has anybody with brackets similar to mine (below pics) figured out a way to tilt the solar panels?

Really BIG levelers on one side?  😇

[ScubaRx]

The panels on the earlier models were more narrow than the ones they currently use. The newer panels have more watts than the older ones. I’ve not had the opportunity to examine the new mounting brackets, but judging from what I can see in your photos there is no way for those panels to tilt. 

[rich.dev]

53 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

but judging from what I can see in your photos there is no way for those panels to tilt. 

Yup I will have to Jerry-rig a contraption, like @topgun2 said, a really big leveller on one side! 😊

[SeaDawg]

Looks like you have two bolts on each panel, so it would be a tough change up to allow you any way to lift one side of the panel.

Our earlier mounts were from am solar. You could send them a pic in an email, and discuss other options.  Great folks. Always helpful.

We have one bolt (on a threaded knob) on each short side of our panels. If it's any comfort to you, we rarely adjust the panels. Too much ladder work, unless we're in a spot for a very long time.

Adding in some portable solar is a much easier, and safer/ground level, alternative. That's our solution,  anyway.

Edited April 4 by SeaDawg
Typos. Probably left a few...

[Steve and MA]

We've considered a tilt modification on our 2022 LE2 but decided it's not worth the hassle for our type of camping.  4 Way Solar has a guide discussing the pros/cons for a RV roof panel tilt system.  You might be able to set up a similar system to work on an Oliver.  Their design is simple, but you'd still need an easy way to reach the roof brackets to tilt the panels.    

[Patriot]

Certainly an ambitious undertaking and I look forward to what you come up with. With over 20,000 miles on our Oliver I have never seen the need to tilt our panels. They have always kept our AGMs topped off and working great.
 

That said, Mod On! 😊

Edited April 4 by Patriot

[rich.dev]

10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Adding in some portable solar is a much easier, and safer/ground level, alternative. That's our solution, 

Yup, that’s probably what I’ll end up doing. 

[rich.dev]

56 minutes ago, Steve and MA said:

4 Way Solar has a guide discussing the pros/cons for a RV roof panel tilt system.

Very good read, thanks Steve. 

[mossemi]

11 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Adding in some portable solar is a much easier, and safer/ground level, alternative. That's our solution,  anyway.

Adding more solar panels either on the roof or the ground is a more expensive solution, but probably the most practical.

Mossey

[jd1923]

Would love to have tilt panels, but I'm not climbing ladders when away, don't want to carry one either. We mostly winter camp, so the tilt would be helpful. Last outing somehow the fridge got switched to DC overnight, woke up to 63%. It was a very sunny day in the Sonoran Desert, and we got back up to 89%. With a tilt, I figure it would have gotten to high 90s instead.

Come up with a motorized solution for 2-panel Olivers and I'm in!

[ScubaRx]

7 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Come up with a motorized solution for 2-panel Olivers and I'm in!

That solution has been over four years in the making but will be on the market in the next month or so. 
 

Keep watching. 

[MAX Burner]

On 4/4/2024 at 6:57 AM, Patriot said:

With over 20,000 miles on our Oliver I have never seen the need to tilt our panels.

Same here, Patriot -- D and I and the fur missiles have logged 11k+ miles since MAR23, have always got to 100% SOC by mid afternoon the following day.  Even this past weekend, albeit we deployed our 200w portable modules during very gloomy overcast WX for an eclipse trip in TX, the battery bank was fully joy before 1300 in WOXOF conditions.  We wouldn't recommend that you worry about tilting your modules... just say'n.

But like the "Man" sez, "MOD ON!"...

[routlaw]

Likewise in over 9 years with our fixed panels have never run out of electricity or not able to get back to 100% SOC. However our Lead Acid batteries do appear to be at the end of their life and will need to replace those probably this year and most likely with Lithium. We have camped in rain, cloudy and over cast, you name but still get to 100% every day. For the trouble one would go to creating tilting panels and for only a few degrees just don’t see it being worth the trouble. Hope this helps

[MAX Burner]

10 minutes ago, routlaw said:

For the trouble one would go to creating tilting panels and for only a few degrees just don’t see it being worth the trouble.

Concur, 100%!  Impressive that you've got that much usage from your wet cell's... Well done, amigo!

Edited April 10 by MAX Burner
Had to fix a typo.