Fitting Solar Panels

Just reading my Collyn Rivers solar book - he suggest the 'Sikaflex only' method as being ideal - an extremely strong bond apparently but must be fixed to something solid - not just the paint surface on that 'something solid'. As for routing of cables - that depends on the van.........BTW - if you are doing a whole installation, the Rivers book covers the lot in detail - plenty of valuable tips on hardware choices and methods etc. to gain the best possible results.

Whats the name of Rivers book??

I fit these for a living and also fix up some horrendous installations.
Consider the following before you begin the installation -

There was talk that jayco were going to prewire sterlings + heritages for solar but I've yet to see one (evernew have been doing it for years).
It is impossible to get inside the walls of the sterling. You need to find a suitable route from the battery to controller to panel. This usually involves using underneath the van, through cubboard space and up to the ceiling. You cannot avoid drilling holes through the floor and roof.
Locate a suitable place for the controller, somewhere in the van where the wiring can be hidden (in conduit) inside cubboard space. That cubboard space needs to be floor to ceiling. Above that cubboard space is where the solar panels should be located. This will also mean that the panels are close to the edge of the roof - easy to climb a ladder and clean. Very difficult to clean a panel that is in the middle of the roof.

Leaves will accumulate in the air gap under the panel, The panel(s) should be oriented so that there is good air flow front to back, not side to side.

Hi David

When mounting the panels try make them tilt and also easily removable for portable use.

Many thanks for all the assistance, it's given me a better idea of how to go about this project.