poptop roof aircon & solar panels
- Thread starter xpanda
- Start date
Brookes, I'm guessing this is the model/part no.
8673WHJAYCO
0650N 57/13
Out of curiosity - let me know if it is different on your van.
Be careful taking the struts off as they have about 15cm more stroke on the ram which lets go at a rate of knots if you pull it off the ball joint without restraining it...
Tool for compressing struts is easy to make...
To address the weight concern of many solar panels, i am looking to put the thin semi-flexible panels on. 200W (2 x 100W) traditional panels are about 23KG in total, whereas the flexible units are slight more expensive, but only 4-6KG! Big payload savings and not as much stress on the roof and struts.
ROnEM I was thinking about those and I was also reading that solar panels require cooling to be most efficient. I also hear that the flat panels don't require this air circulation. With these conflicting views I went the tried and tested but I did opt for a larger single 200w panel to reduce weight. I will position the panel directly over the lifting mechanism to also reduce the effect of the weight and lastly I'm looking to upgrade the gas struts to assist lifting the weight.
I suspect you may have the exact weights a little on the high side (I think my panel may have been 13kg, Ill check) but the ratio of the difference is probably right 4:1.
I suspect you may have the exact weights a little on the high side (I think my panel may have been 13kg, Ill check) but the ratio of the difference is probably right 4:1.
For interest sake, you may not need to replace the struts. I have had many struts re-gassed. There are mobile guys around that come to your place and will up the level of newton force. By the looks of what is above 650N is the presure to aim for.
This does depend on the type of strut, and how it is sealed as they might not be able to take that presure without blowing out the seal. I cannot comment if they are the correct type or not. We get our van in about a month, then i will know.
This is a great option if you do not know what you are after. As you can fit them and lift the item a few times to get the feel (pressure) to what you want. I did it in the past on the bed in my camper, motor cowl on the my inboard boat.
This does depend on the type of strut, and how it is sealed as they might not be able to take that presure without blowing out the seal. I cannot comment if they are the correct type or not. We get our van in about a month, then i will know.
This is a great option if you do not know what you are after. As you can fit them and lift the item a few times to get the feel (pressure) to what you want. I did it in the past on the bed in my camper, motor cowl on the my inboard boat.
I'm thinking the exact same as you to go with those slimline panels, but i'm concerned about the whole cooling or lack of it of the thin panels mounted directly to the roof.
Jayco replaced mine under warrenty and put a heavier strut on but they said that they did not want to go too much bigger due the the mounts. A heavier strut may lift the roof easier but it puts a lot more pressure on the mounts as well. If you really want it to be easy, add one of the old style scissor spring lifters to each end and it will be spot on. I have not bothered with this yet, instead I just push the roof up with one hand and operate the bar that does the lifting with the other hand.
I was thinking the same thing while reading through the posts regarding brackets. When we had our 16' one strut popped off the roof bracket, I struggled with a ratchet strap which only had plain hook ends to compress, I realised how much tension is on those thin alloy brackets!
We too have roof-top aircon and when I took the van into the dealer last week for service and warranty items, when discussing the issue of having difficulty lifting the pop-top using the lifting, the service manager said that what is quite often happening in the factory is that they fit the standard gas struts rather that stronger ones to cater for the Aircon unit.
Not a problem - service manager is putting in the correct stronger gas struts to solve the problem!
Gotta love my Jayco dealer's service team
Not a problem - service manager is putting in the correct stronger gas struts to solve the problem!
Gotta love my Jayco dealer's service team
We too have roof-top aircon and when I took the van into the dealer last week for service and warranty items, when discussing the issue of having difficulty lifting the pop-top using the lifting, the service manager said that what is quite often happening in the factory is that they fit the standard gas struts rather that stronger ones to cater for the Aircon unit.
Not a problem - service manager is putting in the correct stronger gas struts to solve the problem!
Gotta love my Jayco dealer's service team
Hey mate would you be able to quote the model number of the struts just so I can check mine out as it came factory with a roof top aircon also if that's ok cheers adam
Hi there just wanted to ask if you have installed your solar panes yet and if so could you post some pics of the roof and where you positioned it if that's ok cheers adam