Monument-Solar | An Introduction to our Racking System 

Like the look and the idea, but watch out for hail storms!

Another negative about attaching panels directly to the roof is the lack of sufficient cooling air underneath. We have a 4,400-watt array racked 15" off the roof of our 35ft MH. This not only lets our panels run cooler, producing higher output, but we bring our own shade with us, so the interior of our home is naturally cooler, as if we're parked under a big shade tree with less heat load on our A/C units too. 4,400 watts allows us to run both our A/Cs and charge our batteries at the same time. Together with our 48v, 16.3 kwh battery we can run our 12k Btu mini split heat pump 24/7 cooling in the summer or warming us in the winter as needed, with plenty of reserve capacity too. Of course, a bigger RV has more roof space for more panels yielding equivalent results with more sq ft to heat and cool. Ours are flat mounted panels, which will produce 20-30+% less power than a liftable array, depending on season, latitude and orientation (assuming you can orient your RV so the array faces south and take the time and effort to climb on the roof and lift them, knowing you must lower them before you move). We have a smaller, 620w liftable array on the side of our MH for our 12v system which has proven this out. Under winter conditions in Yuma, when lifted to the optimal angle we observed about 35-40% more production than horizontal panels. Under these conditions our 620w array performs more like an 840-850w fixed horizontal array in terms of total daily wattage produced. The advantage of a side mounted array is that we can raise and lower it effortlessly with the help of gas struts, securing it at the optimal angle standing safely on the ground. It's much easier to clean than our roof mounted array too. I really like that you can walk your roof between the rows of panels to clean them, whereas I must clean mine using a ladder on the side - so I'm sure they don't get cleaned as often as yours do. Roof and A/C maintenance is easier on your system too. I'm on the East Coast now where the constant, heavy rain is doing an excellent job of keeping them clean. 🙄 One of the things I noticed earlier today was how well my high voltage array was doing in the rain. My 400voc horizontal array was producing 9 amps at 265 volts at about 11:00am in the pouring rain. That's 2,385 watts or 54% of their rated output in a deluge. Needless to say, I was quite surprised, and would have been happy to see 1/2 of that, considering the weather. I'm sure your sweet, modular system is much easier and faster to build than my one-off system was. If I had to do it over again, knowing what I do now, I'd definitely have given you a call. Wishing you great success. I hope you'll soon be selling so many that you'll have trouble keeping up with the demand. Take care!

I have recently come across your channel, and I find myself intrigued by your solar setup. With all the solar panels you have, you have the capability of producing over 25,000w a day. 5 kids, wow that’s awesome!!!! How much power does your family use on a daily average? With that much capability up top, it that not way to much overkill, and how much can you store with all those batteries? Newbie here just asking some questions. Thanks.

How much does that whole scha-bang weigh?

I've been designing a similar system for the last week for a cargo trailer conversion project. No need now. Do your panels tilt and track the sun automatically, or would I have to add my own linear actuators and controller? Also, the roof is 12" on center aluminum square tube with no other penetrations. No rooftop A/C unit, vents or plumbing vent stacks planned. The trailer is a 27' V-nose. 22 x 8.5 rectangle, 5' for the V.

How much is a rack like you have on yours, I have a 41’

All bull s.it