How often are you cleaning your solar panels?

 

I'll clean them after every move once we're setup using the California duster to get the layer of dust/ dirt off. If they actually appear dirty then I'll clean with water and cotton rags. So at minimum once every 2 weeks just depends on the environmental conditions.

 

I've starting cleaning my solar panel (just one) once a month using the same schedule for checking the batteries and running the generator. The panel gets really dirty. I don't know if it's because of the storage lot (dirt/gravel) or just the nature of the Colorado front range. I'm considering putting a wax on the panel to see if that will help keep the dirt from accumulating.

 

It's dust/ dirt in the air that settles on them even when you can't see it. High traffic area? Mine definitely after it rains they need to be cleaned mainly because they sit flat with a slight angle for water run off that is where the area will accumulate major dirt. I wouldn't wax them just use something like Rain X on them.

 

The previous owner had put silicone caulk in a few areas on the side trim which I tried to remove/ clean and recaulk awhile ago the new caulk didn't adhear in places. After removing the side trim piece and the bottom sheet metal pieces of the overhang (below the bedroom) it took 3 days of soaking letting it stay on the remaining bead that wouldn't come off of the gelcoat fiberglass for a few hours which wasn't doing diddly to leaving it on overnight twice. Alot of careful scrapeing and finally removing almost all of it. I could only find "Goo Gone Caulk Remover" it says easily removes caulk which it did on the aluminum but not so easily on the gelcoat siding. Do yourself and the next guy that might buy your rig DON'T USE SILICONE CAULK. One more time DON'T USE SILICONE CAULK.

When I removed the bottom sheet metal pieces there was some fiberglass insulation missing (r7) so decided to remove the balance of the fiberglass insulation and replace it with 1 1/2" foam board insulation (roughly r6) cut to fit snuggly in to the section of the area. Here area few pics of what it looked like before the foam board. I brain farted and didn't get any pics after installing the foam board in to the sections. It did look good though.
It was a small battle putting the sheet metal back in place so all the screw holes lined back up again.

 

Thanks for the info/post.

 

I know it's winter in most of the states and thinking of shade on a sunny 75 degree day is the furthest thing from thought but it's 75 and sunny.

After moving to this new spot I figured to show what I use for shading the awning area. The awning tube has a second channel for inserting awning eyelets for S hooks which can be found at Camping world or Amazon which look like these...
Awning Hooks - 8 Pack - Direcsource Ltd 69039 - Awning Accessories & Hardware - Camping World
They can be left in and rolled up with the awning I have had no issues after years of doing this. The mesh shade is 8' x 16' which blocks about 70% uv rays and does nice job shading and keeping it cooler. I'll use 2 longer bungees at either end to keep it from sliding. With 3 aluminum tent pegs with smaller bungees to keep it a little taught. 16' is wider than the awning so it can shield some of the sun from either side that may need it.
I've had this mesh shade for a few years now which at the time was $50 I see now they are $65 +/- depending where you shop. When not in use it folds up nicely and stored in a compartment.harborfreight.com/8-ft-x-16-ft-mesh-all-purposeweather-resistant-tarp-60582.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided


Just an idea incase you didn't want to spend $100 or more on a camping world awning shade which block about 85% uv rays.







Here's the full moon rising yesterday with a view of our front cactus yard.


The blood moon this morning


A few cactus hazards

 

How close to Tucson are you?

 

45 miles the way crow flies.

 

My son lives in Vail, other side of town maybe? Love the desert this time of year.

 

Great pictures as usual! Thanks for posting!
Have never been to the desert.
Regards,
Chris

 

It's winter in all of 'em, some are just downright ornery though!

This is what I hate about the intertubes. I seen that picture, figured it had to be a barrel cactus, and got to wondering how long it takes for them to get that big. I figured somewhere north of 50 or 60 years, which is probably about right. Here's what I didn't know - courtesy of Wikipedia:


"One should approach a barrel cactus with extreme caution. A puncture to human skin from one of the spines is considered a dirty wound. If the puncture is deep enough to draw blood, antibiotics may be needed; and could take up to several months for the wound to heal properly. Barrel cactus plants are one of the more dangerous cacti to humans in the desert."

 

Love you're dog !!
Here is our Aussies

 

Effies56.. thanks

Tedster9.. those barrel cactus are some of the biggest I've seen. I went and read up on them after you posted. I have seen a bunch laying over on their side and wondered why and now know that they lean south towards the sun.
The cholla is one cactus I worry about the most with the dog. It seems that cactus has some nasty spines.

avf100 some darn cute Aussies you have there 3 times the fun got to love that. Mine is shedding it's winter coat right now, it's amazing something so small can have so much hair. Good thing he has personality of a puppy all the time and a pretty smart too.

 

I have had to replace the inner dome twice because of cracks, so far I've been lucky with the outer. But it always keeps me wondering. Especially if you have a problem traveling or even parked and you are not in the RV all the time.

We have the King Jack antenna. Last year a tree branch took the antenna off, leaving the 2.5" tube sticking up. Didn't find out about until a real heavy down pour came through and water was dripping on my pillow!

Good thing the antenna was over the head of the. Anyplace else and we might not have found the leak until the morning.

Anyway, for the above reasons, yours and mine, I ordered our new trailer with a skylight delete option.