4 PLANNING
1. Move the pallet jack inside the truck/trailer to a suitable location
for charging, remove the cover for the pallet jack batteries and
disconnect the negative connection.
2. Turn off any accessories or equipment, including connection(s) to
the truck/tractor and disconnect all negative battery connections
from the liftgate batteries.
3. Determine the location for solar panel installation. Usually the
panels are mounted on the roof above the dual charging system
(DCS) unit to keep the wire run as short as possible.
4. Plan out wire routing before permanently mounting the solar
panel, DCS unit or any wiring. In many installations it is better to
mock up the whole installation before adhering the panels.
•Leave a gap of 1”between panels to allow for expansion
and contraction and to ensure solar cells are not covered
by 4Evaseal Tape.
•Ensure that all wiring is protected from rough or sharp
edges.
•Must use isopropyl alcohol or any other de-greaser. Must
ensure the solar panel location is completely clean. This
surface must be dry and above 45⁰F/8⁰C before adhering
the panel to the trailer roof.
•The location for DCS unit should be inside the
truck/trailer.
5 SOLAR PANELS
1. Remove the thin protective layer from the top surface of the panel.
2. Peel back a small portion (~5”) of the nonstick layer of the
adhesive backing tape (Figure 1) on the top or bottom of the solar
module. Place the side of the panel with the exposed adhesive in
the desired panel location.
3. Now that your panel is in position, remove the remainder of the
nonstick layer. Press down on the panel. Apply even pressure to
the entire panel to ensure it is properly adhered to the trailer roof.
4. Apply 4Evaseal Tape over the perimeter of the panel. Ensure
solar cells are not covered. If using tape, ensure good adhesion
around entire perimeter of solar panel. (Figure 2)
5. Repeat steps 1–4 for each panel. Locate panels adjacent to each
other.
6. Use the MC4 cables that are connected to the solar panel junction
box. Connect the positive MC4 connector to the negative
connector of the adjacent panel. This will connect the panels in
series and compound the output voltage of the panel. Connect
the 3ft. MC4 extension harness to the free connector of the
furthest panel from where the solar extension will be routed from.
(Figure 3)
7. Connect the solar extension harness to the unused positive and
negative connectors on the panel and 3ft. MC4 extension
harness. Secure all harnessing to roof using 4Evaseal Tape, high-
bond adhesive, for example Sikaflex 221, or fasteners. (Figure 4)
8. Route the harness down the trailer to the DCS unit. If available,
use an existing conduit or channel. (Figure 5)
9. Cover solar panels with opaque material or the boxes they came
in to halt the production of electricity while installing solar wiring
to the DCS unit in Part 3.
