VHB Tape - Brick & Mortar Store that has it in stock in SE USA?

[coastsignal]

Hi All,
Looking for a good place to buy 3M VHB Tape for mounting solar panels on our Eggcamper. We are traveling from Eastern NC on Sat. down I95 to Scamp Camp on Monday. Then we will be in Florida for about 10 days. Looking for a place to buy VHB on the way or in Northern/Central Florida. Grainger lists 5yd. rolls of .045 3/4" for about $18. Any comments on a vendor that has it in stock and for a reasonable price would be appreciated. The full size rolls go for around $100, but we don't need that much.
Thank-You
Mark

[FTTRV]

I bought 3M VHB tape from a seller on Ebay. I used it to mount a solar panel on my 21 Bigfoot. It has been on the trailer for 3 years. After the install I used self leveling caulking applied to the tape and bracket.
Chuck

[mary and bob]

VHB tape comes in different thickness and strengths. I bought some at Lowes. It may have been rated 25lb. Don't remember what & where I tried to attach something but don't think it worked good.

[Captleemo]

If its the same tape I'm thinking of you can get it at WalMart.

[Ron Merritt]

VHB is a much higher strength adhesive tape than the red tape you see at walmart, lowes, etc.

Your best bet is to order some from Amazon or a solar installer to be sure you get exactly what you are looking for. I've seen small rolls on Amazon - search VHB - it isn't cheap though.

[wessonjoe]

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3M VHB Tape, VHB Tape in Stock - Uline
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1-800-295-5510
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[Dennis Clinton]

I ordered mine from Amazon, then found some in the local O'Reilly Auto parts store.

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by coastsignal

Hi All,
Looking for a good place to buy 3M VHB Tape for mounting solar panels on our Eggcamper. We are traveling from Eastern NC on Sat. down I95 to Scamp Camp on Monday. Then we will be in Florida for about 10 days. Looking for a place to buy VHB on the way or in Northern/Central Florida. Grainger lists 5yd. rolls of .045 3/4" for about $18. Any comments on a vendor that has it in stock and for a reasonable price would be appreciated. The full size rolls go for around $100, but we don't need that much.
Thank-You
Mark

I use a LOT of 3M tapes in my products. You definitely want a closed cell foam tape that's weatherproof. 3M RP45 is used by the trucking industry to mount mirrors; I use it in all my products exposed to hot/cold and water. Can get it in smaller amounts on e-bay. Spec sheet: 3M™ VHB™ Tape RP45

Charlie Y

[MCDenny]

3M has many (dozens?) of different VHB tapes. Be sure to get the right stuff. They recommended # 5952 for my project, sticking aluminum channel to fiberglass gelcoat. I got way more than I needed for one 100w panel from Amazon for about $35.

The panel has been stuck to the roof for almost a year and probably 6000 miles.


Denny Wolfe
Wanderingourway.wordpress.com

[coastsignal]

Got 3m VHB from Grainger. ALmost none of their stores stock it, but they offer-2 day, free ship to store --I bought 1" .045 conformable and it was about $16 per 5 yd roll.

I Talked with a 3m engineer at the recent (national supplier's) hardware show in Orlando 3 wks ago. He says that the 20# extreme 3m dbl sided tape IS VHB tape in a consumer pack--but not the 10# version. While I was talking with him--after my question regarding surface prep--he called the specific VHB engineering dept at 3m. On fiberglass RV, They recommend carefully roughing up with a scotchbrite pad, using Acetone as a cleaner and wiping down down with Alcohol after the Acetone.

The consumer Extreme package is only about .020, so might not work so well with solar panels on fgrv's. By memory--I think the part #s 411.
Mark

[Night Sailor]

Mine has held my two flexible panels well for 4000 miles in rain cold and heat. I also taped the outside edges with shrink wrap tape and left two small gaps at the bottom on each side for any condensation to drain. Mine are mounted slots vertically for winter sun angles. I'm happy with the VHB tape. I did not want to drill holes.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[coastsignal]

Originally Posted by Night Sailor

Mine has held my two flexible panels well for 4000 miles in rain cold and heat. I also taped the outside edges with shrink wrap tape and left two small gaps at the bottom on each side for any condensation to drain. Mine are mounted slots vertically for winter sun angles. I'm happy with the VHB tape. I did not want to drill holes.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

Conrad,

Hope the panels stay on as long as you need them to. With all the opinions about VHB tape I've gotten, I'd guess the challenge will be removal.

I still haven't done the job on mine, but have the tape, panel, wiring, etc., ready.

The Scotch "Extreme" tape (VHB tape in a consumer package, mentioned previously) is Part #414, UPC 051141910840, $7.99 for a 1" x 60" roll. Good for other items, But it's probably a bit thin for the solar panel. mounting.

Mark

[MyronL]

From what I hear about it, using VHB tape to secure solar panels to the roof is an "extremely" bad idea. I say don't do it unless you also bolt the panels through the roof. Tape is not going to keep them panels secure in severe weather, in crosswinds, etc. Best do some homework on this first.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by coastsignal

The Scotch "Extreme" tape (VHB tape in a consumer package, mentioned previously) is Part #414, UPC 051141910840, $7.99 for a 1" x 60" roll. Good for other items, But it's probably a bit thin for the solar panel mounting.

There are many formulations of VHB. The Scotch extreme you mention is a low end tape with correspondingly low surface energy, as measured in Dynes per cm.

I would not even attempt to use VHB for a solar panel mounting unless it was the higher end industrial VHB with a high surface energy. There's alot of science behind VHB tapes, and there are very specific applications for each. As others have mentioned, you need the right one for the job. The stuff you buy at Walmart just isn't suitable for this application imho.

[tractors1]

The biggest issue with taping to an RV is that you aren't taping to fiberglass - you're taping to a thin gelcoat on the fiberglass - is preparation of the surfaces. If you don't follow the 3M specs to the letter AND allow sufficient cure time (usually 72 hours for the industrial tapes) before applying force to the tape it is highly likely it won't meet the specs stated in the long run. My mounting rails are epoxied to the trailer by the manufacturer, but they have the same issues - a couple of panels (out of 400+ installed) have blown off, taking the gel coat with along in one case. Their solution is to bolt a piece of square aluminum tubing in front of the panel to break up the airflow getting underneath the panel, basically an air dam like you sometimes see on the roof of tractor-trailers for streamlining. I'm using my own air dams - mounted with 3M RP45 (20 lb peel strength per square inch) in a double row on 5 inch segments for a total peel of 100 pounds per segment. A minimal gap between the segments lets the installed grouping follow the slight curve of the roofline.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by coastsignal

Conrad,

Hope the panels stay on as long as you need them to. With all the opinions about VHB tape I've gotten, I'd guess the challenge will be removal.

I still haven't done the job on mine, but have the tape, panel, wiring, etc., ready.

The Scotch "Extreme" tape (VHB tape in a consumer package, mentioned previously) is Part #414, UPC 051141910840, $7.99 for a 1" x 60" roll. Good for other items, But it's probably a bit thin for the solar panel. mounting.

Mark

Amazon.com : Scotch Permanent Outdoor Mounting Tape, 1 Inch x 450 Inches (4011-LONG) : Adhesive Tapes : Office Products

We've used this tape for a number of years to hold two 40 watt solar panels to the roof of our trailer. We travel for almost 8 months of year and have been in every kind of climate you can imagine, in all kinds of weather, When not towing they sit outside in the sun for the other four months. Though this is a very low cost product those panels have never moved at all, not an edge lifted.

I have just replaced those two panels with a 100 watt panel using the same tape. I had to remove the old panels and was able to do it but not easily. This tape is extremely sticky, actually shockingly so, particularly so because one surface is fiberglass and the other is plastic (I think ABS}.

I also use this material to hold some of Charlie's plastic creations to the walls of the Scamp, One application is to hold a box to the bathroom wall of our Scamp; it holds meds. The surface is painted fiberglass mat, far from smooth. It's been there for 3 years.

It is designed for outside application and has worked well for us.

I just mounted our new panel. It can be seen under Modifications in Preparing a 1991 Scamp 16/