Flexible Solar panel Removal

Thinking of upgrading the solar system and leisure battery. They previous owner has stuck 2 of the flexi solar panels on the roof.
Looking a bit tired and because I'm not sure how long they've been there, I'm wanting to remove and replace them with framed
solar panels. 
Question is, has anyone removed these before? Looks like they are glued or silicone stuck directly onto the roof. Don't want to
image the state of the roof under these things once removed. Any advice if you've been successful in taking these suckers off
without wrecking your roof, would be appreciated!

If it's silicone sealant you should be in luck - it will ~probably~ peel away from the roof once you get it started.

If it's a PU-based sealant/adhesive such as Sikaflex, it's likely to be a lot harder, and will probably need a blade and a lot of time.

We planned for this on the Trooper and installed it onto a layer of clear vinyl - which makes it much easier if (when) the time comes, as the vinyl peels off Ok.

The panel on our other (non-AS) conversion is stuck straight to the roof with Sikaflex (done before the Trooper, but outlasted it by many years). That's going to be a nightmare to get off.

Thanks Roopert!  They've also just stuck them unevenly, one over the raised bit of the roof, half on/off. The other is next to it, snug up against the other raised bump in the roof. A bit of a lazy instal me thinks 

Agreed - that does look like a sloppy install. I would expect the reliability of the one that's hanging over the edge to be seriously compromised, unless there's a hidden support under the "hanging" part.

The bit that was hardest on the Trooper was getting started, because I had sealed all around the panel to stop water getting underneath. But looks like you won't have that problem - so as long as they used a weak sealant and/or poor preparation it shouldn't be tooo hard.

Cheese wire, needs to be wrapped around a wooden handle each end. One person each end. Will easily cut through most adhesives....

IanH wrote:Cheese wire, needs to be wrapped around a wooden handle each end. One person each end. Will easily cut through most adhesives....

Thanks Ian.   I'd seen a YT video of someone doing it using this type wire. I anticipate there's going to be some mess under these panels. On the positive side, I'll at least be confident it's a better install and set-up once I've done it myself.

Also it's a grp roof so won't rust. If the gel coat gets damaged, just paint a layer of epoxy resin over it, can be dyed white too.
It is a roof after all, so not easily seen, all the matters is no water ingress

Well, the weather was decent over the weekend, so I got the Solar upgrade done. 
Replaced the two flexible 100W panels with a single 200W panel. Bizarre that the
original installer would overlap these panels and have them tucked under the grip
rail while almost hanging off the van. They used a clear glue/silicone adhesive
that was a nightmare to get off. Lots of soapy water, WD40 and elbow grease and
4 hrs later, it was shifted!  The new panel sits perfectly across the width of the roof.
I've added some industrial Correx panels as infill to create a level surface too. Looks
so much better, and using Sikaflex, it's a job I know will hold and at least I'll know
what to expect in the future when doing any panel maintenance or removals etc.
I tool the opportunity to also replace both the vehicle and leisure batteries. I upgraded
the cheap solar controller to a Renogy MPPT too, so I can manage the system more effectively.

A good days work, but I think it's been worth it! See pictures below for some before/after shots.

Another point to add. The angle of this picture from the previous installers work shows the panel tucked under the grab rail. It's casting a shadow across the panel and my research highlighted that this could seriously limit the effectiveness of the entire panel. Just thought it worth noting in case anyone has a similar set-up is wandering why the panel isn't drawing enough energy or you felt there was fault in the panel.