START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a trailer

Anything electric, AC or DC

Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby TheDuke » Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:49 am

Thanks. That's exactly what I need. And that later post in the same thread by BD Osborne is great. I should be able to detail it from here.
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby PcHistorian » Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:49 pm

@bobhenry the soffits are vented. (I stick foam pieces along there in the winter. take out for venting in the summer.) but the heat rises and goes above the soffits and stays there. I really don't want to cut into the roofing, shingles, but they are looking 20,25,30 years old now. I should probably date the age of the trailer to 1980's then... Almost time to re-roof and I'll have to figure then about a ridge vent, which would be harder to seal in the winter. I'm considering the convection idea you have to a single fan that vents out the soffits then. (across ridge) maybe just some channels made from the foam.

Solar panel ideas are good and I am entertaining... water heat, solar electric, air heat, for the winter. As an external module I'm considering things until I have to decide when the roof gets replaced. I'm trying to find identical shingles. For this year I am probably going to go with black roof caulk just to keep it sealed and delay the inevitable... I am trying to stay away from something I have to put up after I get there and take down and store for travel / sitting there in storage. I am working out an idea of an under frame sheath compartment for things like a table and awning. Maybe I'll be adding room for that too.

I have seen the solar panels that look like ivey and that would be really cool for the elf cottage. Each/all of looks (ivey growing on the roof), cooler (blocking the sun from the roof) and power input (they are solar panels.) thanks for the input. I have seen solar water heaters for in the winter, that use no pump.

Coils of hose is one thing, others have told me of a tank for modern humidifiers, that are about 3 inches thick, 2.5 feet tall and 1 foot wide. That would fit the square compartments of the center roof joists for me, and allow for gravity feed of the water.
Where are people getting the pressure turn off switches for the sink? or is there no water valve, just a push button for pump on,off?
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby geochris35 » Sat Jul 28, 2012 10:06 pm

Great Post! This is just what I have been looking for.

:D
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby techie » Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:44 am

sdtripper2 wrote:
Question:
Many people ask what is the power panel like at campgrounds?
What side of my trailer should I have power come into when I
make my inlet connection?

Answer:
See what the power panels at campgrounds look like here
Campgrounds have 15- 20 amp, which is the standard household plug. they also have 30 amp, and a 50 amp twist lock, all 110-120 Volt. With an A/C installed (5000 btu) most trailers are not going to pull more than 15 - 20 amps. Unless you really load up on the electrical side. I just would not cheap out on the shore power cord.
Image
1) 15-20 Amp 110-120V
2) 30 Amp 110-120V
3) 50 Amp 110-120V

End:


Minor nit.. none of the outlets shown are "twist lock", and you are unlikely to run across locking connectors on a campsite pedestal. Also the voltage rating on the 50A connector shown above is wrong. It should be 120/240v, as it is a 4 pole connector, carrying both 120 and 240 volts.

Some types of twist-lock connectors, such as the L5-30, are used for RV power inlets, with the other end frequently being a non-locking type (such as a TT-30P) for compatibility with the pedestal. Adapters are available in both directions, for applications such as connections to portable generators using L5-30R, or if you wish to use locking connectors throughout the entire cable run, and adapt at the pedestal as needed.

What are actually shown:
1) NEMA 5-20R (120v 2 wire grounding 20A) (your common household type outlet)
2) NEMA TT-30R (120v 2 wire grounding 30A) This outlet type is used only for RV hookups, hence the Travel Trailer (TT) designation. (Note that this is not a NEMA 5-30R, which has the same voltage rating, but a different physical configuration.)
3) NEMA 14-50R (120/240v 3 wire grounding 50A) (also used for electric ranges in new installations, replacing the old 10-50R, which was a non-grounding type.)
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Re: heat?

Postby Bogo » Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:40 am

eamarquardt wrote:
PcHistorian wrote: Cooling the inside in the summer and heating my water are other matters. How small can I buy an air conditioner? (100w unit? ;-) Can I take one of those electric coolers, or 4, and adapt the mechanisms to cool my trailer on 12v dc? (that's be cool, literally. :-)



Simply put, one can't air condition a trailer using batteries. Even a small window unit draws 10 amps on ac current which would be about 100 amps dc current. You'd have to have about 1000# of batteries to be successful and then you'd have to figure out how you're gonna charge 1000# of batteries each day. Gonna take a heck of a battery charger or solar system to do so.

Actually you can. It just takes a large battery bank. 440 Amp hours at 12VDC seams to be the minimum for 8 hours air conditioner use in a semi sleeper cab. Note, the units available vary widely in their efficiency, and 24VDC units are often 8+% more efficient than the 12VDC powered ones. You will need good insulation. They recommend the sleeper cabs be insulated with at least 1" of insulation. They have been making systems for over the road trucks for over a decade. While driving they charge the batteries using an extra large alternator. The batteries then power the air conditioner while the driver is sleeping. They also use the DC powered air conditioner unit to replace the standard engine driven unit. The DC air conditioner system is more efficient while driving. Fuel savings from that alone can often justify switching. Fuel savings from not needing to idle over night will also justify installing a battery powered DC air conditioner. In addition there is less wear on the engine.
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby PubUltraStar » Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:40 pm

Great post with a lot of information. Too much information when trying to make design decisions. Also, there are many "broken" links. Not sure if these are obsolete or the web address has changed.
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby burlesot » Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:17 pm

Thank you for this basic information.
Almost all of the links are dead.
I would remove them so that newbees like myself aren't sent looking for things that are dead.

Thanks,
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby rstaab » Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:14 pm

I only looked at a few links but they were dead, as noted above by others. Would appreciate if they were updated because this looks like great information. Thank you !
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby rick e » Mon Nov 18, 2013 8:25 pm

techie wrote:
sdtripper2 wrote:
Question:
Many people ask what is the power panel like at campgrounds?
What side of my trailer should I have power come into when I
make my inlet connection?

Answer:
See what the power panels at campgrounds look like here
Campgrounds have 15- 20 amp, which is the standard household plug. they also have 30 amp, and a 50 amp twist lock, all 110-120 Volt. With an A/C installed (5000 btu) most trailers are not going to pull more than 15 - 20 amps. Unless you really load up on the electrical side. I just would not cheap out on the shore power cord.
Image
1) 15-20 Amp 110-120V
2) 30 Amp 110-120V
3) 50 Amp 110-120V

End:


Minor nit.. none of the outlets shown are "twist lock", and you are unlikely to run across locking connectors on a campsite pedestal. Also the voltage rating on the 50A connector shown above is wrong. It should be 120/240v, as it is a 4 pole connector, carrying both 120 and 240 volts.

Some types of twist-lock connectors, such as the L5-30, are used for RV power inlets, with the other end frequently being a non-locking type (such as a TT-30P) for compatibility with the pedestal. Adapters are available in both directions, for applications such as connections to portable generators using L5-30R, or if you wish to use locking connectors throughout the entire cable run, and adapt at the pedestal as needed.

What are actually shown:
1) NEMA 5-20R (120v 2 wire grounding 20A) (your common household type outlet)
2) NEMA TT-30R (120v 2 wire grounding 30A) This outlet type is used only for RV hookups, hence the Travel Trailer (TT) designation. (Note that this is not a NEMA 5-30R, which has the same voltage rating, but a different physical configuration.)
3) NEMA 14-50R (120/240v 3 wire grounding 50A) (also used for electric ranges in new installations, replacing the old 10-50R, which was a non-grounding type.)




Thanks for correcting that, where I work the 50 is 240v of course, no twistlocks, I have replaced many of them. Big motorhomes with big A/C's and whatever else they have in there like to melt the equipment.
As already said, this sticky is mostly gone and had gotten way out there anyway. Some basic schematics might be nice. But I will figure it out which is half the fun.
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby tyellow57 » Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:21 pm

Hello All
I am trying to hook my 12v system. I have an inline fuse, started with 10amp, but keeps blowing the fuse. I know it needs to be bigger just want so help so I don't have a bunch of fuses. I have a fantastic fan, two led lights. What amp should I be using? Don't want to use to big of and amp, to burn up my wires already.

Thanks for the help, Troy
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby Graniterich » Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:50 pm

With one fan and two led lights should be under three amps, I think you have another problem
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby MtnDon » Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:52 pm

Match fuse to wire gauge, not the load.

10 gauge wire, 30 amps
12 gauge wire, 20 amps
14 gauge wire, 15 amps.

If you match the fuse to the wire gauge and the fuse blows then the load is too great or the wire is too small or something is shorting.
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby tyellow57 » Fri Apr 24, 2015 10:32 pm

[quote="tyellow57"]Hello All
I am trying to hook my 12v system. I have an inline fuse, started with 10amp, but keeps blowing the fuse. I know it needs to be bigger just want so help so I don't have a bunch of fuses. I have a fantastic fan, two led lights. What amp should I be using? Don't want to use to big of and amp, to burn up my wires already.

Thanks for the help, Troy

I found the problem, I had an light that has two swivels and a night lite I guess. It had three pigtails, should have only had two. Everything works great now.
Thanks for the help. Troy
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Re: START HERE Electrical Considerations when building a tra

Postby gudmund » Thu Feb 24, 2022 11:20 pm

and more :stompspam: :stompspam: :stompspam:
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