Weatherproof or GFCI?

[Buddy-and-Missus]

Hey all,

Were starting to work on the electrical plans and we wanted 4 AC electrical plugs in the camper 1 on the counter, 1 in a cabinet for a possible future cooler but we wanted 1 located in the wetroom -not near the shower but a possibility it "could" get damp, and 1 outside. I've seen self contained RV receptacles that are "weatherproof" and ones that are GFCI. I'm a structural designer but I have no clue about electrical. Do I need a GFCI for the wetroom & outdoors? What does that mean as far as wiring goes? How do we ground it? We are planning on running everything off battery power.

Thanks for any help.

[S. Heisley]

In my opinion, it is always better to use GFCI. That way, if your wire does get wet, you can reset it once it is dry.
This is not saying that you will have a leak. From the looks of your build so far, you probably will be fine, but it isn't a difficult to wire using a GFCI unit and it gives you one more safety measure. if I remember correctly, the instructions were included with the unit when I bought it.

[Tom&Shelly]

Hey all,

Were starting to work on the electrical plans and we wanted 4 AC electrical plugs in the camper 1 on the counter, 1 in a cabinet for a possible future cooler but we wanted 1 located in the wetroom bot near the shower but a possibility it "could" get damp and 1 outside. I've seen self contained RV receptacles that are "weatherproof" and ones that are GFCI. I'm a structural designer but I have no clue about electrical. Do I need a GFCI for the wetroom & outdoors? What does that mean as far as wiring goes? How do we ground it? We are planning on running everything off battery power.

Thanks for any help.

Short answer--yes, you want a GFCI. You only need one upstream of the other outlets if they're all on the same circuit. The grounds should all be tied together, to the inverter, and there should be one ground wire to the trailer frame.

But, some much more important questions: Since you say you plan to run everything off of battery power, what do you plan to run off of the AC outlets, and have you done the calculations to see what that requires? How big of an inverter do you plan to use?

Generally these days, almost anything that you can run off of a battery and inverter, you can find in a 12 volt DC version, which is much more efficient. The things that can't be run off of 12 volts DC (heaters, air conditioners, etc.) often take so much power that it isn't practical to run from a battery in the first place. You mention a cooler. How much power does it take?

Best to think this through a bit!

Tom

[Buddy-and-Missus]

Thanks all, yes we've been thinking about it for quite a while but still am sure we are not thinking of everything lol - so any feedback is greatly appreciated. My husband has a better grasp on the wiring part, and I plan on using an electric cooktop and a small toaster oven both well under 1000W and we plan on using a 1500w inverter. We won't be using AC since we live in a cold climate area and have 2 large windows - that is unless we decide to stray further off the island but I'm doubting it will be any time soon. As for the cooler, for now we are using and icebox but if we upgrade the system I'd still like to have the receptacle in place.

Here's hubby's rough idea.

366722333_332572652610662_2309504246678008265_n.jpg (278.09 KiB) Viewed 566 times

[bdosborn]

A 100A battery is only going to support up to ~1,000 W inverter. You'll want to upgrade to 200A battery if you want to run a 1,500W inverter. You'll want at least a 2,000W inverter if you're going to run an induction cook top.
Bruce

[Pmullen503]

It makes sense at this stage to install a separate 120V system for use when you have shore power. I'd keep it completely separate from your inverter driven 120V system to keep things simple.

[working on it]

When I was building my trailer (originally for the wife to use, solo camping, to get her out of a leaky tent), I tried to plan for all contingencies (at least where power for A/C, heating, cooking & lights, as well as having a secure, dry place to sleep were concerned). I may have gone overboard a bit (I had to write a user's manual for her to read, but she never used the trailer at all). It was mainlt about the electrical system(s). I have separate 12vdc and 120vac systems, using many fuses, master cut-offs, and circuit breakers on each.

On the 12vdc side, I have the Optima Yellowtop battery in the tongue box (shielded from other equipment and spares in the box, with ventilation), with 4 ga cables run underneath the trailer to a master cut-off switch in the galley (there's also an unattached feed from the generator in the "galley/storage area", in case I choose to use it for direct 12v, instead of 120v, and a separate circuit breaker for the trailer breakaway switch). From the master cut-off, there are 10 gauge wires run inside the cabin to a re-purposed Key storage box
on the rear bulkhead above the rear shelf, with the A/C unit next to it (master A/C switch controlling the A/C, a chassis cooling fan, and a hi-flow axial fan in the exhaust duct).

airconditioner next to 12v control box.JPG (86.44 KiB) Viewed 507 times

There's a secondary 50amp switch on the side of the key box, so I can turn off all 12v in the cabin, from inside. The key box has an inverter and a battery charger (both detachable, if I need them outside the trailer, and fuses for all items powered by 12v. From there, I used 14 ga extension cords (easily accessible/replaceable) to the stereo, overhead & overdoor 12v LED lights, etc.

Then there's the 120vac side. Choice of power sources: onboard 2500 watt generator or park power. The generator slides out from the galley/storage area, so it can be operated without heat anf fumes in there. I've only used it a coupla times, and only where park power was unavailable. The 120v output cable is unnattached while park power is used. When at camp, I run a 25 or 50 ft extension cord to the park power pole, then feed it thru a Taymac in-use cover into the galley (on the streetside), whre it attaches to a 6-way distribution block,

power cord thru wall to distribution block.jpg (169.99 KiB) Viewed 507 times

which feeds a GFCI (which supplies power to my outside lighting at camp), and to the resettable surge protector (which feeds power into the cabin, to another distribtion block).

surge protector installed.jpg (87.56 KiB) Viewed 507 times

I use a separate outlet on the curbside, also behind a waterproof Taymac cover, with two GFCI's and two normal outlets. I use one GFCI for my over-the-door halogen light (exposed to the weather), and the other to power my electric skillet (my easiest, preferred way to cook at camp, when not grilling).


Of course, I carry spare GFCIs, extension cords of multiple gauges, fuses, inverter, battery chargers, test equipment, tape, connectors, wiring, etc. Be prepared!

[Tom&Shelly]

It makes sense at this stage to install a separate 120V system for use when you have shore power. I'd keep it completely separate from your inverter driven 120V system to keep things simple.

+1

Tom

[featherliteCT1]

When I was building my trailer (originally for the wife to use, ... (I had to write a user's manual for her to read, but she never used the trailer at all).

LOL!!

[Buddy-and-Missus]

Thanks for all the details - we're going to take a closer look at your set-up when when have time to absorb it all.
Looks great and the photos are a great help!

[Buddy-and-Missus]

Thanks everyone for all the help, we'll be taking a deeper look at the electrical soon and appreciate all the info.