Identifying wiring in a mystery teardrop

[sewluvli]

Howdy y'all,

I'm new to the forum and if any of you have seen my post in the Newbies thread, you'll know that I just purchased my first teardrop... it's a very unique home build and I know precious little about the things that I can't see from the outside.

Anyone recognize this trailer?

Howdy from Calgary! My name is Kimberley and I am a new teardrop owner. I just purchased my trailer secondhand and I'm looking to learn a bit more about it in order to make some repairs. The person I purchased from was not the builder and didn't seem to recognize that it is most likely a...

www.tnttt.com

On the weekend I fixed the tail lights by following this troubleshooting video from Homes for Beginners

Now I've moved inside the trailer where I have a whole mess of wires to deal with.

There is no battery in this trailer... the builder had the power running into the trailer using an extension cord.

The extension cord itself is pretty frightening... an interior cord... probably from the dollar store... not rated or certified at all... 2 wires, no ground. where the cord passes through the exterior of the trailer, they cut the cord in 2 and ran a black and white wire through the body of the trailer and connected the 2 pcs of the cord to these white and black wires. I think they may have had good intentions here, but since they didn't protect the wires from the sharp edges of the diamond plate on the exterior of the trailer, those wires are in super bad shape and I don't think I can safely use them... but I'm not quite there yet.

Inside the trailer, the wires come out into a small box... the black and white wires that are attached to the extension cord, 2 sets of white and brown wires and another bundle of yellow, green, white and brown wires (similar to what you see for the tail lights).

Today I followed one of the sets of white and brown wires and followed it to the exterior light above the door.

With the other set of white and brown wires, I flipped on the interior light and touched the ends to a 9v battery and the cabin light turned on... so I now know what these lights are for.

I haven't yet tried the battery test with the remaining 4 wires... when I do, I will touch the white wire to the - on the 9v battery and one at a time I will touch the other wires to the + terminal on the battery... I need my partner to help me hold the wires or look around, so I have left that for another day.

In the interim, I'm dreaming of how I can run a new extension cord or something into the trailer since the white and black wires seem pretty firmly lodged. I dread the idea of drilling a hole through the trailer and having to add some kind of wire duct on the interior surface of the trailer, but it might be the best course of action... of course, whatever I do, I will put some kind of protection around the hole to protect the new wires from the sharp edges of the trailer.

Once I figure out what all these wires are for, I'm likely going to wire a new outlet and two switches... one for each of the lights... I know that the interior light already has a switch, but you have to sit up to use it... having something closer to the head of the bed might be nice.

I've attached some photos of the cringeworthy wiring for your enjoyment... don't worry, I won't plug anything in until I know it's safe.

Any thoughts, guidance or well wishes are sincerely appreciated.

 

[Tony Latham]

That's nuts. In twenty years for teardropping, we've found that a 12-volt battery system tied to solar is all we need.

I keep an inverter in the tongue box and can't recall the last time we needed it.

Good luck!

Tony

 

[sewluvli]

That's nuts. In twenty years for teardropping, we've found that a 12-volt battery system tied to solar is all we need.

I keep an inverter in the tongue box and can't recall the last time we needed it.

Good luck!

Tony

Your work is lovely.

I'd love to add a solar panel - maybe next year.

 

[Tony Latham]

I'd love to add a solar panel - maybe next year.

100 watts on top, and 30 on the tongue box. We can go forever.

Tony

 

[GTS225-TNT]

Sewluvli; First, I would suggest you remove the "entry" wires from the wall, and install this. Amazon.com

Or something like it That's the only reasonably safe way to pass AC wiring through a camper wall.

Now.....how much do you know about AC electrical wiring? I ask, because I don't want to "talk down" to you, if you're reasonably familiar with it. If you know nothing about it, I'll know just how to address your questions, while getting you to understand some of the technical aspects of it.

Personally, if I were in your position, I'd rip out the old and start with all new, in a proper manner. That way, you'll KNOW you can rely on what you have, instead of having to fix something with rocks and sticks out in a remote campsite.

Roger

Wait a minute.....You typed;

"Inside the trailer, the wires come out into a small box... the black and white wires that are attached to the extension cord, 2 sets of white and brown wires and another bundle of yellow, green, white and brown wires (similar to what you see for the tail lights).

Today I followed one of the sets of white and brown wires and followed it to the exterior light above the door.

With the other set of white and brown wires, I flipped on the interior light and touched the ends to a 9v battery and the cabin light turned on... so I now know what these lights are for."

So; it's obvious that the white and black are the 120V wires. It sounds like the previous owner used left-over trailer harness wire for the remaining bits. If you got that interior light to come on with a 9V battery, it's not a 120v lamp. It wouldn't have even glowed dimly with a 9v.

So it appears on the surface that the trailer is set up for 12 volt lighting. Now the P/O may have had a 12V power supply hooked to that 120V wiring, and that would account for the need for 120 supply

I'll await your response before speculating further.....Roger

 

[Tony Latham]

If you got that interior light to come on with a 9V battery, it's not a 120v lamp.

I was thinking the same.

T

 

[Tom&Shelly]

Given the lights lighting with a 9 volt battery, I wonder if the previous owner used the extension cord wires, outlets, etc. all for 12 volt DC? That may imply they even had 12 volt appliances that they altered with 120 VAC style plugs. A bad practice, for obvious reasons.

I tend to agree with redoing the whole thing, although, if the indoor extension cord is buried in the walls, it should be okay (where the insulation is not abraded) for 12 volt DC use.

Simply having a 12 volt system with solar panels works great, unless you happen to camp in someplace like British Columbia, where we had three campsites in a row last Summer where the trees were tall and branches spread over our sites. Not a cloud in the sky, but we couldn't get enough sunlight reaching the panel to keep our battery charged. (Other than that, our favorite type of site.)

Tom

 

[sewluvli]

Given the lights lighting with a 9 volt battery, I wonder if the previous owner used the extension cord wires, outlets, etc. all for 12 volt DC? That may imply they even had 12 volt appliances that they altered with 120 VAC style plugs. A bad practice, for obvious reasons.

I tend to agree with redoing the whole thing, although, if the indoor extension cord is buried in the walls, it should be okay (where the insulation is not abraded) for 12 volt DC use.

Simply having a 12 volt system with solar panels works great, unless you happen to camp in someplace like British Columbia, where we had three campsites in a row last Summer where the trees were tall and branches spread over our sites. Not a cloud in the sky, but we couldn't get enough sunlight reaching the panel to keep our battery charged. (Other than that, our favorite type of site.)

Tom

We do camp in BC... we love it. On May long we'll be heading to Wycliffe, Fruitvale, Beaver Valley and the surrounding area

 

[philpom]

Get something like this if you want a simple and safe way to get shore power inside.

Amazon.com : BEBOBLY 15 Amp AC Port Plug, 125V Power Inlet Socket with Waterproof Cover & Integrated 18" Extension Cord, 2 Pole 3-Wire NEMA 5-15 Flanged Generator Inlet Plug for RV Boat Electrical Connections : Automotive

Amazon.com : BEBOBLY 15 Amp AC Port Plug, 125V Power Inlet Socket with Waterproof Cover & Integrated 18" Extension Cord, 2 Pole 3-Wire NEMA 5-15 Flanged Generator Inlet Plug for RV Boat Electrical Connections : Automotive

www.amazon.com

 

[sewluvli]

Hello All,

I'm not much of a draftsman, but I've been doing some thinking and here's where I'm at... Does this look like it could work & be safe?

Thanks,

Kim

 

[Tony Latham]

Does this look like it could work & be safe?

It's a lot easier to buy light fixtures that have an included switch. A teardrop isn't lit like your bedroom. You can easily reach the cabin light. Some people like porch lights, but I've never wanted one since they're right at eyeball level.

What catches my eye is that you're plugging a 120-volt line from a Jackery into a 120-volt receptacle that may be connected to an external source. Is that correct? To me, that doesn't look like a good idea, but perhaps I'm wrong.

What's your plan for that 120-volt receptacle?

Tony

 

[sewluvli]

I have to admit that is the part of the plan that I'm least clear on at the moment... would something like a recessed power strip with surge protection be better than wiring an outlet... maybe something like this... (provided that the power cord has a positive, neutral and ground wire? https://www.amazon.ca/Recessed-Powe...8490033033-B0D97G2517-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

I haven't drilled any holes yet, so I'm still very flexible on how to get that bit working.

I had a bit of a breakthrough with the 12v side of things... here's a little video for your enjoyment... spoiler... nobody gets electrocuted.

NOTE: It's worth a disclaimer that any of the otherspaghetti wiring that isn't discussed in this video, but is visible in the background is not connected to anything and is likely going to be ripped out (if it can be ripped out completely) or capped off (if the wires are stuck and can't be pulled out completely). We're all about safety here

 

[Brumasterm01]

Hey Kim,
Like your idea about a fuse block. That's a great for future expansion like refrigerators, electric blankets and lights. If your going open up wall to draw wire to your fuse panel do yourself a favor and run a higher awg wire. Its fine for your jackery setup, since the most you can pull out of the jackery DC lighter is 10 amps. However, if want to expand to a lithium battery some day you will want to run some heavier awg wire.

You want your fuses to protect your wires. Especially when they are buried in your walls. Example, 16 awg wire is typically rated for 10 amps. So you if your running a 16 awg wire to an appliance, your fuse in your breaker needs to be 10 amps or less.

Google AI is your friend in this. Seriously. I recently used it resize breakers, cables and fuse types in my battery box. Amazing.

 

[Tom&Shelly]

On the 120 vac side, I interpreted your drawing to have an inset male ended power plug on the side of your trailer, like this:

Amazon.com: PAULINN 15 Amp Flanged Inlet 125V, NEMA 5-15 RV Shore Power Inlet Plug w/Waterproof and Back Cover, 2 Pole 3-Wire AC Port Plug, Generator Male Receptacle for Marine Boat RV Shed Electrical Extension : Automotive

(First one I pulled up on Amazon; I'm not necessarily recommending it.) Then you could use an outdoor three prong extension cord for campsites that have shore power.

Then use the proper wiring to add an outlet near where you want your Jackery to plug in. That should all work fine. For our camper, I used a 12 gauge outdoor extension cord, that I cut the ends off, for the wiring between input and outlet. I would suggest paying a little more and making that a GFCI outlet. That will give a little extra protection.

At that point, what you will have will be similar in function to the device Philpom pointed to, but with GFCI. They also make extension cords with the GFCI built in, so you have several options there.

By the way, many BC Provincial parks, at least on Vancouver Island, do not have shore power, so that may be limiting. However, as I mentioned, we couldn't get enough sunlight through the trees to keep our battery charged via solar panels.

Hope all that helps. If it was confusing, let me know and I'll try and clarify.

Tom

 

[sewluvli]

Hi Tom, you're right... That is what was in my doodle. This is the flames inlet that I have on order... I think it's similar to the one that you shared https://a.co/d/0iHVtWHK

And what you had suggested about using extension cord wire to go from the inlet to some kind of receptacle was asking the lines of what I was thinking, but I hadn't labeled it as such.

For the outlet I was thinking of doing what this guy is doing (he demonstrates making an old extension cord into a power strip)... Difference being that rather that a cord, is but some of that kind of wire by the foot at Home Depot and target than putting 4 outlets in the box like he did, I'd only put one outlet in a box.

I will look into what goes into wiring a GCFI outlet.

A few of the camp sites we've gone to have had power hookups, but power really isn't 100% essential to us... Just nice to have.

Eventually I might upgrade the size of the power station. If we're a few days in a place with no hookup I can charge the power station from the car when we're out and about during the day.

 

[sewluvli]

A little more progress while I'm waiting for the flanged inlet to arrive.

I mounted the switches in the box... on the front rather than the top.

The outlet can be mounted to the box top and there's like 2" (or slightly more) of room between the bottom of the outlet box to the top of the cover on the fuse block... Probably okay.

Is nice to see things coming together.

 

[sewluvli]

Almost there... Today I installed the 15A flanged inlet.

I followed this tutorial -->

Without having access to the build plans I had to make an educated guess as to where the studs and wires would be... I looked for where screws had been fastened through the diamond plate on the exterior and the vertical ribbing on the interior. I essentially went a few inches down and a few inches over from those. Cutting the hole was easy enough, but the outlet is on a very slight curve so the bolt holes had to be a smidge closer on the inside and farther apart on the outside... Not much, but there was a slight difference.

I still need to trim the bolts down a smidge, but I'm not sure if I have the right cutting wheels for my Dremel.

I used a 2" desk grommet to fill in the gap around the inlet on the inside of the trailer... I haven't siliconed it in place, but I may do that yet.

I haven't connected the wire to the outlet yet... I'm going to do that over the weekend... Almost there.

Admittedly this is the part that caused me the most stress... I've never drilled through anything as expensive in my life. I was terrified that I'd screw it up, but it was fine. All should be smooth sailing from here.

 

[GTS225-TNT]

Lookit you go! But.....you GOTTA trim those bolts off and touch the raw edges with a file, or you're gonna gouge your hand one of these days, plugging in the power cord.

Roger

 

[sewluvli]

I managed to finish everything today. It's been a journey and I'm really pleased with how everything came out.

Thank you all for your help.

After May long weekend I'll be sure to share some photos from our first adventure.

 

[sewluvli]

hmmm... for some reason the video didn't come through