Conduit Use & Placement

[Guest]

I've been advised to place my wiring in conduit.
I'm trying to figure out where and how to place all my electrical and I'd like to hear how and where others have placed it.
I don't see a problem going vertical with the conduit in the walls, it will just mean very little insulation if any where the conduit is.
I do see a problem running conduit horizontally in my walls because of the limited thickness of my stud wall. A hole in my stud for the conduit will just about wipe out the stud. (My inner portion of my walls will only be 1" thick)
I wonder if using a metal plate over both sides of the stud where the conduit hole is going to be located will be sufficiant to keep the integrity of the stud?
I can see placing the conduit in the frame rails, but I'm unsure how to make such a sharp transistion to switch from horizontal to vertical. All the conduit I've seen in construction have nice sweeping radius bends when making a 90 degree turn. (I think the tool that bends that is called a hickey)
I've also seen where a junction box is used to make transition.
I'd sure like to see some other examples from folks more in tune with the electrical situation...

[SteveH]

Dean,

IMHO conduit in a teardrop trailer is WAY overkill, but that's just me. Most of the wiring in your house is not in conduit.

[Denzagrad]

Dean,

IMHO conduit in a teardrop trailer is WAY overkill, but that's just me. Most of the wiring in your house is not in conduit.

Maybe not in your house. Mine has EMT all over. But then I used to plumb in commercial bulidings for a while and everything looked like a nail...

[SteveH]

I would be will to wager that if you took a survey of all teardrop trailers, you'd find less than 1 in 50 with ALL the wiring in conduit. For that matter, the same wager for single family houses in the US.

Any takers?

[DestinDave]

Dean.. I plan on using some sort of conduit and had been looking at that black plastic stuff that's split down the middle (used in wiring harnesses on cars and boats, etc). It comes in 3/8" ID so it wouldn't destroy the integrity of a stud wall... But then, I happened to think of 1/4" clear plastic water line (like for icemaker hookups) - perfect for running a pair of wires and a fish-wire through. Only thing is having to run a seperate "pipe" for each circuit. I'm planning on using different color wire for each circuit. 3/8" holes drilled through 1 or 1-1/2 studs will not cause any weakening once the walls are sndwiched, glued, screwed, etc. Now, this may be overkill also but I'm going this route so if there is ever a problem with a light or appliance, I'll know which wire pair it is (the color) and can easily pull another pair of wires through the slick, smooth plastic line. Just another thought... hope it helps you some... Dave

[madjack]

...have you thought about using automotive wire loom and fittings such as those available from Waytek ( http://www.waytekwire.com/waytech.htm )
madjack

[DestinDave]

That's the black plastic crinkly stuff I was talking - just didn't know what it was called. I see it comes in 1/8 and 1/4 ID's also... May go back to that idea instead of the water line - CHEAPER! Thanks...

[madjack]

...DD, order their catalog....you will be amazed at all the stuff they have, and it's much better/easier than surfing their site since the cat contains pics and descriptions for uses of many of their products
madjack

[Guest]

Thanks Guys,
I may look at the other options besides galvanized conduit.
I really don't like comparing a teardrop with a house, because a house isn't bouncing down roads all the time.
I haven't done a whole lot of electrical work, so my knowledge of what to use is somewhat limited and that could easily spell trouble for me.
I'm going to be very cautious and careful with how I proceed with my electrical situation because I've had a close call once back in high school when I re wired an old pickup, I blame myself for an electrical fire that happened because of not doing something right on that old truck.
On a brighter note, I have a brother in law who is an electrician for Kenworth, I'll be pickin' his brain.
(I've helped him out on several glass situations, so now he can bail me out if needed)
My reasons for using conduit are two fold...
1. Ease of accessing wiring should the need arise.
2. Fire protection. (using metal conduit)
I never get calls to replace glass in trailers after a fire... because all that's usually left is a heap of burnt rubble....

[shil]

I've got my battery box in the galley and my control panel at the front of the trailer, at the side door. I ran all the wiring between the two inside that 3/4" grey plastic conduit from The Depot. I used junction boxes for the right angle turns, and ran it all under the trailer.

Interior wiring, like the dome light, I just laid between the ceiling panels without any conduit.

[myjeepcherokee]

I used conduit in my trailer, but only beacuse I had a bunch of the braided 3/4" plastic hose laying around (like what is used when plumbing soda machines). I put 2 runs the length of the trailer from front to back. Made running wire very easy. I was also thankful to have it after my roof was closed up and I needed to run a new wire for my license plate light!

[Steve Frederick]

I did conduit under the frame, from the battery box to the fuse box, from the fuse box, up to the roof. From there, the rest is run through the framing without conduit. I did place short runs of pipe, vertically, in the walls as I built them. I ran wires down through these tubes, to the wall switches/lights. I cover the frame/insulation with the inside skin before wiring, so this method works well.
I think that conduit in the walls for more that a convenient path for wire, is not needed. Horizontal runs in a built-up wall, would ruin the benefits of built-up walls...strength, ease of construction..Do I make sense??? Long week!!

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

Thought I'd reserect (sp?), this thread as I have a question about
doing the wire runs I intend to do for a CT conversion.
I want to install a few 110VAC outlets as well as some 12VDC's.
Intention is to have a power center up front (either a WFCO or a PD),
I'm going to run the wires up to the celing and utilize the 'corner' for
the runs then drop the wires down to the outlets.
Question;
Do you just chop-out a channel from the insulation for the wire to
drop down to the outlet or just ... let it hang and mash it in place with
the paneling???
Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

hank

[Thawley]

Do you just chop-out a channel from the insulation for the wire to
drop down to the outlet or just ... let it hang and mash it in place with
the paneling???

I'm interested in this also. Especially from folks who encountered problems or wish they would have done something differently...

[aggie79]

I ran wiring in my walls and roof without conduit - no problems. One exception, I run conduit below the floor to bring the cabling from the front of my teardrop back to the convertor.