The Salt Block! 7x12 V-Nose SA

[Mike S]

One more thing I like about your design; Bike Storage! My bikes always travel indoors; either in the truck cap or in the trailer. One issue I have is what to do with my bike while we're in the trailer. I just kind of lean it again my sofa while traveling. Some times I leave it outside when we're camping, other times in the truck cap. Dedicated bike storage is an excellent idea. I feel sorry for the bikes I see hanging off the back of RV's.

[hankaye]

Mike S. Howdy;

I'm confused, everyone here keeps saying 30 amp service

BUT there is:

30 amp x 120 volts 3600 watts max

30 amp x 240 volts 7200 watts max

Which are we talking about

I didn't know there was such thing as 30 amp /240 RV service. It would be a heck of a mistake to plug a 30 amp RV cord into a 240v receptacle!

I thought only 50 amp service had 240 volts (120 x 2 hots) in the RV world. The OTTCT has 50 amp service right, being over the top and all

Most of your older Dryer plugs are 30 a / 240vac with a 3 prong plug/receptacle, stoves have been switched to a 4 prong set-up.
Almost impossible to (there are no absolutes when a determined individual is involved),, plug into with an RV plug as the Ground
for an RV plug is a round pin and the ground for the dryer plugs is L shaped and the Neutral is external. (think I got it right.
Look near the bottom of the page; http://www.do-it-yourself-help.com/wiri ... acles.html

hankaye

[CoventryKid]

CoventryKid, we have thought about the kettle for heating hot water and haven't thrown out that idea. The simple kettle and two 5 gallon blue jugs under the sink one fresh and one grey seems sooo easy, but would we wish we had done it differently? Are you changing for ease or was heating the water an extra step you grew tired of doing?

pirijodonny: To answer your question, during the build I wired a 20A circuit for a "future" hot water heater just in case. I also installed the hot water Pex lines to both sinks - kitchen and bathroom.

Because our rig is all electric, we had to plug in each night to keep the fridge cold during our 6-month tour of BC and down to California and back. We returned home unexpectedly in Oct. We planned to stay for 4-6 months then resume our trip. So it was a no-brainer - I had time to install a hot water heater.

I found this on Home Depot's site: a small 2.5 gal hot water heater https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.mini-tank-electric-water-heater-shc-25.1000789401.html. These are typically used as "point-of-use" heaters when the main hot water heater in a house is a long distance from the sink.

Anyway, this is the one I am in the process of installing (front left of trailer, at the v-nose - bathroom behind curtain).



Bottom line, as we are always plugged in, this is going to be a nice "luxury" addition.

Hope I've answered your question!

[pirijodonny]

I've been researching more and talking a lot with my wife about our plans. We are definitely going the route of a simple sink with cold water, but then leave room and a wired outlet for plumbing in a water heater later if we want it. Thanks for helping us think it through.

Another thought that I had as I talked to a friend that has pulled a 7x12 with a similar tow vehicle as ours. He said the weight was fine, but the wind block of the trailer made it hard for the vehicle to keep highway speeds. He encouraged me to go to a 6x12 instead of a 7x12. I have thought about this before and this mentioning of his issue got me back to think of a 6x12 so I don't ruin my Tow Vehicle. His 7x12 was a bubble front and not a v-nose. I understand it isn't so much the v-nose, but the gap between the vehicle and the trailer that causes resistance along with the amount of area of the trailer that is taller and wider than the tow vehicle. So I would lose a foot in width. My wife said she doesn't want the chance of wearing out our tow vehicle for the extra foot in width. My wife and I are short (5'6" and 5" respectively). The shorter bed would not make a difference to us and we could sleep fully extended with the same design as I have thought with a 7x12. What do you all say?

Thanks again for all your advice! It has been wonderful!
Donny

[aggie79]

I would concur that for your tow vehicle, I would not go wider than 6 feet. The reduction in drag will be quite substantial. You may want to consider going to 14 feet in length to "buy back" some of the area lost. Most manufacturers have single-axle 14 foot cargo trailers, and the extra length won't affect drag.

[munchmeister]

Welcome!

I agree with Mike S. 30A service should be all you need.

I installed 30A when I converted our 7x16x7 aluminum trailer last year. We run 120v: fridge, hotplate, heater, laptop, printer, etc. and 12v: LED lights and water pump.

I installed a 15-gal fresh water tank during the build. After 6 months "on the road", I'm in the process of adding a 120v hot water heater for washing dishes, hair, etc. We did fine boiling the kettle for hot water; the hot water heater will make like just that much nicer.

Talking about nice, we use a porta-potti in our rig's small bathroom - my wife wouldn't be without this, nor would I. Means we can stop anywhere - simple luxury!

Good luck with your build. Don't hesitate to ask more questions!

Wow. Nice build!

[Prem]

[pirijodonny]

We brought home our new trailer! We love it and the Donna at Trojan Cargo Sales was awesome! For the money we paid on a custom trailer I think we got a good quality trailer. I know the debate on GA trailers (I read a lot about it and am aware of the GA trailer limitations.) We got the 6X12 and were so grateful we did as we pulled it home straight northwest into heavy heavy (not Wyoming heavy winds though) winds coming from the NW. Our tow vehicle did great, but a 7x12 would have been really hard on our TV.

We got windows installed. I was going to install them myself, but I couldn't buy the same windows for the price they would install them. We got electric brakes (TV has a tow rating of 3500#s) I wanted the least amount of wear on my TV brakes. The roof is braced and wired for roof AC.

I have started removing the inside panels to wire and insulate. I had asked for screws and the factory said sure, no charge. That should have been a tipoff that they were still going to install the phillips head nails. So have have been fighting that to get the nails out. Any suggestions there would be great. I have read about people using pry bars, but I don't want to ruin my new panels.

Here are some images:





Here at the first of many questions:

#1: Do I need a cutoff switch? I am adding on a 100 Watt solar panel from Renogy. I want it to keep my lights, fan, water pump, and charge phones/tablets. I will have a PD4045 installed. The Solar kit comes with a 30 AMP Renogy controller. I am working on a drawing to show how I want to set the DC side up. I imagine I will need some kind of cutoff switch for when the PD405 is plugged to shore power.

The Solar line will go: Solar panel-30amp in line breaker-controller-30amp in line breaker- (I believe I need a cutoff switch here) battery.
The PD4045 will have both the pos and negative line from the battery to the connection points in the panel according to the install diagram of the PD4045.


#2 How do I increase roof width/thickness from 1/5" to 2"? I am going to get a Dometic Brisk II rooftop AC. I am getting the complete System for $398. I am looking at the install instructions and noticed the minimum ceiling depth needs to be 2.00". My roof has the metal skin, 1" roof tubular frame and will have a finish layer of 1/4" luan board, for a max width of 1.5" I will have to build some type of .5" frame to get the right width to install. Has anyone done this or have ideas? I need to do it in a way that will not send the hot air from the trailer back into the unit.

So excited to start building and finish taking wall boards down!

[McDave]

This would be an excellent opportunity to increase the insulation of the ceiling. Fir strips to build up to 2" and add the most insulation you can fit. Even just fir strips and an air gap will be better in terms of thermal transfer.
I need to think about the cut-off switch issue, but for sure isolate battery from all trailer functions while in transit, and maybe when in storage. You can still charge from TV and possibly run refer while in transit. But I would want everything else disconnected until you are set up at site and can monitor/manage systems. Just my .02

McDave

[pirijodonny]

This would be an excellent opportunity to increase the insulation of the ceiling. Fir strips to build up to 2" and add the most insulation you can fit. Even just fir strips and an air gap will be better in terms of thermal transfer.
I need to think about the cut-off switch issue, but for sure isolate battery from all trailer functions while in transit, and maybe when in storage. You can still charge from TV and possibly run refer while in transit. But I would want everything else disconnected until you are set up at site and can monitor/manage systems. Just my .02

McDave

Fir Strips sounds like a plan. It would look better over a 1 inch thick box around the AC Ceiling mount. More roof insulation would be good too.

The battery and solar and are new research for me. McDave, I think you may have saved me from a big mistake. Beside the benefit of charging via solar once setup, I saw solar charging my battery while in transit a plus for having the solar system. What danger is/are there to run the solar charger to the battery while driving? I am going to have the deep cycle battery and the interior trailer DC system completely separate from the TV, trailer lights, and trailer brakes.

Thanks for the help!

[Gettin Started]

I put in a cutoff switch between the panel and charge controller. A simple home depot toggle or rocker with sufficient amp rating will be enough. That allows you to turn the flow of power from the panel off if you're doing work on the rest of the electrical system.

Congrats on receiving the trailer, and I'm sure you'll enjoy the build.

[McDave]

pirijodonny said,
"The battery and solar and are new research for me. McDave, I think you may have saved me from a big mistake. Beside the benefit of charging via solar once setup, I saw solar charging my battery while in transit a plus for having the solar system. What danger is/are there to run the solar charger to the battery while driving? I am going to have the deep cycle battery and the interior trailer DC system completely separate from the TV, trailer lights, and trailer brakes."

"Thanks for the help![/quote]"

I am by no means an expert on this. But, my experience with mechanical and electrical systems tells me anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Ideally, I would like to have the battery at full charge when leaving home, and leave all systems off till arrival. Signal lights and brakes are the exception as they would be fused at the TV. By the time you saw smoke in the mirror and got pulled over, it could be ugly. I have seen trailers and even boats on fire behind a TV, and you may not be able to unhook and save the truck. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/23 ... 059745.jpg
I will look into this more, as I will be having similar systems eventually. I am sure someone here has the correct answer. Hopefully they will chime in and enlighten us both.
I would also think about charging deep cell from TV as this should allow you to arrive fully charged, and then use solar/shore power once set up.
You might want to look at the Electrical Secrets forum, I will too.

McDave

[McDave]

This is a basic diagram that came with my norcold dual voltage refer. Some good info, but we can probably do better.

McDave

[McDave]

Hey pirijodonny,
I have looked at quite a few RV/Solar articles today. Honestly, I haven't seen anything that says you can't run your solar charge system while in motion. In fact, if you think of it like a sailboat it is easy to believe these systems are made for this purpose. The only caveat I must mention is these article were written from a motorhome perspective, not necessarily a towed trailer. The difference being that you are present to respond and monitor. Otherwise, it would seem that solar charging while in transit is common practice. As a side note, most of these motorhomes and large travel trailers do use the TV to charge "house batteries"while in transit.
Here is some info to get started. http://www.allbatterysalesandservice.co ... arging.pdf
http://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-solar-po ... -tutorial/

I'll let you know if I learn anything different or come across some good diagrams.

McDave

[pirijodonny]

I have made some progress. Hopefully this week I will finish wiring, then get insulation started.

Here is a video of my progress.https://youtu.be/5HOH4ZaqUl0

Still research more on my solar. I know how to install, but am researching the need for a cutoff switch to solar system when plugged into shore power.