Where To Start... Where To Start.... :P

[chukar]

Like the wirehair you've got in your avatar.

That was Ike in Dec. at 5 months. The Chukar was wounded(notice he is holding his head up); he tracked it down and handed it to me still alive,....he can also be a real PITA but we love him.

[SirJoey]

Motorbase receptacle installed & sealed with silicone. Top screw is solidly screwed into steel stud which fender is attached to.
Bottom screw is only through sheet metal, but is a machine screw with nut on the inside:






Second wall insulated & motorbase receptacle wired up. Using
all 10ga wire throughout, except for 16ga on 12v circuits.






Wiring ran for driver's side ac outlet, air con, exhaust fan, & three 12v lights:








Thought I was almost finished with this wall, but forgot to run rooftop TV antenna cable,
& through-wall cable inlet for satellite dish, so now I get to take it all apart again! DOH!



Oh well, it's not completely finished anyway...






First wall finished & first outlet wired up & working!

[Prem]

CAUTION: RVIA code requires multi-strand wire for RVs for AC (like extension cord wire) and crimp caps or solder and tape, not the screw on type for houses. Why? Vibration going down the road will metal fatigue the solid copper Romex type wire and the screw on caps will definitely unscrew, shorting out, likely causing a fire.

[SirJoey]

Yeah, I'm using all strand wire, except for the safety grounds.
I can still change to the crimp type bundee connectors before finishing, though. Thanx for the tip, Prem!

[Prem]

Sure. But check with the pros. Grounding AC to your trailer is not a ground. It should go back to a real ground at the hook up site. The ground is in the hook up system. 3-wire extension cord to the source.

Safety is mega important.

[SirJoey]

3-wire extension cord to the source.

Yep, already had that planned, & already have that in 12 gauge!





Through-wall satellite dish cable connector installed. For short stays, I'll just use the rooftop
antenna & my converter box. For longer stays, I'll drag out the satellite dish & hook up to this:











Radio antenna installed, & cable routed:







TV antenna installed, & cable routed:







Not much real estate left on the roof!



Havin' a hard time locating a distribution block for my 12 volt circuits though....

[SirJoey]

My homemade spare tire holder, welded together & primered:







Drilled through wall stud, & mounted solid with nylock nuts:







Drilled threads out of 2 lug nuts:







Lug nuts slide on, & get held in place by 2 more nylock nuts:









Used 1/4" spacer to leave room to slip tire cover between tire & fender:








Waitin' for my tire cover to arrive....



Still have to weld a loop to one of the mounting studs, to lock the wheel to.

[Prem]

Lots of good progress!

[SirJoey]

Lots of good progress!

Thanx, Prem! In the end, it's not gonna look anything at all like that gorgeous thing YOU built, as my carpentry
skills are SERIOUSLY lacking, but it should at least be functional & fairly well outfitted, for a small trailer anyway.

I'm going heavy on the creature comforts, to whatever extent I can, given my limited space, not for camping
so much, but for the fact that I'll be living in this thing for a month or longer when I travel North for an extended
vacation to visit my daughter & grandkids, with a few other stops along the way to visit friends. This way,
I won't be much of any imposition on anyone. All I'll really need from any of my "hosts" is a place to shower.

If I only planned to use this thing strictly for camping, I wouldn't worry much about stuff like TV & stereo,
but this is actually gonna be my home for extended periods, so I'm trying to make it as homey as possible.

[SirJoey]

12-volt questions: Where do you guys get your 12 volt fuse blocks & ground blocks?

Also, how big a fuse to use for roof vent fan, stereo, lights, & 12 volt outlets?

I've searched & read extensively here, but can't seem to find an answer to either question. Thanx!

[Prem]

12-volt questions: Where do you guys get your 12 volt fuse blocks & ground blocks?

Any RV store. NAPA. Radio Shack. Online...just google it.

Also, how big a fuse to use for roof vent fan, stereo, lights, & 12 volt outlets?

Read the input amperage on each device and put in a fuse for that amperage. If it burns out easily, use the next one stronger. If your fan draws 5 amps and burns a 5 amp fuse when you start the fan, put in a 7 amp fuse. Overkill is bad. You wouldn't want to put in a 20 amp fuse if the fan on start up burns a 5 amp fuse. A fire might start before the fuse blew.

One example: If you've got 10 interior LED lights all going down the same line in parallel that together draw 3 amps, put in a 5 amp fuse. It will blow before the wire gets hot if there's a short in the line. Carry extras. You have to know the draw to know what fuse to use.

On the 120VAC side: That ground to the trailer chassis could potentially blow all your 12VDC wiring. I'd eliminate it asap. (Same principle as disconnecting a car battery when you're welding on the car.) What you need instead is a GFI (ground fault interrupter socket). Ask the pros at a hardware store. I think it goes at the end of the 120VAC line. (I don't wire AC in my trailers. I just run an extension cord in through a weather cover if needed...almost never cuz I almost never camp where there are hook ups.)

[SirJoey]

That ground to the trailer chassis could potentially blow all your 12VDC wiring. I'd eliminate it asap.

I don't know electrical stuff, but I was thinking that very same thing, Prem. I'm not the one wiring this thing,
cuz electrical stuff is definitely not my strong suit, & my brother SUPPOSEDLY knows what he's doing....

Surprisingly, I AM familiar with disconnecting the battery before welding on a car!

Looks like I'm gonna have to take the walls apart yet AGAIN to undo those grounds!

As for the GFI, I was planning on buying one of those GFI/Breaker combos that go in the incoming AC line.

Thanx again for the tips & info! They are much appreciated!

[Prem]

Chure man. No problema.

Looks like I'm gonna have to take the walls apart yet AGAIN to undo those grounds!

Cheap fix: Cut the AC ground wires back to the insulation and then triple wrap with electrical tape the snipped wire so you can't get any arcing to the metal of the trailer. Those ground wires were suppose to go into grounded wall sockets...the kind with the three prong holes (two flat that carry positive and negative, one round that is the ground). The ground wire runs back to the source at the hook up where it goes to Earth (ground).

Best fix: Ya might want to take the AC wiring out and start over to get it right. Use heavy orange, 3-wire extension cord. Ground each wall socket so it can go back to Earth (ground) at the source. Extension cord wire even comes on rolls at the hardware store. You can buy it by the foot.

I don't even use my trailer's metal for common ground (negative ground) on any part of the 12 volt system. I run the black, negative ground wire all the way back to the RV battery because I don't want electrolysis oxidizing the trailer's metal leading to holes (body rot, cancer).

Hey, a double question: That's a UHF/VHF TV antenna for a vehicle. TV signal switched to High Definition on different frequencies last year. Are you using a converter box and does that antenna pull in any channels?

[SirJoey]

I don't even use my trailer's metal for common ground (negative ground) on any part of the 12 volt system. I run the black, negative ground wire all the way back to the RV battery because I don't want electrolysis oxidizing the trailer's metal leading to holes (body rot, cancer).

Yeah, definitely! Fortunately, I do know a little about 12 volt wiring (emphasis on LITTLE, LOL), & I've ALWAYS done 'em that way. I never use the chassis for ground, to complete a circuit! Like you, I always run both wires all the way back to power!

Hey, a double question: That's a UHF/VHF TV antenna for a vehicle. TV signal switched to High Definition on different frequencies last year. Are you using a converter box and does that antenna pull in any channels?

Yes to both! When the thing arrived a couple of weeks ago, (the antenna), just for kicks I decided to hook it up INSIDE the house to see if I could get anything at all. I live in a very rural area, & the antenna wasn't even up high... it was on the floor. Hooked up to my converter box, & man, did I ever get a surprise! It picked up 5 or 6 stations crystal clear (naturally, being digital), so I was more than satisfied. I figure on the roof of the trailer, it should do a little better, although I haven't tested it again yet. Also figure if I'm anywhere near any kind of civilization at all, I'll be able to watch TV without resorting to dragging out the satellite dish, although as I mentioned before, if I'm gonna be in one place for a couple weeks or more, I'll still drag out the dish for maximum viewing pleasure!







Reached a milestone today. All 3 walls are now insulated:









Next comes the one I dread the most... the ceiling!




Also got my TV hookups finished:



The left one goes to the rooftop antenna.
The right one is for hooking up to my portable satellite dish, or incoming cable TV.

Tomorrow, my brother's supposed to be here, so I'll wait for him to help me straighten out this wiring mess!
I think his biggest problem is, he's applying house-wiring techniques to a trailer, which even I figured was wrong,
so thanx again for the pointers, Prem! Basically, you confirmed what I already suspected!

[Prem]

Glad to be of any help.

Next comes the one I dread the most... the ceiling!

It's very curved over a short span. You have an alternative to wood: Fabric headliner. Just glue the insulation to the ceiling and then use spray adhesive to stick the fabric to it. You could use upholstery material, vinyl cloth or even grass cloth wallpaper.

Just a thought.

Best wishes.

I'm gone.