Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Is using 12 gauge Romex wire reasonable or would I come out ahead using individual runs of stranded wire? I am asking relative to ease of installation, faster install ,etc. What, if any, are the pros and cons in romex verses individual wires?

Romex is reasonable. That is what was used in the prowler travel trailer for AC in the travel trailer I took apart and the DC was stranded without conduit. In my build I used greenfield for the AC that was stranded because I was concerned that I might nick a wire with a staple but I would of been fine with romex for the AC.

On by build I decide Romex was too stiff to work with so I used 14 gauge extension cord. It is 3 wire, round, flexible and was easy to route through holes I drilled in my spars etc.

I ran Romex (10ga coming in from inlet to converter), 12ga to the 20A outlet for the AC, and 14ga for the regular 15A outlets. It was not a big deal. I had to buy a 3/4" hole saw to cut the holes in the frame big enough for grommets and the wire, but i feel better with using the proper wire and a little bit of overengineering.

I did jab myself in the palm with the ground wire leading to some blood and a lot of swearing, but otherwise, pleased with the results.

I am running stranded 10ga wire for the DC power, and while the wire is more flexible, it has not been signifigantly different to run.

I will say, the push-in connectors (WAGO) available make connecting romex cake. All my DC wiring involves either solder and heat shrink, or solder-seal connectors, which are all more costly and time consuming the the WAGO's.

The Wago connectors look neat. I have never seen them before. I am going to order some to see how well they work for me. Thank you for the lead.
Bob

lrrowe wrote:The Wago connectors look neat. I have never seen them before. I am going to order some to see how well they work for me. Thank you for the lead.
Bob

I bought an assortment online, but found them at Lowe's as well in small package quantities. I did not need lots, and picked up some small packs of various terminal counts (2, 3, 4, 6 etc). Below is a picture of them in use. Made for a very clean install and so very easy. Way better then the luck i had with twist style.

I sure wish I had known of these before! I've never had problems with twist locks but that look like it would be lots easier and cleaner.

Earnest

I just ordered a few from Amazon and cannot wait to try them. Will post results on my uses.
Bob

I thought you guys have all SWORN on the holly trailer building bible to only use 105 deg c stranded wire

These only work with solid wire of 12-14 AWG

OverTheTopCargoTrailer wrote:I thought you guys have all SWORN on the holly trailer building bible to only use 105 deg c stranded wire

These only work with solid wire of 12-14 AWG

Well that sux!

Nuts, somehow I missed the stranded wire discussions. I was planning on using these connectors when I start and to rewire the CT from the factory when it arrives. Now I feel I need to go back in time and see what all has been said about solid and stranded wire.

Bob

Wago's are fine and dandy for the residential trade who are all about slamming out cookie cutter homes in the shortest time possible...., but in the commercial environment we always twist the wires and use wire nuts...also wires are wrapped around the screws for full contact....if there was a chance of vibration, I always wrapped a few layers of tape around the nut....my main point is, with a "push in" type connection there is only a very small contact area between the wire surface and the tab in the Wago or "back stap" receptacles....that leads to resistance, which leads to over heating of the joint and eventually failure....replaced a lot of the cheap box store recepts for friends which have overheated and failed.....been in the electrical trade since 1998 as an I.B.E.W. trained master electrician.....I cringe when I see some of the photos posted on this website....
just my opinion.....
p.s. almost all the r.v.'s built are wired with romex...just use bushings when it passes through metal studs......

WAGO

a few look like they might work with stranded wires


http://www.google.com/search?q=Wago's&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=IFBtUvHPEYPTiwKY8IGYCA&ved=0CHEQsAQ&biw=1863&bih=1208


BUT as we well know , they never sell the good sh** in the USA


http://www.nce.com.hk/wago.htm

I found some of them BAD boys Wago 222, however most here other then "OverTheTop" would get sticker shock


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wago+222

capt4903 wrote:Wago's are fine and dandy for the residential trade who are all about slamming out cookie cutter homes in the shortest time possible...., but in the commercial environment we always twist the wires and use wire nuts...also wires are wrapped around the screws for full contact....if there was a chance of vibration, I always wrapped a few layers of tape around the nut....my main point is, with a "push in" type connection there is only a very small contact area between the wire surface and the tab in the Wago or "back stap" receptacles....that leads to resistance, which leads to over heating of the joint and eventually failure....replaced a lot of the cheap box store recepts for friends which have overheated and failed.....been in the electrical trade since 1998 as an I.B.E.W. trained master electrician.....I cringe when I see some of the photos posted on this website....
just my opinion.....
p.s. almost all the r.v.'s built are wired with romex...just use bushings when it passes through metal studs......

thank you for being the source of reason, I was trying to figure out how to explain the shortcomings of the wago connectors

Prodart


You should read what I posted before you offer to copy someone else opinion

IMHO

No need to take MY WORD ......
Get other opinions below


http://www.amazon.com/Wago-222-413-LEVER-NUTS-Conductor-Connectors/product-reviews/B003K124UA/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1