M116A3 Build

[bdosborn]

Ha, the van was 7,980 lbs. when we weighed it on our Florida trip, it's weird that it so close to your combined weight. We didn't have any water in it and I keep adding weight so we're at least a couple of hundred pounds past that by now. The axle weight was 2,460 lbs for the trailer when I weighed it with the truck and there's probably another 3-400 lbs in the tongue; right about what your trailer weighs. All those nice features you built add weight but what are you going to do? A guy needs to be comfortable!
Bruce

[featherliteCT1]

lfhoward:

Nice analysis.

[lfhoward]

Thanks guys!!

One weight reduction that is due to mods, is the elimination of three Lead-Acid deep cycle batteries, which probably reduced weight by 150 lbs! I think my LiFePO4 battery weighs less than a third as much and has more than double the usable amp hours. But you're right about the propane tank, heater, under-mounted spare tire, etc. Got to stay comfy, and I love having a 4 season camper.

[lfhoward]

Electrical refit commenced yesterday. I have 9 days to finish it!

The first task was to remove part of the ceiling to repair a bad ground on the porch light. Not very fun, but the ceiling is back up and it looks like it did before, which is a win!



I also installed the Victron Phoenix Inverter’s remote switch in the wall. The inverter itself is not installed yet but the switch looks good!



One oops, I inadvertently shorted the communications wires from the Victron BMV 712 battery monitor when I had the wall apart, and smoked the PCB attached to the shunt. Luckily a replacement PCB is only $28 plus shipping at PKYS.com. Meanwhile, I am reading battery percent from the bluetooth app that goes with my Overkill BMS.

[bdosborn]

That's a nice looking control panel.
Bruce

[lfhoward]

That's a nice looking control panel.
Bruce

Thanks Bruce!

Today I worked in the side cabinet that housed the solar charge controllers and the Raspberry Pi computers. I got that all removed and used a label maker to mark where each set of wires goes. I will be simplifying the 12V wiring and eliminating the spaghetti. Tomorrow I'll be deconstructing the other side compartment. After that I will be removing the romex 120VAC wiring and replacing that with stranded marine grade wiring. Every system will be getting circuit breakers as well.

[lfhoward]

The central nervous systems of the trailer have been gutted. No battery, no charger, no inverter, no Raspberry Pi’s. Also all 120VAC wiring has been removed. All the peripheral 12V circuits are now labeled as to where they go, to make reassembly and future troubleshooting easier.

Now to put everything back together…

[featherliteCT1]

I bet you will be happy when you see the finished product of your reconfigured electrical system since things will be and look more neat and tidy.

[lfhoward]

I bet you will be happy when you see the finished product of your reconfigured electrical system since things will be and look more neat and tidy.

Oh yes, for sure. It will be neater, tidier, and safer. Plus all the Victron tech will be wired, and show up on the new touchscreen. The AC side of the system (charger and inverter) was not shown there previously.

[lfhoward]

It is easier to wire a trailer when it is a skeleton rather than fully assembled. That said, this marine grade 120VAC wire is nice and bendy compared to Romex house wire, so it is easier to get it around corners. The connections to outlets need to be made with ring terminals, since stranded wire doesn’t really work by wrapping around screw terminals like solid wire does. Not too bad of a job so far!

[featherliteCT1]

marine grade 120VAC wire

What AWG wire is that and where did you buy it from?

[lfhoward]

marine grade 120VAC wire

What AWG wire is that and where did you buy it from?

It’s 12 AWG and I got it from Amazon. Probably 14 AWG would have been fine and 12 is overkill, but I decided to err on the side of overbuilt.

12/3 AWG UL 1426 (The Real Thing) Triplex Round Marine Wire - Tinned Copper Boat Cable - 30 Feet - White PVC Jacket https://a.co/d/7wYEk2q

[lfhoward]

In redoing the 120VAC wiring I reversed the inputs on the Automatic Transfer Switch. Since we most often boondock, I made the inverter the primary AC source. Shore power will be secondary. This eliminates the 30 second wait when we turn the inverter on, and it eliminates the current draw of the ATS solenoid when using the inverter. Shore power will have the 30 second delay and the extra current draw, but that won’t be any problem. Both the inverter and shore power will have their own 15 amp circuit breakers ahead of the transfer switch. These will protect the camper from power surges but will also be manual “off” switches for when I want to cut the power. In addition to the breakers, both the inverter and shore power have GFCI outlets at the beginning of their lines.

[lfhoward]

The rain is putting a kink in my plans!

[lfhoward]

I was able to squeeze some work in on the electrical system in between rain showers today.

The AC system is pretty much done.





The cover is in place on the transfer switch (black). The breakers for the shore power & inverter are in the gray box at the top. The GFCI outlet is where the battery charger plugs in, but the GFCI protects the whole trailer while on shore power. The inverter has a GFCI also. The coiled black cord plugs into the inverter.

The battery goes in front of this but you can reach over it to flip the breakers. Or remove the floor panel and reach down from above. I have 4 AC outlets to wire tomorrow and the entire AC system is done and useable.

After that I will rebuild the DC system. This DC breaker will be forward of the battery in the same compartment, same height as the AC breakers so it will be easier to find.



And this one will be in the kitchen cabinet where the solar charge controllers live.



Now I just need a whole bunch of Bruce’s warning & danger stickers!