120 vac Only

[ocasioc25]

Hello Everyone,

I plan on building my trailer 120v only. Since I can't run wires through the walls, like a normal house, I'm going to run them from the top. I need one 20-25 amp breaker for the ac, a 15 amp breaker for the receptacles in the galley and cabin and I believe a 20 amp breaker just for the 1.7 cu in fridge. Since the interior walls are going to be plywood and no places for 2x4 boxes, I need some ideas how to route my cables. I've thought about plastic wire mold but then the receptacles will be above the wall. They make the boxes about 1" raised off the wall, but running the wire mold makes it look not so attractive. The exterior wall will be 1/2 plywood and 1/8 interior wall with 1x4 supports in the walls which is 3/4 nominal size wood. Any ideas or where to see the build plans would be of great help. I've looked at various build plans and haven't seen any that specify the wiring. Just point me in a good direction.

Thanks

Carlos

[Sputterputz]

Hollow plywood or sandwich? They make a shallow wall install box that's made for "furred" walls it's 1" deep by the standard 3.5" tall and 2" wide.

Your other option is to drop them into cabinets and places you can make room for a standard box.

I ran all of my electric through the roof, and into spaces where I needed it from there.

Sal

[working on it]

Have you looked at the "keep it simple" plans that many have used here? Under several threads, they show minimal wiring, breakers, fuses, etc....Usually just an extension cord with a reset, Marinco is the popular choice, but I just used GFCI cords, and switched surge strips. I added no breakers for the window unit A/C, since it has it's own. Mind you, my trailer will never be on the market for resale, so no liability for unsafe wiring (though I don't fear that's the case). I'll never draw more than 10amps thru my wiring at any time, so 12-14-16 gauge works here. Just my viewpoint; others may vary.

[Jim Boyd]

I did just what you are wanting to do. I ran wiring under 1x6's in the upper corners and routed slots for the wire in the back of 1x4's for outlets. You might get some ideas here ---> viewtopic.php?f=42&t=57387

[Engineer Guy]

As the old Marketing Joke used to go: 'If you can't hide it, feature it'. A spin on this idea is to have an Interior Detail resembling a Chair Rail in a Stick-built House. Say, 4" tall thin material like Luan scraps could be mounted on 2 parallel 1 by scraps. This Chair Rail could run on both sides of the Trailer, front to back. Outlets could be set sideways in the shallow-mount Boxes mentioned above.

You could also execute this same concept as 'tall' Baseboard. I did this in our Stick-built House. All the Outlets are mounted sideways in nice 1" x 6" Baseboard. The Walls don't have umpteen holes cut in them [saving Energy], and Lamp Cords more attractively stay near the Floor. The idea above to use Cabinets and other details to hide wiring is a good one.

[eamarquardt]

I'm not sure where you're getting your figures on current draw. A 5500 btu a/c unit will draw less than ten amps. A 1.6 cubic foot reefer will draw a couple of amps. However microwaves, electric frying pans, and coffee pots draw anywhere from 5 to 10 amps or more depending upon their size so the galley will draw a lot of current if you have more than one thing in use at a time.

You might want to reconsider the number and capacity of your circuits.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus