Personalizing not building our TD

[rbishopp]

So we finally found a teardrop which meets our needs and almost fit in the budget.
The good; it tows well, pretty light, seems to be weather tight at this point. The not so good; 120v shore power only, no 12v lights or anything, no roof vent/fan.
We are developing our list of mods. High on my list is a roof vent/fan or some way to move warm air out. Along with that is a 12v system for the fan and some lights. Down the road maybe a roof rack for a canoe but that can go on the TV for now. I'm sure there will be other things but first things first, that vent.

Seems my pics are too big but there are a few in my gallery. Or will this work ?

Anyone with ideas on how to get 12v wiring into the cieling roof for a fan please jump in ? Also if someone knows how this TD was built, roof structure and such, I'd love to hear from you. I want to get this vent installed as soon as I can.

Step one... camp. Next week we'll in the ADK.


Rich...

[MTalon]

I don't know how the inside is built or the ceiling but you could always run a piece of trim from the front where the battery is to the fan location. Route a channel under the trim and place it above your head in the middle.

Unless there is already wiring ran through the roof you are gonna have a very difficult time running more without removing the aluminum and plywood.

[KennethW]

Have you tried a stud senser on the roof? I would just surface wire with two wire extension cord wire and a bead of glue to hold the wire nice and straight.
You can almost hide the wires by running them in the wall-roof corners.
To put the wires in the walls after the TD is finished is a lot work and may result in some damage.

[KCStudly]

How thick are your walls? Are the just plywood slabs covered with alum skin on the outside, or are the built up with an inner skin and stick built stud frame? I'm going to assume that you do not have exposed roof spars and that you have an inner ceiling panel.

How about the existing lighting and/or light switches? How are they mounted and can you tell if the walls and ceiling are insulated?

Do you know if the roof has been framed with provision for a vent fan (some builders will frame in with the intent to add the fan later... the fancier fans can be a bit of a budget item)?

Is it a commercially manufactured camper or a home built?

The more of these questions that you can answer, the better the feedback you will get to your question.

[rbishopp]

Thanks for the replies. This is a home built on a Lowes trailer?. I thought about the stud finder and haven't tried that yet. There is a 120v light on the ceiling run with lamp cord I think since I can see it used in the galley area. I think the walls are solid but the roof/ceiling may have voids. I am the third owner if you count the builder so I'm certain details of the build have been lost. Unless someone recognizes as their job. Someone not knowing might think it is a commercially built TD. It feels and looks well made. Good fit and finish and this make me nervous about trying to take something apart or drilling a bunch of holes.
Running wires along the corners might be the best way to go for lighting on the inside and out. Still a priority is venting the ceiling and hopefully a fan in that opening.

Rich...

[TwoFeetShorter]

Just a thought about having AC only wireing, if you are mainly wanting to be able to use battery power you could change out all the light bulbs to LED and use a small inverter connected to a 12v deep cycle battery to run your lights.
When you are at a campground without electric use the inverter, when camping with electricity unplug from the inverter and plug into shore power.

As for the vent wireing, you could use a shallow wire cover across the underside of the ceiling. I'll see if I can find a link to what I'm talking about.

Neil

[TwoFeetShorter]

Cord cover was the words I was looking for.
http://m.lowes.com/pd/Wiremold-12-in-x- ... er/3199827

[S. Heisley]

It's easy to get these two mixed up: A converter reduces AC down to DC as well as charging the battery; and, an inverter changes DC from a battery to AC. You could simply add a battery and a couple 12V lights with fuses and electrical connections that are separate from your other electrical system and use an inexpensive battery charger or a solar system when you need to charge the battery. LED lights have become a really good option for battery usage and use hardly any energy. It's all in you what you want and decide to do.
A cord cover for exposed wiring is a good idea.
Good luck on your improvements. It will be fun watching.

[rbishopp]

The idea of using the existing wiring did not occur to me. Could be an option. Big desire is to power a fan in the roof. I was thinking of having stand alone ac and dc systems just for my simple mind but combining might be the right way to go. The cord cover seems like a simple solution too. Menitioned by someone else was carving a channel down the center of the ceiling and covering that with trim of some sort. The possibilities are opening up.

Thank You all for your ideas.

Rich...

[KCStudly]

I used Uniduct 2900 for low voltage wiring around the wall sills of my cabin. It works fine on flat surfaces.

In this shot looking thru what would later become the front wall of my cabin you can see the wiremold laid open along the base of the street side wall as I rough in the 12v electrical. The track snaps open and closed. I was leery about the adhesive backed foam tape that is factory applied because I am sure there will be times when the inside temp will get pretty hot when setting in the sun closed up, so I used some truss head screws thru the inside as well. The tape ends up sticking really well... at least to the very smooth poly'd surfaces, so maybe the screws weren't needed. Stuff is easy to drill thru to pull wires thru the back.

[TwoFeetShorter]

Another thought I had which might seem a bit out there ....
If the AC wireing is multi strand wire and not solid copper house wire you could convert everything to straight DC. Use the existing wireing and replace the AC fixtures with DC, then add a battery and you should be good to go.
You could then use the ceiling light wireing to power the vent you want to install.
Neil

[S. Heisley]

Another thought I had which might seem a bit out there ....
If the AC wireing is multi strand wire and not solid copper house wire you could convert everything to straight DC. Use the existing wireing and replace the AC fixtures with DC, then add a battery and you should be good to go.
You could then use the ceiling light wireing to power the vent you want to install.
Neil

[rbishopp]

Another thought I had which might seem a bit out there ....
If the AC wireing is multi strand wire and not solid copper house wire you could convert everything to straight DC. Use the existing wireing and replace the AC fixtures with DC, then add a battery and you should be good to go.
You could then use the ceiling light wireing to power the vent you want to install.
Neil

I think you nailed it Neil. There is a light in the ceiling on forward curve and the wiring comes from the back right down the middle of the ceiling. Its just lamp cord so I can use it no problem. I tried to see if I could use it to snake new wiring in but it must be stappled in place.

So a couple screws to remove a wood panel and expose the wiring. Nope, not so fast. Two more screws in the back of the outlet box. Took me a few minutes to figure that one out.




My stud finder was giving me inconsistent results and tapping with my finger seemed to give better results to see if I have sapce for the vent/van. I'll have to do some more tapping and pushing (flexing the ceiling a bit) and maybe a little more time with the stud finder with a pencil and tape to determine the dimensions. Thats going to have to wait a few days or weeks.

[capnTelescope]

If the AC wiring is multi strand wire and not solid copper house wire you could convert everything to straight DC.

and

Its just lamp cord so I can use it no problem.

It's a moot point, but there's no law of nature that says DC won't go thru solid wire. Stranded wire is easier to get it to go where you want, but in this case the wiring is already there. You would have been good to go either way. Anyhow, Neil nailed it.

[KCStudly]

... and just a reminder that solid core wire is not recommended in non-stationary applications (trailers, boats, cars, etc.) due to the fact that it is less flexible and will tend to break under constant vibration. Save the Romex for your house.