Running wires

[bobhenry]

Who needs a sprinkler system when ya got...



BEER

[Miriam C.]

After following this thread, I'm pretty sure now that the SlumberMAX will burn to the ground due to my wiring job!!! Anyone ever install a sprinkler system in a Tear???

OH GOSH!! Dont give these Nutters here anymore ideas!!!


Mk

Now MK, play nice. Seems the only trailer I heard of that burned the poor man forgot to finish the wiring and left the gator clips on.

BobHenry and if you shake it up you don't even have to stand up to do it.

[bobhenry]

[.

BobHenry and if you shake it up you don't even have to stand up to do it.

OH NO ! alcohol abuse

you drink it 1st spray later as needed

[Micro469]

[.

BobHenry and if you shake it up you don't even have to stand up to do it.

OH NO ! alcohol abuse

you drink it 1st spray later as needed

Just make sure you got a LONNNG firehose......

[Arne]

This tear I decided to keep the wiring real simple. No wiring in the walls, all runs in the ceiling. 12v on one side and 115v on the other. 115v is 12 gauge, 'cause that's what I had....

Come to think of it, I would have used a 14 gauge extension cord for the 12v... would have been a bit neater... I had one I cut up for some of the 115v stuff and had enough left over... didn't even think of it till now.

[pete.wilson]

Hey

I have used the 12 or 14AWG extension cord cut to whatever length I need for all my AC wiring stuff. If It was underneath the trailer then I would use the split plastic sleeve stuff for added protection from the elements but to use use nomex house wiring is somewhat unneeded but it's what most people are used to. Your typical current will be much higher when using 12v than with 120vac. For instance an electric blanket of equal size will draw much more current off of 12v than a similar one running on 120AC. If you like to dry camp using an inverter, use 6AWG wires to run from battery to inverter then use 12AWG or 14AWG extension cord from Inverter to your wall electrical boxes. When in doubt, always go to the next higher isze wiring (which is the lower the AWG size, ie. 6AWG is larger than 8AWG). The length of your longest run will determine the AWG size wiring you will need, then that's what I would use throughout. Multi-stranded wiring is the best to use unless very high current is needed, which in our cases it is not. If using 3 wire for a 12v system, I would recommend using the green wire (Ground) for your ground lead (normally black in two wire) and then use the white wire for your hot/A+ lead (usually Red in 2 wire), this makes it easier to remember as it is similar to the AC wiring setup. hope this helps some.

Pete Wilson

[Miriam C.]

If using 3 wire for a 12v system, I would recommend using the green wire (Ground) for your ground lead (normally black in two wire) and then use the white wire for your hot/A+ lead (usually Red in 2 wire), this makes it easier to remember as it is similar to the AC wiring setup. hope this helps some.

Pete, Black should always be hot and white always neutral/ground.

Green or bare is ground in 120vac, and we don't want to cause anyone harm.

On your auto you will have red and black. On your TV to TD wiring you should have brown, green, yellow and white (ground)

If everyone uses the same standard then when someone buys or inherits a TD they will not have electrical issue that are confusing.

Now I have stacks of wire but it is blue, green, pink and others. I don't use it because I think a uniform standard is a good thing.

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Thats the second time I've done that this week. A little too much going on I think.

Pete Wilson

[brian_bp]

...in your auto you will have red and black. On your TV to TD wiring you should have brown, green, yellow and white (ground)

If everyone uses the same standard then when someone buys or inherits a TD they will not have electrical issue that are confusing...

Red and black is only for battery cables (in the rest of the vehicle, there are no safe assumptions), but I agree that's a good starting point for simple power circuits.

A 7-wire tow vehicle to trailer connection will have those four colours, plus three more... and the only wire colour with the same meaning is white, since the lighting wires are differently coloured in the common 4-pin and 7-pin systems. If someone builds a trailer following the 4-pin colour pattern, then they or someone else adds a battery or brakes and converts it to 7-pin, they're unlikely to run all new wires for the lights, so there will be a mixture... that's not good, but I don't think that it's realistic to expect otherwise.

I agree that following standards is good where possible, but no one should ever rely on the colour of a wire's insulation to indicate its purpose until they have checked by testing, by tracing, or by consulting a reliable drawing.

[BPFox]

After following this thread, I'm pretty sure now that the SlumberMAX will burn to the ground due to my wiring job!!! Anyone ever install a sprinkler system in a Tear???

Yes, but you need to drink lots and lots of water before going to bed.

[TPMcGinty]

After following this thread, I'm pretty sure now that the SlumberMAX will burn to the ground due to my wiring job!!! Anyone ever install a sprinkler system in a Tear???

I'm pretty sure that when I finally get my tear on the road, the roof (or something else) will leak so much that I won't need a sprinkler system!

[bdosborn]

A little search yielded the following max amp/wire gage:
10G:55A
12G:41A
14G:32A
16G:22A
18G:16A

:

That chart is way high for typical wire you'll find at the home center. This is more representative of typical (THHN) wire ampacity, its from the NEC 551 section on recreational vehicles.

Table 551.10(E)(1)
Wire Size (AWG) : Ampacity
18 : 6
16 : 8
14 : 15
12 : 20
10 : 30

Bruce

[BPFox]

Color coding for 12 volt systems is not that complicated but there really is no standard. There is a standard for the traveling lights and it's pretty well documented. Most battery cables are wired using Red for Positive and Black for nagative. For some reason that I'm not quite sure of those standards change once you get into the wiring harness. The negative wire turns to white most of the time. It it not the same in all vehicle manufacturers. Most trailers on the other hand are wired with the white wire being negative. Stick to that standard and you can't go wrong. Most 12 volt wiring systems use a different color for each circuit. It helps keep things straight. Most of the direct current systems I work on use one color wire for everything and the wires are numbered. That can be a real pain but since there are more numbers than there are colors it's a necessary evil. But, I digress.

If you plan on using an extension cord for your 12 volt wiring I would keep the white wire as your negative wire. At that point, it does not matter which wire you use for positive, however, I would recommend using the black wire for positive and not use the green because it's already being used for another function in the trailer. More on that later.

The Yellow, Green, Brown, White standard applies to the running lights only and has nothing and should have nothing to do with your cabin wiring system except for the negative white wire.. Since the yellow, green and brown wires identify their function those colors should be left alone. This is why I don't recommend using the green wire in the extension cord since you are already using the green wire to control your right turn signal and the brake lights on the right side of the trailer.

Regardless of what colors you decide to use make sure you keep track and put a list somewhere near the fuse block to identify the circuits. That will pay dividends later if you ever have to trouble shoot a circuit.

For those who are interested in the total lack of a wiring standard, check out this web site:

http://www.marksrv.com/wiring.htm

[BPFox]

A little search yielded the following max amp/wire gage:
10G:55A
12G:41A
14G:32A
16G:22A
18G:16A

:

That chart is way high for typical wire you'll find at the home center. This is more representative of typical (THHN) wire ampacity, its from the NEC 551 section on recreational vehicles.

Table 551.10(E)(1)
Wire Size (AWG) : Ampacity
18 : 6
16 : 8
14 : 15
12 : 20
10 : 30

Bruce

Point of clarification, you are both right. "chorizon's" chart is for 12 volts and "bdosborn's" chart is for 120 volts.

[bdosborn]

No, the chart I posted is for 24V and less.
Bruce