wire

[jay]

there seems to be a preferrene for solid copper wire. i was always under the impression that stranded wire took the vibration of travelling better and over time less tendency to break. maybe the connections are really where the vibration is transmitted.

where's the real electricians among us?

[SteveH]

Who prefers solid wire? I used ALL stranded for the reasons you mentioned.

[Chris C]

Jay, do a search. I think you'll find the majority of builders adamently prefer stranded wire.

[toypusher]

Stranded (no matter what gauge you are using, with crimped or soldered connectors)!

[mikeschn]

Stranded wire is the way to go for trailers. The vibration will fracture solid wires.

You could buy extension cords which are all stranded wire. The hardware store sells stranded wire too.

Mike...

[toypusher]

For stranded wire try this: http://www.waytekwire.com/

Kerry

[Steve Frederick]

I'm a pro-electrician, I prefer stranded wire for almost everything.
For teardrop wiring, I've done three so-far, I use security cable. It's 14-ga. and comes as a cable of two conductors. Good for most every circuit in a tear. I did up-size to 12-gauge for the cigarette-type outlets though.
For cabling to/from the battery. I use 10-gauge. I also protect the battery cabling with a fuse or circuit breaker of 30-amps.
Here's the wire label..


Here's my system in my 'Diner


Oops

The breaker is from the auto store..

[mikeschn]

Steve,

What I don't see is your power supply, and where you have it mounted. Got any photos?

Mike...

[Steve Frederick]

Battery, in the same area as your propane. I'm not sure if I should leave that inverter in the uder-seat area. I'm thinking about a small fan to supply cool-er air from the dropped floor area to the inverter. Is a comuputer power-supply fan 12-volt? DC??

Plumbing in rear is the fill and vent for the water tank, hanging below the frame. White tube up-top is a vent tube. There are a bunch of holes drilled in it to allow gas/fumes from the battery to go through the vent (stainless shower drain) in the outside wall. The tank vent ends in this "grill" also.

[SteveH]

For teardrop wiring, I've done three so-far, I use security cable.

I used 12 ga. speaker wire. It's basically zip cord (the stuff used for lamps) and is rated for 125 volts and is very flexible. There's a discount surplus type electronics store here and I bought enough to do the whole trailer for $10.

[mikeschn]

Battery, in the same area as your propane. I'm not sure if I should leave that inverter in the uder-seat area. I'm thinking about a small fan to supply cool-er air from the dropped floor area to the inverter. Is a comuputer power-supply fan 12-volt? DC??

You ought to get one of those digital thermometers with a probe and check out what the temps are under your seat. If they get too warm you can use one of those 12v computer fans to exhaust it.

Something like this...
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/c ... type=store

Mike...

[bdosborn]

Darn it Steve, I thought I was the only guy who had Panduit in his trailer. Very clean installation. You should do a posting on Panduit. I'm sure that other builders would love to use it.
Bruce

[asianflava]

We used that Panduit on a few Govt' jobs. I was intimately familiar with it. Never thought of using it on the trailers.

[Chris C]

Okay, I don't mind being the "class dummy"! What is Panduit? Is it that gray plastic conduit I see in the picture?

[asianflava]

It's the gray wiring chase in the picture. It's a conduit that has a removeable top which makes it look like a pan. You just lay the wires in it and they can exit out thru any of the slots on the sides.