insulation and electric

Converting Cargo Trailers into TTTs

insulation and electric

Postby sullyandsons » Wed Sep 19, 2012 7:54 am

Has anyone tried to use the blown in insulation. I am worried about condensation. I can put it in the top of the walls and it will settle to the bottom think it will work. I am going to do the roof with the foam panel. I also am thinking of running the electric outside under the floor in conduit anybody did this .

Where can I get a 30 amps box


Converting a diamond cargo 7x12
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby Woodbutcher » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:09 pm

My concern would be the insulation will continue to settle from road bumps. I would use the ridged pink stuff myself. Yes on the electric run under the floor.
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby Bkcreation34 » Wed Sep 19, 2012 12:28 pm

Woodbutcher wrote:My concern would be the insulation will continue to settle from road bumps. I would use the ridged pink stuff myself. Yes on the electric run under the floor.




I would agree with you as well. When you blow in the insulate you will get settle from pulling the trailer on the road or gravel roads. When you use Pink Foam sheets that makes a stronger insulate and will not allow gaps.
One thing you could look into is Spray Foam Insulation where it will harden when sprayed on. But make sure you do electrical and everything you want to run in the walls before you spray foam because it will be no fun trying to run wires in harden spray foam.

Good idea on the electrical underneath but you not sure what you would gain from that because you will still need to come up the wall from the floor. So it is a horse a piece discussion.
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby 8ball_99 » Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:14 pm

Like they said about the insulation.. I would not use the blown in kind like is used in houses. Or fiberglass either.. You have to think anytime the trailer is on the road it will have to deal with constant bumbs and vibration..

As far as running the wires under the trailer. Sure you can.. I ran a few of mine that way. Most are inside though. For example though one of my 110 AC circuits is ran mostly under the trailer.. I have an outlet outside under the trailer from there one wire runs up into the wall to an inside outlet.. Then I have a wire that continues under the trailer and comes up inside the trailer at the rear corner for another outlet. It was easier and a shorter run of wire to do it that way. With most of my 12v stuff I just ran it inside. Mainly because it was just the shortest easiest way to get the wire where I wanted.. Any 12v under the trailer is just protected by split loom. That makes it easy for wires to come in and out where needed.. For 110 AC line I just used armored wire inside and out. The wire is protected, but the metal jacket takes up much less space then using electrical conduit.

You can pick up a small subpanel and any homeimprovement place.. IMO though I would just use a RV converter. They make them with AC breakers and DC fuses. So you have all that stuff along with a battery charger all in one easy to access box.. Its also probably cheaper then buying all the stuff seperate. What size converter just depends on a couple factors.. How big of charger you need and how many breakers you want. The idea is to get one rated for enough amperage to not only charge your battery but also run any 12v you have in your trailer at the same time. IE if you have 15 amps worth of 12v then you want atleast a converter thats rated for 25 amps. That way you if for some reason everything in the trailer is on while your also trying to charge the battery you still have enough juice to charge it quickly. Buy one a little bigger then you think you need, cause you will probably have an extra light or laptop charger you didn't think of lol...
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby Bkcreation34 » Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:45 pm

And another thing when you want to do 12 volt inside for lights and outlets for 12 volt make sure you rewire the trailer inside because right now from the factory the wiring is all connected to the connection that goes into your vehicle plug. So if you want to have seperate you will need to run wires for them and best thing is to rewire your trailer anyway because factory wiring is horrible well I had that in my 2012 haulmark enclosed trailer I bought from factory and I had to rewire the whole thing due to thin wires and it was design for a enclosed trailer for light use. But if you are going to convert into a CT and have it insulated and walls and make it look like a camper your better off using heavier gauge wire and better connectors and ground each light and outside lights and then you wont have to worry a couple years from now when it goes bad from the factory job and you have to tear it all apart inside to redue the wiring when it would cost much less to do it all upfront. A


And I think other CT Designers on here would agree when you design your CT and build it to your taste and needs you will spend alot more money then you were planning on. But the outcome afterwards is you design a CT that you like and how you wanted it and it is not a cookie cutter design like a pop up camper or a trailer trailer. And yes if you have a small like I do 6X10 it is good for one person and I created it the way I wanted it. But I rather have what I have in a heartbeat over a pop up camper that has fabric on the slide outs for the bedding and mine is built solid and pop ups you will have a nightmare when it rains because you have to wait for it to dry the fabric before you can put down. In a enclosed trailer CT you bring what you want and when it rains you go inside and stay dry and warm and it is like tent camping but off the ground and much more luxury then tent camping.
I would say putting a kitchen in a small CT is not the best and if you want to test that go ahead and do that but try cooking bacon inside once the smell of that will stay in there for a very long time or if you burn something. The best is to have a easy up tent outside and make that your outdoor kitchen you will have more space and more luxury then alot of the cookie cutter factory built campers.

I went camping one weekend and people stopped by and was impressed on the room and creation of my design and two sites down from me someone else had a CT and you are starting to see more and more CT in local campgrounds which is awesome because we our making headway and people are catching onto this creative idea of converting enclosed trailer into a CT.
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby roadinspector » Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:14 pm

There is nothing wrong with running wires under the floor. Armored wiring is good to use. Just be sure you attach it tightly to the frame so it doesn't get cut or hang on anything going down the road. Personally I am going have all interior wire that are run outside of the wall. Any wiring that is outside of the cabinets will be covered with cord covers. That way they are not exposed and are protected. Just about any home improvement store sells them. I like the wiring inside for easier access. I can get down as easy as always, its the getting back up that has become the killer. I ain't a spring pup any more so I try to build according to my abilities.

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Re: insulation and electric

Postby David_L6 » Thu Sep 20, 2012 12:13 am

8ball_99 wrote: IMO though I would just use a RV converter. They make them with AC breakers and DC fuses. So you have all that stuff along with a battery charger all in one easy to access box..


That is exactly what I want! You wouldn't happen to have a link to where I can buy a couple of those would you? (I'm very slowly working on a 6 X 10 and a 7 X 16 so I need two of them.)
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby 8ball_99 » Thu Sep 20, 2012 12:07 pm

David_L6 wrote:
8ball_99 wrote: IMO though I would just use a RV converter. They make them with AC breakers and DC fuses. So you have all that stuff along with a battery charger all in one easy to access box..


That is exactly what I want! You wouldn't happen to have a link to where I can buy a couple of those would you? (I'm very slowly working on a 6 X 10 and a 7 X 16 so I need two of them.)


Here ya go http://www.adventurerv.net/wfco-8700-series-amp-power-center-converter-p-23207.html Again they make them smaller or bigger depending on what you need. You might also find them cheaper. I have ordered from adventure RV several times over the years and have always had good service though. So if the price is close I tend to go with them..
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby GuitarPhotog » Thu Sep 20, 2012 1:13 pm

8ball_99 wrote:
David_L6 wrote:
8ball_99 wrote: IMO though I would just use a RV converter. They make them with AC breakers and DC fuses. So you have all that stuff along with a battery charger all in one easy to access box..


That is exactly what I want! You wouldn't happen to have a link to where I can buy a couple of those would you? (I'm very slowly working on a 6 X 10 and a 7 X 16 so I need two of them.)


Here ya go http://www.adventurerv.net/wfco-8700-series-amp-power-center-converter-p-23207.html Again they make them smaller or bigger depending on what you need. You might also find them cheaper. I have ordered from adventure RV several times over the years and have always had good service though. So if the price is close I tend to go with them..


I'd stay away from that WFCO. A little internet research will find numerous complaints of early failure (including mine). Mine is back from warranty repair, but not reinstalled, so I can't comment on longevity once repaired. I suggest you look into Progressive Dynamics converters for the purpose.

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Re: insulation and electric

Postby roadinspector » Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:21 pm

I have had good luck with Atwood products including converters. I've only had to have warranty work done one time and they had a quick turn around with no problems.

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Re: insulation and electric

Postby 8ball_99 » Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:35 am

I've built two cargo trailers with WFCO converters in them. I've also owned a couple of commercial RVS with them with no problems.. I don't know what the failure rate of them is but if I had to guess there are probably ten WFCO's to every one of the other brands in use.. The other thing to look at is was size you want.. If you want a converter with the breakers and fuses I think power dynamics only makes a couple sizes. All of them is 45 amps or larger.. Converter in my trailer is only 25 amp, and its a 24' trailer...
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby bigbendhiker » Fri Sep 21, 2012 8:29 am

I used the blue rigid foam board insulation in my cargo trailer. I then installed 1"x3" furring strips at right angles to the metal ceiling supports in the trailer. This helps hold the insulation in place plus gives me a place to run all of my wiring. I was able to get 2 layers of 1/2" foam board in the ceiling. It's still only R-6.

Image

Sorry for the quality of the picture.

The furring strips will give me a place to attach the finished ceiling.
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Re: insulation and electric

Postby David_L6 » Fri Sep 21, 2012 2:10 pm

8ball_99 wrote:
David_L6 wrote:
8ball_99 wrote: IMO though I would just use a RV converter. They make them with AC breakers and DC fuses. So you have all that stuff along with a battery charger all in one easy to access box..


That is exactly what I want! You wouldn't happen to have a link to where I can buy a couple of those would you? (I'm very slowly working on a 6 X 10 and a 7 X 16 so I need two of them.)


Here ya go http://www.adventurerv.net/wfco-8700-series-amp-power-center-converter-p-23207.html Again they make them smaller or bigger depending on what you need. You might also find them cheaper. I have ordered from adventure RV several times over the years and have always had good service though. So if the price is close I tend to go with them..


Thanks for the link. That's what I was looking for. :thumbsup: I don't need anything very large. Not going to be running a refrigerator or microwave. Just an A/C on the 120 side and lights on the 12 volt side. Have to keep things small and simple as both trailers are basically small toy haulers. Use the 6 X 10 for a couple of dirt bikes or one 4 wheeler. Use the 7 X 16 when we need to haul more than that.
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