jannica
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Post by jannica on Jul 8, 2014 6:14:04 GMT -8
I decided I wasn't comfortable doing the wiring in my Compact myself so I called my usual electrician to come out and look at it today. I explained to him that I wanted an additional plug added inside the kitchen cabinet for my mini fridge. He looked at the way the wiring was for the existing lights as well as the exterior plug and told me he wasn't comfortable doing the work. He said it should be rewired completely with all of the wires on the interior of the camper. I told him I didn't want to do it that way because I didn't want to see the wires nor did I want to reconfigure things to hide them. He then refused to take the job. Has anyone else run into this problem? Are you all doing it yourselves? Has anyone rerun the wires on the interior of your camper or are you keeping them on the outside (under the insulation and skin of course)? I'm frustrated.  I'm going to keep looking for an electrician, but I thought I would ask everyone on here for advice in the meantime. |
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pathfinder3081
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Post by pathfinder3081 on Jul 8, 2014 6:30:14 GMT -8
Hey there.. didn’t you say that all of your skin was off now. Are you going for the curbside 110 with a 30 amp service? Or are you doing the 12 volt and all of that stuff too? If your kin is off I say just replace the old wire with new. The box, the breakers, the works. It might set you back 150 but it will be right. I just re did mine to a 30 amp service. Works like a charm and I have every faith in it now. Once you get in it's not that bad at all.
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 8, 2014 9:10:51 GMT -8
I agree with Pathfinder. I redid mine and I can't imagine using the old wire but I see no reason to run it inside. I ran my across the top through the rafters, similar to the original and because I moved my box I even ran some down the side. It should be no problem to run a wire for the fridge in the cabinet, coming off of the light fixture wiring. Find someone else who understands electricity and wiring to help you. Obviously, your electrician is not familiar with trailer wiring.
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jannica
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Post by jannica on Jul 8, 2014 11:53:28 GMT -8
Thanks to both of you! I actually just stopped by the RV place near my house to ask them about it. They even had an old canned ham there that they were working on, and they let me come back and look at it. They said the same thing you said, SusieQ, that I could just piggy back the fridge outlet off of the light fixture in the kitchenette. I showed them all of the work I had been doing and they offered me a job! lol I guess I know where to go if I decide I'm tired of working in HR. hahaha  I agree with you, pathfinder3081, I should probably just replace all of the wires as well as the breaker box and plug while I'm at it. I think I'm going to stick with the basic 110 though instead of upgrading to 30 amp. I like being able to plug into a standard outlet at home vs needing to use a special outlet like the 30 amp has. I'll probably get the 12v battery power set up at some stage but later on and not right away. I will need to at some point if I want to use my Fantastic Vent! |
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pathfinder3081
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Post by pathfinder3081 on Jul 8, 2014 12:20:10 GMT -8
No problemo, Even though I have the 30 amp "campground" plug.. I still plug it into a regular 20 amp circut in the garage at home. I just use the little conveter thing and plug it up with a 30 amp drop chord. The converter was like 8 bucks. I'd have to use it at some of the old school campgrounds too. Please read up a bit before, then make your choice. Which you are.. but when your going about things as usual with you restored camper and the breaker keeps popping....with only a little dorm fridge, the microwave popping corn and a light or two on? You are gonna say "oh man, something is shorting out!"  ."I should have ugraded my wires and breakers.. Then I would be sure I am not overloading the wires".... what's that smell? Do you smell that? Smells like somethng burning..
Sounds like a good hook up with the local RV shops as well. I imagine you know just as much if not a little more than some of them. Keep it up  |
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jannica
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Post by jannica on Jul 8, 2014 12:43:57 GMT -8
LOL I'm actually not planning to use a microwave, so maybe I won't overload the circuit that easily. I hope.. I'm hoping I can just replace the wiring and circuit breaker with new versions for now but still keep it at 15 amp and later when I want to upgrade it to 30 amp, I will take it to the rv place. I just really don't feel comfortable doing all of the things you showed us in your thread. I just read through it and you make it sound simple enough, but electricity just makes me nervous I guess. haha
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 8, 2014 16:25:49 GMT -8
You certainly should do what you feel comfortable with but wiring it for 30 amp is no more difficult to wire, just use different gauge wire and you can use higher amp breakers. I too have an adapter. I even have my teardrop wired 30 amp and I plug in to regular outlets when necessary.
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Post by bigbill on Jul 8, 2014 17:58:35 GMT -8
Decide what you want to power in your trailer then figure the total watts divide it by 110 and you will know if a 15 amp circuit will work. I know people that have a microwave, 5000 btu A/C and other things that use a 15 amp circuit because that is all the campground the go to has in the area they like so they turn the a/c off when they use the microwave and so on. It can be done you just have to figure what works together and what won't. People camped for years with 15 amp circuits, we are just spoiled and don't want to have to think so we install heavier circuits, myself included. Example when I was a kid we camped with only a green tarp then we got a tent next a nimrod trailer then a truck camper and have since had about anything on wheels but now we want a small trailer with total electric living that we don't have to mess with and beds that are very comfortable, so it is all a matter of what you desire and can afford at this stage in your life.
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jannica
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Post by jannica on Jul 8, 2014 18:04:31 GMT -8
Well... I will have an 8000 btu AC running but it's an exterior unit from ClimateRight that I was planning to plug into a separate outlet. That is of course working under the assumption that a campground has a dual outlet available at each campsite. I haven't been able to find that out yet. Do you think that will be a problem? I was hoping that the campground would have a dual plug or at least a 30 or 50 amp plug where I can use an adaptor to create two 110-115v plugs. What do you guys think I should do? My other option is just to upgrade the whole camper to a higher voltage, maybe that's easiest.
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Post by bigbill on Jul 8, 2014 18:15:59 GMT -8
Most decisions comes down to dollars and cents and lack there of. One mans love is another mans poison. You have to do what is best for you. The ideal solution is to pack up the whole trailer send it to a professional with a check for fifty or sixty thousand and tell him you want everything done in the finest manor but if that doesn't fit your budget then you make adjustments till it does.  |
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 8, 2014 18:17:28 GMT -8
MOST campgrounds have multiple amp plugs. If you plugged your trailer into the 30 amp, you should have a 20 amp for your AC, too. Sometimes they have a double plug on the 30amp (edit: oops, meant 20 amp) and sometimes it's a single. I camped at one campground in Ohio last year that had 30 amp available and nothing else, just ONE plug choice. (You can also get adapters to go from 20amp to 30amp and 30amp to 50amp). If you are going to totally rewire it, I suggest upgrading to 30amp, it's just as easy.
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jannica
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Post by jannica on Jul 9, 2014 6:47:44 GMT -8
That's good to hear. Ok, SusieQ, I think you've convinced me that I should just upgrade my wiring to 30 amp. I will just need to do a bit more research on what type of wiring to buy and the circuit breaker. I assume I would need 12 gauge wiring and a two pole circuit breaker rated for 30 amp. My AC is 115v, any thoughts on whether this will cause any issues? I'm still thinking I would prefer to plug it into a separate outlet, but that depends if one is available. www.climaterightair.com/climateright-8000-btu-a-c-no-heat.html |
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 9, 2014 7:01:17 GMT -8
Jannica, I carry a window unit AC with me for my teardrop and I have no problem running it with my 30 amp. I usually plug it into the outlet inside my teardrop through the window, just because I don't want to run it on an extension cord. I think one time I was running my AC and using my toaster oven which was plugged into an outlet on the same circuit and it tripped the breaker.
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jannica
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Post by jannica on Jul 9, 2014 16:46:21 GMT -8
That's good to know. I'm thinking maybe I'll install an exterior plug for the AC and then I can also plug in my twinkle lights there too! I'm going to research how to do this and see if I can figure it out.
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SusieQ
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 9, 2014 17:20:40 GMT -8
That's good to know. I'm thinking maybe I'll install an exterior plug for the AC and then I can also plug in my twinkle lights there too! I'm going to research how to do this and see if I can figure it out. That has been on my to-do list for a while with my teardrop. I usually plug my outside lights into the pole with an extension cord but that one trip last year had me running a cord out of my trailer for my fridge I had in my car. An outside outlet could be very convenient. |
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I'm going to keep looking for an electrician, but I thought I would ask everyone on here for advice in the meantime. 
."I should have ugraded my wires and breakers.. Then I would be sure I am not overloading the wires".... what's that smell? Do you smell that? Smells like somethng burning..
