mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Oct 17, 2017 17:28:12 GMT -8
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Post by vikx on Oct 17, 2017 19:21:59 GMT -8
Depends on the age of the trailer. Older ones usually had some sort of 12 volt ceiling light operated by a battery in the upper cupboard. Sometimes, there was a ceiling light that only worked with the vehicle parking lights.
Many had no 12 volt system at all.
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Oct 18, 2017 2:52:59 GMT -8
Thanks! I guess I won't know until I dig into it then. No battery in my cabinets, it's a 64'. I guess I could just unscrew the fixture and see what kind of wires are coming out. It's weird that some would only run when plugged into the car.
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jukebox
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1961 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by jukebox on Oct 18, 2017 5:34:03 GMT -8
I was wondering about this myself. I have a 61 Airflyte and there is 2 black wires in the cabinet above the sink. The ID label in the cabinet lists the overhead light as 12v. So originally you are supposed to put a 12v battery in the cabinet to use the light? That seems real odd. More practical would be to use 2 of the 6v large flashlight batteries in series. At least they don't have liquid lead acid in them.
If you want to use that lamp as 12v, I would suggest trying to route the wires down to below the bench where the water tank is on the floor. Mount a battery box and hook it up there. There is a sliding door there as well. You could hook up a 12v accessory plug as well if you need.
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Oct 18, 2017 7:23:14 GMT -8
I think im going to have to look at mine more closely, There are 12V wires running from the cabinet above the sink through a tiny hole someone drilled in the counters behind the sink. Some somethings going on with 12V in mine, I just need to figure it out. The only reason I was kind of wanting 12V in this camper was so I could install a fantastic fan. 12V confuses me. But so did 110 and now that I have one camper under my belt I understand that much better now.
So my options with 12V are a. Have the lights and the fan hooked up to it and to a battery? then they would only run off the battery? b. Have the lights and fan hooked up to an inverter which I then can hook it up to the electric box? and use them while the camper is plugged in? is this right??
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Oct 18, 2017 17:06:55 GMT -8
Hi melHere's my contribution. I also have a '64, and it was nearly original, including the old battery. I wish I had taken a photo of the battery while it was still in the cupboard. There was one dome light that ran off the battery, but is not wired to anything else. It was completely separate from any other system in the trailer. It is a 12-volt light, and was wired to a 6-volt lantern battery, one of the old style with the screw terminals on top. In case you are wondering, 12-v lights can run off six volts. I think it was intended to be a "nightlight " of sorts, so there was something to light the way in the night or when you were not hooked up to any electricity source. It's conveniently located near the bunks, for those late-night trips...
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Post by vikx on Oct 18, 2017 19:55:37 GMT -8
Yup, Thanks 10. That's exactly what my 57 Shasta had. Two little wires (later wired into my new 12 volt system) in the cupboard hooked to a 6 volt flash light battery. Worked great.
PM me for more info and photos. I can email you some.
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Post by vikx on Oct 18, 2017 20:06:40 GMT -8
Here are the original red wires in the ceiling: (white tape signifies ground)
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/37754494902/in/dateposted-public/" title="006 h Butch 12 volt (1)"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4454/37754494902_c2a05cf595.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="006 h Butch 12 volt (1)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The wires come into the upper cupboard and go to the new J box:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/37754494552/in/dateposted-public/" title="006 h Butch 12 volt (4)"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/37754494552_e056c1c62f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="006 h Butch 12 volt (4)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here, the wires from below (dinette fuse block) provide power to the light fixture and on to the Fantastic Fan:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/37786251811/in/dateposted-public/" title="006 h Butch 12 volt (2)"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4513/37786251811_bd753dce53.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="006 h Butch 12 volt (2)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A tasteful wood chase hides the wiring:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/37754494752/in/dateposted-public/" title="006 h Butch 12 volt (2a)"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/37754494752_b0d0d64723.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="006 h Butch 12 volt (2a)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here's the J box and wiring in the cupboard:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/37527846680/in/dateposted-public/" title="006 h Butch 12 volt (3)"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/37527846680_1a43ffca62.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="006 h Butch 12 volt (3)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/53634851@N03/37076606684/in/dateposted-public/" title="006 h Butch 12 volt (4a)"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4497/37076606684_02c4953b8e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="006 h Butch 12 volt (4a)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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jukebox
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1961 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by jukebox on Oct 18, 2017 20:15:32 GMT -8
That makes sense. The 12v ( incandescent) bulb running at 6v will just be dimmer. If you intend to use your 12v lamp this way, I would put an inline fuse holder at the battery connection. The polarity does not matter when hooking up a single 12v lamp with both leads running to it but put the fuse holder on the positive of the battery. A 2 amp fuse should be fine. An LED will not work well in the application unless you can find one that operates on 6v. That would be ideal because of the significant less power consumption.
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Oct 19, 2017 16:49:57 GMT -8
So I followed my wire, it goes from the top of the cabinet above the sink through the counter behind the sink, over the wheel well to under the dinette seat which I figured oh its running into the breaker box. But nope it goes through the subfloor under the camper and runs up to the tongue in the 4 way wiring harness. So I guess it is as vikx said and runs off the car. But it does look like someone spliced the wires together in the cabinet above the sink, so it probably was just like Ten's Airflyte. Thanks guys. @chris2629 did you rewire yours? or leave it as is with the battery? vikx So in your box in the cabinet and you have the wires from the light running into it and the wires from the fan running into it, then one wire from both runs down where you have the breaker box where the 12V system is? sorry just want to make sure I have it correct. I think thats what Im going to want to do for this camper. Im not sure that I want a battery on the tongue, i can just have it run to an invereter then into the breaker box with all the other electrical, correct? also do you leave most of your campers 15A or do you upgrade them to 30A?
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Post by vikx on Oct 19, 2017 20:50:27 GMT -8
I WIRE my campers so that they can be upgraded if need be. I usually install a 15 amp inlet with 12ga wire to a J box close by. Then, from there, there is a 10ga main to the breaker box. In other words, the 10ga wire makes it very easy to bump up to 30 amps. Just install a new 30 amp inlet with 10ga to the J box, connect to the 10ga to breaker box, and Voila! a 30 amp system.
The breaker box is 110. Don't confuse the 12 volt wiring with 110 electrical.
The wires in the chase come from the dinette 12 volt FUSE BLOCK. Up to the J box which runs the little original light, the Fan and any other upper 12 volt items. A CONVERTER is better than an inverter for powering a 12 volt system. Most use a battery as a buffer as well as providing power when off grid. The CONverter takes 110 power and provides 12 volts to operate the system. If you want a 12 volt system, I strongly recommend a battery. You don't always need the converter, a maintainer will do, just not run the Fan all day long...
If you need more help, PM me for my email address. Always willing to help here, too.
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Oct 23, 2017 8:41:14 GMT -8
For running 12v from shore power you'd need a converter, not an inverter. Inverters convert 12v DC from the battery to 110v AC, converters change 110v AC to 12v DC...
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Post by vikx on Oct 23, 2017 21:17:28 GMT -8
Cowcharge is correct. There are fancy modern inverters with the capability to act similar to a converter, but way expensive...
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Oct 24, 2017 13:46:04 GMT -8
Ten Do you still have photos of the directions of the astral refrigerator in your Airflyte? I saw the thread where you had them posted previously but photobucket messed them up. I assume my fridge doesnt work, but I at least need to test it out first. I already started looking for a mini fridge that could fit, boy do I wish I could afford a new 2 way fridge.
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cowcharge
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Post by cowcharge on Oct 24, 2017 17:11:25 GMT -8
Cowcharge is correct. There are fancy modern inverters with the capability to act similar to a converter, but way expensive... Inverter-chargers, I think they call 'em.
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