theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Jun 14, 2020 11:49:46 GMT -8
I want to run one of my tandem 15AMP breakers to the door side of my Shasta Airflyte. This line will service an outlet in the closet for a dorm fridge, an outlet on the exterior of the closet side for a TV receptacle, and an outside receptacle. To save running wires up and over my trailer unnecessarily, has anyone ever run their Romex underneath their camper and up through the closet floor? Is there any reason I couldn't if it were encased and protected? I'm thinking it would go down through the dinette right out of the box, loop up around the front then head back toward the rear: the first outlet would be the exterior receptacle just beyond the steps for plugging in awning lights, then continuing up through the closet floor for the fridge receptacle and terminating at the 3rd receptacle for the TV.
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Post by danrhodes on Jun 14, 2020 15:21:43 GMT -8
I'd encase it in some conduit. For my trailer wiring, I was cheap and used $2 pieces of 1/2" plastic pipe. I'd say that accessible wiring is better than wiring buried in the walls and roof and now you've got me thinking about how to get my AC unit into the tall cabinet I didn't wire 100v to.
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Jun 14, 2020 18:16:32 GMT -8
Macro-answer...I think running wire through kitchen cabinets or closets is fine, running under the camper in a conduit is fine but more exposed, running without conduit under the camper is an obvious mistake, running in the walls seems most protected but requires a lot of measurements and photos to avoid puncturing it with a screw.
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Post by vikx on Jun 14, 2020 20:35:35 GMT -8
Yes, in conduit.
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shastatom
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I can chase women or fix campers, I choose to fix what I understand........... campers.
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Shasta 54,57 1500 58 Airflyte
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Post by shastatom on Jun 15, 2020 4:41:23 GMT -8
I ran mine around the inside of the camper at floor level under the cabinet, behind the access panel to to under the bed and then back in. I make a little wood frame between the wheel wells and the access panel to hide the wire but this way everything is inside and protected.
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kudzu
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Post by kudzu on Jun 15, 2020 10:25:52 GMT -8
Just for emphasis, romex is not rated for exposed outdoor use. In conduit sure.
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Post by danrhodes on Jun 15, 2020 13:26:46 GMT -8
Not to hijack, but has anyone found/made a molding for running romex along a wall/floor boundary? Because my dinette is on the side, to do what Tom suggests and run all the way around the perimeter of the camper to the large closet, I'd need to hide about 2.5 exposed feet.
I'm thinking a standard round mold with the back corner cut off... I could run it all around the inside of the dinette seats so you wouldn't know.
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datac
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1957 Cardinal
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Post by datac on Jun 15, 2020 13:44:29 GMT -8
I wouldn't use Romex or any other solid core wire in a boat or RV. Use a similar gauge stranded wire, which is less susceptible to damage from movement and vibration.
I'd much rather route wiring through interior cabinets than underneath if given the choice, even if it's a longer path.
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aslmx
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Post by aslmx on Jun 15, 2020 17:59:07 GMT -8
You could run mc cable or s.o cord.
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Post by bigbill on Jun 16, 2020 4:31:24 GMT -8
A quick thought if you run wires in conduit under your trailer make sure it doesn't fill up with water.
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roadtripper
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Post by roadtripper on Jun 16, 2020 5:57:49 GMT -8
In housing, if wires need to run through conduit, say for example to lighting or a ceiling fan on a beam ceiling over a porch or deck, individual wires are supposed to be used instead of romex inside the conduit. Something about a heat issue. Also, I think there is romex rated for direct burial, though I think the conduit route would be safer. Conduit is kind of a hassle though if many changes in direction are needed.
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Post by vikx on Jun 16, 2020 10:38:25 GMT -8
This is completely off track:
I wired my neighbor's garage apartment last summer. Upon inspection, the heat pump failed because the installer had used the wrong fuses. We inspected the connections and found that not only was the conduit FULL of water but the wires were too heavy for the pump connector block. Picture big fat wires and little tiny screws...In some ways, we were lucky the installer made the fuse mistake.
Yes please insure that the conduit won't fill with water! Romex is not waterproof so it would be best to use individual wires in the conduit. (Romex has a paper strip) "Underground feeder" is for direct burial and is waterproof. It is also miserable to work with.
Thanks everyone for your additions.
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aslmx
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Post by aslmx on Jun 19, 2020 12:01:40 GMT -8
When you buy the wire, make sure it’s thwn insulation. It’s rated for wet locations.
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tonyz
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Post by tonyz on Jul 7, 2020 10:40:00 GMT -8
Read through the thread and there are several options other than hard conduit under a trailer. If you use conduit, I would recommend heavy wall threaded as it can be sealed better. You could use a flexible conduit (trade name SealTite) as long as it is supported properly (as with conduit). Romex would NOT be run in conduit. You could use properly sized individual conductors or a multi-conductor cable in the conduit or flex.
As for 120V outlets, i would suggest a GFCI for any outside conduit or GFCI breakers as this will provide ground fault protection. New to this trailer thing so maybe this is not feasible.
Feel free to add on, question, or message me directly.
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Post by vikx on Jul 7, 2020 11:43:00 GMT -8
Thanks Tony.
Many of us use a GFI protected circuit. It's common for vintage trailers that have not been rewired to trip a GFI, so if added without an upgrade, the GFI causes problems.
When rewiring, a GFI is recommended.
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