Electrical Mods

Chandelier

When we told a relative about all the amenities in our new Aliner, she laughingly said all it lacked was a crystal chandelier. Soon after, I saw a very small chandelier at Lowe's - with a price equaling my birthday money. Taking that as a sign, I brought it home and rewired it for the camper. I took off most of the chain and put a small s-hook in the last link, which I hung from a picture-hanger eye in the peak of the roof. Velcro clips on the cord stuck to velcro squares along the peak and down the side by the door, where I had an inline switch. Then the cord ran along the shelf over the A/C and down to the outlet. Although it was just for fun, our chandelier really did provide good overall light with a single 40-watt bulb. It traveled suspended in a bucket stored on the wheel-well cover under the sink. 

Better 110v Access

When we left the rear bed made up, the 110v outlet located under the bed was very inconvenient. I fastened a power-strip extension cord to the side of the A/C cabinet, next to the outside wall, where it was much easier to reach.

We were also frustrated with the lack of electrical outlets in the dinette area; the only outlet on that side of the camper was in front of the sink. But how and where to install one? Snagging electrical wires around those small spaces is not easy! In the process of removing the countertop over the refrigerator to add some insulation (we didn't have a built-in stove), I discovered that there was just enough space in the dinette wall above the fridge to mount a sideways outlet. And it would be easy to run a wire from there to the single outlet behind the fridge. It was soon obvious that opening that fridge receptacle, or changing it to a double one, would be a real chore, but adding a multiple plug accomplished the same thing. I cut the female end from an air-conditioner extension cord and wired it to my new dinette outlet. Then I ran the male end down behind the fridge to the multiple plug. Now we have a handy outlet right next to the dinette.

New 12v Outlet

We had no 12v outlet in the camper, so I added one on the side of the fridge cabinet. I ran a fused wire from the battery under the dinette seat, through the wiring hole in the fridge cabinet, and up the other side.  There was enough space behind the fridge for me to drill the hole and hook up the outlet. We used it to power our 5" TV and our 12v reading light. It was also the perfect spot to plug in our 12v battery monitor.

TV Cable Jack

In addition to the 12v outlet, I used the fridge cabinet wall for our TV cable jack. With a right-angle adapter, the cable is kept flat against the wall. The photo shows that I used a scrap of aluminum as reinforcement for the bottom screw of the faceplate; the top screw went into a framing piece.

I didn't want to drill through the outside camper wall, so I just pulled a piece of weatherproof cable from the back of the jack through the vent panel, holding it in place with a self-adhesive cable clamp and protecting the end with a plastic cap. We carried a long piece of weatherproof cable to connect to the campground outlet.

Optima Battery

I confess - standard 12v batteries scared me .... all those warnings about eye protection ad explosions and gases and acid. Then there was the problem of adding water and protecting the battery from freezing. With that in mind, I replaced our dealer-installed battery with a "maintenance-free" AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery. One of the nicest things about this battery is that there's no need to vent it. That freed up space in the battery cabinet and meant one less access point for "critters". I used the original battery box to hold the AGM battery, and just set the lid on top to protect it. I added a knife-type disconnect to the terminals, which came in handy when I was doing other electrical work.

Inverter

Forrest uses a CPAP at night, so we knew that when we camped without utilities we would need to run a 110v appliance off the 12v battery. Since the bedside cabinet was the ideal location for it, I mounted an inverter (Vetor 750 watt from Lowe's) on 1x2 strips bolted to the floor of the door-side wheel-well. The face (outlets and switch) were exposed through a hole I cut in the paneling. The faceplate was a piece of rigid plastic from an art supply store, cut to fit around the inverter face, and covered with contact paper.

To run from the inverter to the battery, I used two 15' lengths of #4 welding wire. Ring terminals were from a car audio supplier. Soldering the connections defeated me, but I got a good crimp with this trick: put a large nail across both sides of the part to be crimped and squeeze it tightly in a vice. Running the wire was the hardest part. I didn't have to cut any new holds, but enlarged several existing wiring holes with drill, nippers, utility knife, anything that would work. The cables ran from the wheel-well into the back hatch, across the top of the hatch wall past the water tank, through the hose hole into the converter cabinet, then into the sink cabinet, up to the framing under the countertop, above/behind the furnace and into the space behind the fridge (accessible from outside with the vent door off), then into the battery cabinet. Whew! I secured the cables with plastic cable ties - sometimes to existing wire bundles, sometimes to small nail-in cable clamps where I could reach.

Fuse - the 60/80/100 inline fuse holder from Radio Shack worked like a dream. The stripped wire was held in place with a set-screw - easy, neat and tight. Although the inverter manual suggested a 150 amp fuse, I used a 100 amp fuse that I ordered online, since I couldn't find anything that heavy in the local stores.

I was a bit concerned about ventilation around the inverter and decided to install a small muffin fan in the area. The fan made little noise, so I used an LED switch for the on-off control: I couldn't hear the fan, but I could see the light.

Here is something I wrote as I started this project:

Ah-hah #1 (wire size): It's finally sinking in that "voltage" in electricity equals "water pressure" in plumbing, and wire size/gauge equals pipe diameter. Lower water pressure requires a larger pipe, and lower voltage requires a larger wire. That's why wire for a 12v system is so much larger than what's needed for the same application in a 24v system.. Likewise, longer distance requires larger pipe/wire. Since I want the inverter about 12 feet from the battery, I need to use 4-gauge wire (the lower the number, the larger the wire). Our local electrical supply dealer recommended #4 gauge stranded WELDING cable (at 68 cents a foot!) - more smaller strands than the cheaper, stiffer wire Lowe's carries. https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question501.htm

Ah-hah #2 (car audio supplies): I couldn't find the right size ring terminals (the metal circles that slip over the battery posts) at the electrical supply, Lowe's, or even Advance Auto. As I looked for them online, I realized - it's all CAR AUDIO stuff! We don't DO car audio, so I had no idea that these terminals, cables, fuses, etd are what people use to install those muscle speakers in cars. Once I knwe where to look, I found a 100-amp inline fuse holder for #4 wire at Radio Shack for about $6 and gold-plated ring terminals at a local audio store (where I also could have bought able - and in colors instead of "contractor black").

Detachable Power Cord

In less than a year of use, several "fingers" around the factory pull-out power cord opening had broken off. It was a standing invitation to "critters" to move in. I changed the cord to a detachable one, using a Marinco kit. Although cutting through the original factory power cord was a heart-stopping moment, the kit installed beautifully and we've been pleased with it. No more critter access there!

Extension Cord Plug Protector

At home, we left the camper plugged into an extension cord from household current. Keeping the connection dry was a concern until I saw this handy tip from Trailer Life magazine. I purchased a $1 small plastic box with a hinged lid, and drilled holes in opposite sides to accommodate the trailer cord and the extension cord. With heavy-duty shears, I cut slots from the top edge of the box to the holes so that the cords would drop inside. A few small holes drilled in the bottom provided drainage for any water that got into the box. The connection was well-protected from snow and rain. 

Battery-box Wrench

Though with the AGM battery we eliminated the need for this mod, it may help someone else. Unscrewing the lid from the battery box was bad enough, but impossible when the right wrench wasn't handy. I finally attached a socket wrench, with a 10" extension, to the top of the battery box, using cable clamps to hold it in place. No more "'where the *&%^%* is the wrench?"