TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

RockyMtnRay · 12-02-2003, 09:45 AM

[quote author=Mike Laupp link=board=19;threadid=1558;start=msg11016#msg1101 6 date=1070378836]
All of the accessable outlets both inside and out are on the same ground fault circuit breaker. There is one other 110v outlet behind the outside lower fridge vent, used for the 110 fridge power, that is not on a ground fault breaker. A ground fault protected circuit is necessary for all plugged in appliances since the whole trailer is a metal box. It will prevent electrocution in case of a wiring defect in the appliance. If you are running an appliance using an extension cord from the other park supplied outlet, you should purchase and use a ground fault extension cord or cord adapter for your own protection.

I don't see any way to install an outlet in the area behind the bath wall. Everything folds, bends or slides in that area with no wasted space. Even if you could figure out a way to mount an outlet, the wiring to it would be subjected to excessive flexing and rubbing and woud soon fail. I would recommend one of the extension cords with a flat plug. use the bath 110v outlet and tuck the cord into the upper and lower shell seals behind the potty and shower.

MJL
[/quote]
I'm totally with Mike. Adding an additional 110 V outlet for the rear bed area is nigh on impossible. An outlet requires a sturdy mounting surface so there's no flex when cords are plugged into it/ pulled out. It also requires a roughly 3 inch deep box (4 X 2 in length/width) to house the connections to the outlet itself. This box must be kept absolutely dry on the inside, particularly when hooked to a GFI circuit breaker. The electrical cable to the box should not be flexed, nor should it be exposed to sunlight because of UV degradation of the insulator. If you look closely, you'll see the TM did all their outlet mountings inside cabinets where there's a solid structure, protection from water, and fixed routing for the conduit. The most rearward such cabinet is the one in the bath.

Basically there's no way to do this internally in the rear of the trailer. It **could** be done by cutting a hole in the side of the trailer and mounting the box mostly outside the wall of the upper rear shell. However, ensuring the box is...and remains...100% watertight (so the GFI doesn't trip) would be a major and continuing challenge. Even a slight amount of dampness inside this box would trip the ONLY circuit breaker and take down all of your TMs 110V outlets. Also because the box would stick out about two inches from the rear shell wall (which is only an inch thick), it would have to be mounted sufficiently rearward to not interfere with the forward shell when the trailer is folded. Then you'd have to run conduit down the shell's wall, along the lower edge of the shell and then down the rear arm to get under the trailer. From there it would have to go back up into the trailer to connect to the circuit breaker in the converter assembly. This conduit would have to be special cable to withstand being repeatedly twisted/flexed as the rear shell is raised and lowered. It would also have to be very UV resistant.

All in all, a very significant undertaking requiring careful research into how to engineer box attachment strength & watertightness and getting exactly the right kind of cable (ordinary conduit...or extension cord cable...will definitely not suffice). And it would result in an unattractive cable & box being stuck on the side of your trailer.

12-02-2003, 09:45 AM	#5
RockyMtnRay TrailManor Master Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 816	Re:Advice on adding 110 outlet [quote author=Mike Laupp link=board=19;threadid=1558;start=msg11016#msg1101 6 date=1070378836] All of the accessable outlets both inside and out are on the same ground fault circuit breaker. There is one other 110v outlet behind the outside lower fridge vent, used for the 110 fridge power, that is not on a ground fault breaker. A ground fault protected circuit is necessary for all plugged in appliances since the whole trailer is a metal box. It will prevent electrocution in case of a wiring defect in the appliance. If you are running an appliance using an extension cord from the other park supplied outlet, you should purchase and use a ground fault extension cord or cord adapter for your own protection. I don't see any way to install an outlet in the area behind the bath wall. Everything folds, bends or slides in that area with no wasted space. Even if you could figure out a way to mount an outlet, the wiring to it would be subjected to excessive flexing and rubbing and woud soon fail. I would recommend one of the extension cords with a flat plug. use the bath 110v outlet and tuck the cord into the upper and lower shell seals behind the potty and shower. MJL [/quote] I'm totally with Mike. Adding an additional 110 V outlet for the rear bed area is nigh on impossible. An outlet requires a sturdy mounting surface so there's no flex when cords are plugged into it/ pulled out. It also requires a roughly 3 inch deep box (4 X 2 in length/width) to house the connections to the outlet itself. This box must be kept absolutely dry on the inside, particularly when hooked to a GFI circuit breaker. The electrical cable to the box should not be flexed, nor should it be exposed to sunlight because of UV degradation of the insulator. If you look closely, you'll see the TM did all their outlet mountings inside cabinets where there's a solid structure, protection from water, and fixed routing for the conduit. The most rearward such cabinet is the one in the bath. Basically there's no way to do this internally in the rear of the trailer. It could be done by cutting a hole in the side of the trailer and mounting the box mostly outside the wall of the upper rear shell. However, ensuring the box is...and remains...100% watertight (so the GFI doesn't trip) would be a major and continuing challenge. Even a slight amount of dampness inside this box would trip the ONLY circuit breaker and take down all of your TMs 110V outlets. Also because the box would stick out about two inches from the rear shell wall (which is only an inch thick), it would have to be mounted sufficiently rearward to not interfere with the forward shell when the trailer is folded. Then you'd have to run conduit down the shell's wall, along the lower edge of the shell and then down the rear arm to get under the trailer. From there it would have to go back up into the trailer to connect to the circuit breaker in the converter assembly. This conduit would have to be special cable to withstand being repeatedly twisted/flexed as the rear shell is raised and lowered. It would also have to be very UV resistant. All in all, a very significant undertaking requiring careful research into how to engineer box attachment strength & watertightness and getting exactly the right kind of cable (ordinary conduit...or extension cord cable...will definitely not suffice). And it would result in an unattractive cable & box being stuck on the side of your trailer.