Extension cord for internal installation

[Petee]

I'm new to tiny trailers and was given one that is so rotted that I am tearing it down to the frame to start over. As I'm tearing it a part I've noticed that the internal 120v wiring is actually SO cord (a cut up orange extension cord). Would you go back with the same or actually use 14ga separate conductors?

Thank you

[Tom&Shelly]

We cut up a 14 gauge extension cord.

Tom

[Pmullen503]

+1 for extension cord. Usually much cheaper than buying wire off the roll.

[GTS225]

The conductors and current don't know the difference. However......I would advise that you go up to 12 gauge for feeding an outlet, even in a teardrop. You never know what you might have to plug into it.

Roger

[Petee]

Thank you. I thought the extra protection would be good. Especially since there is hardly any current draw with these trailers. No chance of overheating, from current draw, in the walls.

[tony.latham]

No chance of overheating, from current draw, in the walls.

And thus all circuits should be fused.



Tony

[Tom&Shelly]

No chance of overheating, from current draw, in the walls.

And thus all circuits should be fused.

Tony

Or, in the case of 120 vac circuits, circuit broken..er, circuit broke...well, anyway, you should have a 15 amp circuit breaker for 14 gauge wire.

Tom

[working on it]

No chance of overheating, from current draw, in the walls.

And thus all circuits should be fused.

Tony

Or, in the case of 120 vac circuits, circuit broken..er, circuit broke...well, anyway, you should have a 15 amp circuit breaker for 14 gauge wire.

Tom

Good info.

I use 14 gauge extension cords (exterior-grade) in and outside my trailer, with multiple circuit breakers and GFCI's, wherever possible, for the 120vac circuits, and with fuses for inside 12vdc, and a resettable circuit breaker for the 12vdc trailer breakaway circuit, inside the tongue box.

I also use 12 gauge cords from the park power pole into the trailer, and a 16 gauge extension to my truck (always kept on a charger/maintaner) and to outdoor LED lights (the splitter is GFCI protected, and inside a waterproof box).

OPINION: I figure that

• 1) the thicker the gauge wire you use, the better,
• 2) in a wet outdoor environment (it always rains when I camp), fuses, circuit breakers, and especially GFCI's are your friends,and
• 3) while living in a wooden box, with flammable materials inside and out, good grade wiring components are a necessity (plus two or three fire extinguishers on hand...one in the cabin, one in the galley, and one in the truck)

[cdnred]

I've got a smaller 4x8 TD that had no 110v service when I bought it. Since the TD is rather small, what I did was install a 110v 15a plug (Amazon) in the exterior side of the TD for connecting shore power to. This plug came with 2 plugs for attaching extension cords to on the inside. I mounted a 6 plug GFCI with 2 USB ports power bar plugged into one of these plugs inside the hatch area so I could plug in service for the kitchen appliances that I want to use. I have another extension cord plugged into the other plug which runs to the tongue box to recharge the battery when plugged into shore power. The battery is also setup to be charged while towing the TD down the road..

Since my TD is rather small, this simplified my wiring without having to run wires thru walls or head liner. Inside everything is not far from the power bar and easy enough to reach. I modified an interior/exterior 14 gauge extension cord for plugging the TD into shore power or my 2000w inverter generator when in camp. This may not work for everyone but I found this to be a simple solution in my case..