Few questions pre-build

[tanukihimself]

Whats up people?

Just got home with my cargo trailer, a 7x14x7 Empire trailer. I have read severl builds on here but so many of them have been way over my level of comprehension and ability and also way over the needs that i have. My girlfriend and I are building this thing to basically step up from a tent as thats what we lived in in most of last year in various states, but Oregon for the longest time. We are looking to insulate the walls and ceiling and wire it for electrical and solar. We dont currently have any interest in a inside shower, tv, sink, oven, or heater. We want a queen size memory foam mattress and 3 to 4 receptacles to charge phones and computers, several LED lghts on the ceiling and just several cabinets to hold our stuff in, we may eventually want some kind of a/c, but not a roof mounted one i dont think.

I am so lost as to where to start and the only thing i can think of is to ask here. We purchased 5 4'x8'x1" sheets of thermasheath Rmax rigid insulation for the walls, we need more but thats all they had. I just saw the idea Coventry Kid did with the 3" strips of plywood on the aluminium ribs and then install another .5 inch insulation in the walls. I like that idea.

I guess im asking where exactly to start as i dont have forever to get the bedframe made, get the insulation and wiring installed?

[tanukihimself]

we will be living off grid mostly, boondocking, but there will be times when we will have power to plug into by the way. this will be our home and not just a few times a year deal where we take it out for fun

[pchast]

It kind of depends on th e room you have to work in.
If the trailer is all, then you need to start at the skin: insulate, wire ant then reapply the plywood sheathing. All before any other building.

If you have space to work you can build any frames and cabinets and move them in later. Thus takin g th e time you need to gather different materials and work with them as you have them

[CoventryKid]

Re wiring, just a suggestion for your consideration:

Years ago when I had a home renovation company, a client wanted pot lights in her kitchen ceiling. Sparky ran the wire from the power source (an existing plug, switch, etc.) to the top of the wall. He cut a small hole and fished the wire out. He ran the wiring along the top of the wall. When he knew he was between the joists where the pot light was to be located, he drilled a small hole and fished the wire into the ceiling and out to the pot light location. We covered the wiring with CROWN moulding. Everything was hidden behind the crown moulding.

You could do something similar in your CT - run the wires up to the top of the wall in an out-of-the-way (hidden) place, along the top of the wall and into the ceiling, covering the wires and holes with moulding.

When I converted our CT a couple of years ago, all of the 12v and 120v was designed to be behind cabinets, closets, or in the interior walls.

Just a thought. Hope this helps.

[tanukihimself]

Got a 1/4 of the wall panels insulated yesterday and I need to be gathering supplies for the electeical project. I want to wire for about 3 outlets inside for charging phones and computers and small stuff like that.

My dad is helping us with this part and he is convinced we need a breaker box but we can't find one that's good for such a small amount of things. Do we really need a breaker box?

[Padilen]

Yes. They make a small panel for trailers. The only way I consider not having circuit box is if I were just using a power strip.

[lrrowe]

My first outing with my CT only had the insulation up. I lined the walls with black plastic, slept on the floor and did fine for my hunting trip. After that it was all work in process, with each trip having a little more done to the trailer.

[tanukihimself]

Can yall provide a link for the small breaker boxes that yall use here please? 60amp 110v with about 4 to 6 circuits is what we are aiming for. Any help is appreciated

[McDave]

Wow! 60 amps is a lot of juice. Doin' a little welding on the side are ya'? Most RVs are set up for 30amp or 50 amp supply. I'm not sure where you plan on plugging in, but from the sounds of your planned electrical needs 30 amp will be way more than enough. A 13,500btu rooftop air cond. draws about 13a to start and runs at 10-11amps, that's about the biggest power hog I can think of unless you are planning an elect. clothes dryer or full size range/oven. Take a look at the appliances you are planning to use. Add up the amps. If you were going to use them all simultaneously, (not likely) that would be the size of main you will need. Remember, where you plug in will determine how much juice is available.

McDave

[dancam]

I think when i bought my house it had an 80amp panel and i upgraded it to a 100amp.
60 is a lot for a trailer, lol. I doubt what your plugging into will give you 60amps.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

[tanukihimself]

ok cool. I thought 60 sounded like a lot. This will be our home and i feel like we will eventually set up at a state park or rv park or something and live there for an extended period of time. I dont know what kind of plug ins most state parks offer and my dad was suggesting getting a double male pig tail style cord that twist locks and all that but i figured that was overkill. Even after we furnish this trailer and live in a rv park the most things i could see running at once are a computer, phone charging, and maybe a small ac unit. (My dad hasnt been camping in a long time and may be behind on the times just a little). We are tryng to be thorough and wire it for more than we ned just to be safe, but at the same time i dont want to waste money and time for something that i will never need.

Again i know next to nothing about electrical and any help here is amazing. I am trying to get as much done in the next 2 weeks and also work a full time job as well. I live in the country so i have room a plenty to work, just the electrical part is holding us back because i cant continue wth the insulation until after we figure the elec part out..

ps. i will not be welding haha

[McDave]

Something like this may be what you are looking for, but for about the same money you could have a RV power center with AC, DC, and battery charger. just sayin'...
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Square-D-8-Cir ... er/3445188

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L ... MRLJAMEVOJ
You will still need to purchase breakers and DC fuses.

McDave

[defjr333]

This is the box I am using. 30 amp ac, and 30 amp dc. Has spot for a 30 amp main breaker and 4 spots for breakers of your choice for outlets, apliances, etc. What I liked what it also has 12 fuse spots for your dc stuff...lights, etc. All in one spot. Similar to the 2nd one McDave listed without converter built in. Think it was $65. My setup goes from a 30 amp shore plug to a surge protector, then to inverter/ charger. From there to to above mentioned fuse center. It will power, ac unit..5k btu & microwave on ac side.Lights, tv, fridge, etc all dc or lp.

http://www.bestconverter.com/PD5000-30- ... N2JXvfD_qC

[tanukihimself]

Thanks. Its starting to make a little sense to me. If I got one of those boxes I could wire solar into it ad long as it had a converter? Or should I get a standalone converter/charger? Thinking the latter would be best for me.

And on that note, do any of yall have any personal experience with any particular solar panels or kits? Brand new to that as well

[McDave]

I believe Solar will require it's own controller. To convert from AC to DC you will need a converter, and it's best to have a battery, so converter/charger. If you need 120 ac from 12v dc, you need an inverter.

McDave