Electrical layout

[hampstead38]

First, thanks to Truckasaurus for hooking me up with a SketchUp of the Overlander. The basic floor plan is his idea. Our primary change is the sofa up front rather than a dinette. So, here are a few views... the red boxes are 110v outlets. The blue discs are LED lights. Comments are welcome.

[wkerfoot]

Hamstead,

How about some 12V outlets for cell phone, blue tooth, ipod etc charging.

Bill

[Melody Ranch]

I put led courtesy lights in the entry step area. From Discount Marine.
I also make sure to have both 110 and 12v on the outside where its available to the awning crowd. Don't put those outside boxes where they are behind an open door......that caused me problems with conflict with the door and the weather box cover and extension cord hook up. I Like your mock up!!

[hampstead38]

Bill,

I'm thinking about the normal "spaghetti" mess in the truck with cell phones, GPS, etc. I'm trying to think of a location for a tripe marine 12v outlet where all of the stuff can be out of sight. I'm also pondering on the battery location for two AGP batts. I'm trying to keep the weight over the axles. Good thought...

[Gene]

Ken, I'd look over floor plans for other brands because some of them have good ideas too.

Electrical: 1. the box (converter?) under the bed would be hard to access if you have to work on it or a breaker flips or fuse blows. Mine is under the bed, but at the front, and I have to lie on my stomach with my feet in the hallway to check things—not a great location, but what would you have to do where you have it? Under the bed should be deep storage, converter up higher somewhere.

2. Given the relative weakness of LED lamps, I think you need a lot more of them. Our trailer has 10 recessed lamps plus several task lights in the main cabin. All but the stove light are LED. There are two reading lamps, plus task lights—one over the dinette table and one over the sink. The lighting is fine, but it takes a lot of fixtures.

3. Is that indirect lighting at each end and at one side? Are they going to be halogen? LED? If LED you'll need a lot of them for general lighting, but less for mood lighting. You can use rheostats on LED's and halogen.

4. I think you need some more 120 v. receptacles because you never know what comes along and they are cheap.

Printer and laptop: We have a dedicated cabinet for a printer and microwave. That is very convenient. You can use a wireless connection to the printer, but I use a USB cable. This leads to what kinds of electronic world cables need to be installed—ethernet, USB, HDMI, satellite? Do you want a an antenna outside for wifi? Are you going to have TV and surround sound? You may not want all of that stuff now, but later? The laptop has to be somewhere and I often put it on the dinette seat when it's not on the table. I don't like putting it away every time I'm not using it. When I do put it away, it goes in it's bag under the dinette seat (it travels in the truck—fewer bumps). Since you don't have a dinette, where are you going to use and keep it?

Shower: is it over the wheel well? Ours is and that makes the space to stand rather limited. Not a lot of options in a 2 axle trailer though.

Kitchen sink: I see a round one. They look nice, but we find a standard double sink to be a lot more convenient.

Bed: Which way does it face? Front to back is best, but space is limited to do so. Will it be long enough? I made the RV queen longer so it fit us better; using a standard mattress would save money and facing it front to back would mean no curves have to be cut in it.

Style: 1960's? Shag carpet? If you want to pick one, my thought it art deco goes well in an Airstream. Taste is very individual.

All I can think of and it's time for breakfast. Keep thinking.

Gene

[hampstead38]

Let's take these in order... having moved well past the breakfast hour. First, I plan to build a frame for the bed. If you look at the attached photograph (from when we first looked at the Overlander), you'll see an access hatch above the rear bumper. I'd like to keep the coach's breaker box and converter under the bed, but accessible through the rear panel.

The picture isnt' very good (looking at the preview), but I think you can make out the "hatch" where the (now defunct) NY license plate is mounted.

The "under bed" storage area will be divided into two part. The aft part which will have all of the electronics/electrical terminations will be accessed from outside the trailer. The forward portion will be used for storing spare linens and other "semi-frequently" used items. I'll try to use the SketchUp software to draw the bed.

[hampstead38]

As for lighting, I agree. Installing AC on the roof will result in the loss of one source of natural light. We don't have the VistaView windows in our coach. I'm already anticipated some grief from my better half because she doesn't like the "quality" of LED lighting much. It just doesn't seem as bright as halogens. The real appeal of LEDs are the low power draw, the low maintenance and the absence of heat. I'm sure the bed will need reading lamps that meet the approval of my lovely bride... but the advantage is that all of the terminations are available under the bed. Oh, and personally, I'm not a big fan of the "gooseneck" lamps that came with the Overlander... or the electrician's tape used to hold them to the bulkhead. My biggest concern right now is to establish overhead lighting locations where I'll need to get under the skins. I like LED because I can at least count on getting the coach lighted enough to move about on battery power... sort of an emergency lighting approach.

[hampstead38]

I agree on the 12v receptacles. I just need to find places for them. We also need to think about a coaxial cable connection for the television. The shower is just a tough fit admidship... but we'll do our best to make it work. Good point on the sink. I kept the original two-basin sink... maybe it will make it back in.

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by hampstead38

Bill,

I'm thinking about the normal "spaghetti" mess in the truck with cell phones, GPS, etc. I'm trying to think of a location for a tripe marine 12v outlet where all of the stuff can be out of sight. I'm also pondering on the battery location for two AGP batts. I'm trying to keep the weight over the axles. Good thought...

Hamstead,

I am putting two of these in several counter tops in the Liner: HOUSING POWER SOURCE AUTOMOTIVE POWER POINTS WIRING ACCESSORIES* - Waytek Wire

This gives the ability to charge in several locations.

The idea was from Uwe.

Bill

[Gene]

We've passed the lunch hour, I've worked out, watched Meet the Press and it's getting to be time to fertilize the trees. Ok, good access, better than mine because you can sit on a stool, but will you have to run in and out to see what you've done? Will you be able to keep electrical components dry if (when) the door leaks? Fixing 120 v. in a heavy rain might be interesting unless you wear a rubber suit (good for other purposes which I leave to your imagination). Seems like a good location for 3batteries for extended boondocking though, or even a generator—if you can find a pancake one. Another electrical question: Are you planning on a solar panel?

One of my things is access to all utility systems. Since I seem to only buy houses that need a lot of work, I always provide easy access whenever I can. Airstream is not good at providing access, but if I were building my own interior, I would make everything easy to get to.

It's easy to criticize and I'm good at it. I hope it's useful. Building an interior is the real work.

Gene

[Gene]

Your bride is right—LED's do not have the lumens and did not have the color rendition we are used to. But the ones we have are fine, you just need more of them. Cheap, older LED's have a blue cast to the color rendition, but the newer ones are quite good and we notice no difference from halogen or incandescent.

Just in case you're not aware of this thread on LED lighting, check it out for where to get bulbs, which to order: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f447...hts-17392.html

The fixtures are another issue. I really like the recessed fixtures in our Safari—it's the one with the aluminum interior. The reading lamps also are cool. But the standard RV plastic fixtures they also used look and probably are cheap. Mixing those in with the others was a bad style decision, but you have lots of options.

Gene

[hampstead38]

Uwe does have great ideas. Thanks for the lead.

And Gene... Meet the Press? I have enough trouble facing Monday without watching the talking heads on Sunday.

Access is a big deal for me as well. I can't fix it if I can't get to it. The rear compartment looks relatively good as a central place for electrical terminations, breaker box, converter, etc. I could even pull a page from Truckasauras and put the whole shooting match on a pull-out platform to give me 360 access. While the rear access panel may not be "water resistant" now... it will be by the time I'm done with it.

And, yes, I like the idea of two panels on the aft portion of the coach. One, any generation of electricity is good in a boondocking situation. Two, the shade generation by the panels can't hurt. Three, we're going "green" in the renovation and I like the idea of generating some of our own power without burning fossil fuels.

As for wiring, rather than "plumb" the 110v copper plant through the walls, I am thinking about conduit along the edge of the floor hidden by some wood trim. The conduit would run from the access panel/under bed area along the wall port to the galley and starboard to the bathroom. I could run them through the frame and just "pop up" through the floor, but I'm still thinking about the pros and cons.

I think LEDs are improving and I share your contempt for cheesy fixtures. I hate plastic. On the positive side, I think we have good natural lighting. We'll good with a light color on the interior walls. We'll also supplement the "in wall" wiring with connections to lighting, particularly in the head and galley... two places one really needs to see what one is doing.

[Minno]

Hey Hamstead38 or Truckasaurus, can either of you point me to where I can find the SketchUp diagrams of the Overlander? I think it would be easier to modify an Overlander into a Soveriegn rather than starting from scratch like I've been trying to do.

Chris

[Gene]

Meet the Press isn't so bad when the next day is Saturday, followed by 5 more Saturdays and then Sunday. Saturday means lots of chores, but I can sleep late—well, Sunday is the same with MTP.

I like the idea of conduit, but can't you run it in the cabinets along with the plumbing? Conduit plus wood trim is going to be pretty large and look even larger in the small spaces in the trailer. But maybe you're referring to the run from the bed to the partition—there your solution makes good sense and won't be too noticeable. Glad no wire mold is under consideration. I'd try to locate receptacles in cabinets instead of walls too to keep romex or conduit and other wires accessible—looks like you may be trying to do just that. I like the idea of a slide out panel for all the electrical. I'd try hard to have it inside, but you'd need a 45' trailer for all the stuff I'd try to cram in (like a generator). I know you will seal that door very well, but with the vacuum at the rear of any vehicle, eventually some water will get in. You could have a second inner door, or a plastic sheet hanging down to double isolate electrical.

Our bathroom had 4 1141 incandescent bulbs in those cheapo plastic fixtures. I replaced 2 with LED's and we leave the 2 remaining 1141's off. There's plenty of light. Airstream put in enough lighting for two trailers, so the LED's are good for one trailer. We can leave on the 10 ceiling lights while boondocking and only use little more than one 1141's power requirements. But, for reading in bed or on the sofa, you will need a couple of lamps. My night vision is still almost as good as a 20 year old's, but I need two lamps (task lights work well) to read with LED's. The nice thing about LED's is you can get a weak one and use it as a night light while boondocking and there's almost zero battery drain.

Generator: we have a 1,000 w. Honda. Works great, but with the very long cable to the trailer, it won't run a microwave or toaster very well. Of course, altitude makes a difference and I haven't tried it below 9,000'. I've used it when short days and trees made the the solar panel inadequate. I've thought of getting a short cable for the trailer connection, or just connecting to those appliances directly via an extension cord, but I haven't tried either. I got the generator at a very good price (no box, no manual), so that stopped the internal debate—1,000 or 2,000 or more watts? Our friends have a Class C with a built in generator. How plush is that! I'd love that. I wouldn't have to get it out, connect it…dreams are wonderful.

Time for chores.

Gene

[hampstead38]

Minno, please send a PM with your email address and I'll send you a copy of what Truck sent me. It is a good place to start.

Gene, it may help a bit if I explain my concept for the bed. As shown in the attached sketch, I plan to build a "head board" of sorts and then extend two built-in "nightstands" for lack of a better term. Each nightstand will have a 110v duplex outlet with the GCFI protecting the rest of the circuit, a 12v outlet for charging cell phones while keeping them handy at night and a separate reading light along with providing for some modest storage room for things one might need at the end or beginning of the day such as contact cases, glasses, reading glasses, bourbon, etc.

[Gene]

Sounds good. Bourbon will mean little need for eyeglasses. I'd prefer a gin and tonic dispenser, but to each his own. Seems like the bed will be oriented back to front which is good. We would have liked that, but didn't want the 27' trailer. Compromises are tough.

[hampstead38]

Sapphire gin and Canada Dry tonic... and I guess I'll need a lime holder somewhere.

Front to back is going to be tough, but priority one is a comfortable bed. I don't want to have to roll over my wife or vice versa to get in or out of bed.

To explain my "conduit" idea, the red box is where I might run the 110v wiring. I can case it in fairly easily and should lose more than a couple of inches of floor.

[Gene]

Sapphire is my wife's choice for gin also. I just drink it. Small fridge needed next to bed with ice maker. You'll need a water line to the ice maker.

Barb doesn't mind having the hard to get in and out of place in bed and my back would make it difficult for me to get that spot. The 27' new ones have the front to back bed, but it's a tight fit especially if you have a full size queen. But, with a 26', it could be done since you control where the partition is.

I don't think you're going to have a lot of inches in the floor if you have a queen bed. You could have something like a hollowed out chair rail with conduit underneath—that way you can run conduit on each side just under the windows. Or, wood trim (chair rail would work) around the bedroom just above the windows. Besides hiding conduit, it can be used to hang a mirror, curtains, clock, your Picasso collection, and serve as a base for those reading lamps. I wonder if you could run single conductor in the hollowed out part and cap it with wire mold fitted into the routed out space?

Gene

[hampstead38]

It may end up a "near queen." We have plenty of room in our existing queen-sized bed. We could fit into a double, but maybe there is a a compromise between hither and yon. As for getting the wires, once we make the "jump" between the underbed electrical area and the galley and/or bathroom, we're in pretty good shape. The galley cabinets allow the wires to be concealed as does the bathroom. I figure we'll start with the bed and buildthe coach around what works there.

Sapphire is good stuff. The first time I tried it was in Hong Kong. If you're going to drink gin, I recommend the locale.