I'm going to be doing the same install as sunset coast, but with a 6 gal. water heater. Doug, your pictures are a big help. I think the location of the switches is a good alternative, but I was wondering about fishing wire through the wall to the original switch location. If a guy could use one wire as a pull wire and pull two into the bathroom you would have the four wires you need. I have no idea if this is possible, I'm going to do a little exploring to see if I can figure it out. Ordered mine from Palomino but it was shipped with out a installation manual, so I'll need to try and find one online. My old one was also a bear to remove, must have been a full tube of vulkem on the inside of the outer skin.
I'm going to be doing the same install as sunset coast, but with a 6 gal. water heater. Doug, your pictures are a big help. I think the location of the switches is a good alternative, but I was wondering about fishing wire through the wall to the original switch location. If a guy could use one wire as a pull wire and pull two into the bathroom you would have the four wires you need. I have no idea if this is possible, I'm going to do a little exploring to see if I can figure it out. Ordered mine from Palomino but it was shipped with out a installation manual, so I'll need to try and find one online. My old one was also a bear to remove, must have been a full tube of vulkem on the inside of the outer skin.
If you PM me your e-mail adress, I can send you a PDF of the manuals.
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Cameron & the Labradors
Kai & Samm
North Vancouver, BC
Canada
I think I have figured out a way to mount the hot water heater switch in the the bathroom, like the orginal. This might be specific to my vintage/type of trailer which is a 1989 25' Excella with midbath. The gas/electric model uses a switch plate with two switches and the red light. Sunset Coast mounted his on the face frame of the bed pedestal per the picture earlier in this thread, a good solution and relatively easy. But the orginal switch was in the bathroom and would be more convient and visible there.. It looks to me like it would be easy to pass the additional wire under the shower seat along the top of the wheel well cover and into the bathroom vanity. From there I can drill a small hole in the inner skin and fish it up to the switch. I also will need to move the bathroom water pump switch a couple of inches to the left. Now I need to try and figure out which wire is what. Sunset Coast, do you have a wiring diagram? I have a blue, yellow, brown and white wires at the switch. I'm guessing that the blue and yellow are the "hot" 12v+ and the white is the ground (-). I must be more mechanical than electrical.
If anyone is interested I will post pictures and try to keep a few notes on how to do this.
Harbor, MI) One guy (son of one of the original owners) talked about how they used "exploding rivets" ... used heat to set off the small charge on the tip of the rivet. I've never seen these. Good luck on your project.
Exploding rivets were made by Dupont.
During my early days with Airstream, I used many thousands of them.
They were not too bad, but you had to use the right technic. If not, the rivets would be loose.
In 1970, when I was with Caravanner Insurance, the insurance division of Airstream, dupont announced that they would no longer make that rivet.
I called Dupont and on behalf of Airstream, and offered to but 20,000,000 of them.
Dupont said "NOPE."
That led to the development of the now famous "Olympic" rivet, although the first version of the olympic was a dud.
Musketeer, I am travelling this week so I don't have access to my notes. Do you a voltmeter so you can check for +12VDC and grd? I think the brown wire is what controls the water heater, not sure about the others.
Andy, thanks for more history about exploding rivets.... interesting stuff!
Doug
I was able to slide a tape measure tape from under the bathroom vanity, under the shower seat and right out by the water heater. I made up a plastic conduit with two wires (so all of the colors would match) and pulled it under the shower and into the vanity. Then I drilled a hole in the side skin big enough for the two wires about 8" below the old water heater switch location. I fished a wire up and out of the switch hole, taped the new wires to it and pulled them through. Made a grommet and seal to the hole under the vanity with silicon. The new switch is bigger than the old, so I moved the water pump switch to the left. I cut a new hole for the new water pump switch and used the space from both old switches for the new w/h switch. Now I'm on to wiring the 120v side.
.............'snip'....... Made a grommet and seal to the hole under the vanity with silicon............'snip'...........
musketeer,
I hope that this in the only place that you ever use silicone on your trailer. If you check any of the numerous threads on this Forum on the subject, you will see the perils that you expose when you use this stuff. It's just shouldn't be used anywhere in an RV....IMHO! Any quality polyurethane sealant is far superior to silicone!!!!!
The preceeding has been a public service announcement!
Sounds like a great job otherwise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whoopps. I thought that for an interior grommet silicon would be okay. I just wanted to keep the wires from shorting out if they rubbed against the edge of the hole. Thanks for the tip,Lewster!
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Any quality polyurethane sealant is far superior to silicone!!!!!
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