55 Safari wiring

[fiftysafari]

Now that the renovation of my 55 Safari is finally underway I must tackle the wiring.

I plan to rewire the trailer's 120V system and add 12V power.

For new wiring I have ordered marine grade 14/3 and 14/2 wire.

The 120 will be straightforward.

It is the 12V I am unsure of.

Also the electronics wiring for radio receiver antenna maybe tv and wi-fi reception

I have an open shell to fill...

[57Vintage]

12 volt wire size is dependent on load and circuit length, as is 120 volt. For 12 volt it could go as small as 18 gauge for LED lights to 12 or 10 gauge for a macerating toilet.

You will also need heavy gauge for the shore power circuit to fuse panel.

14 gauge may not be sufficient for some 120 volt circuits if you have a heavy load such as a hair dryer, microwave.

I've attached an equipment/circuit list I put together as a guide to determining circuit size. It's not complete (no plug in appliances included). Hope it helps

ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS.pdf

[fiftysafari]

Thank you so much. Your equipment circuit list is extremely helpful!

[63air]

I have not picked up a current one, but West Marine catalogs had an excellent chart in them on for sizing wire according to load and distance of run. When wiring I don't use anything less than 12 gage and use Blue Sea brand components whenever possible. Marine products are way better than RV ones in my experience as a boater and Airstream owner.

[islandtrader]

Originally Posted by fiftysafari

Thank you so much. Your equipment circuit list is extremely helpful!

Just thinking out loud...why not buy 14g wire for all of your light to medium duty loads. I can not think of a negative...and pricing difference is nil.

I have found out in boat wiring sometimes it is better to have single strand rather than duplex or tri...easier to work with.

I am at the same stage as you...assessing my wiring needs. So watching this thread will help .

[57Vintage]

Just throwing this out as food for thought.

I didn't want to do a lot of wiring prior to mounting insulation and reinstalling the interior panels. I installed aluminum conduit up the walls/ceiling to the floor (aluminum fuel line from Speedway Motors) to run the wiring. This will also allow me to add wiring or resize if needed. If you do this, use the 5/8". The smaller sizes don't work as well if curved. It's lightweight and easy to bend by hand. I flared both ends to get rid of sharp edges.



You will have to cut openings in your interior panels at the floor.