110V Wiring

030To continue work on the bed, the 110V outlets are next. A small and simple job. The only 110V will be available at 2 outlets, one at the side entry doors and the other at the rear doors. They will both be connected to an inverter.

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031I started with a shallow outlet box at the rear side of the bed, just below the rear door light. I used an ordinary Romex cable and routed it along the side of the bed to the inverter compartment.

032 The cable itself is covered in plastic tubing. The inverter will be installed after the solar is done. The result was more than acceptable.

 

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2 comments

  1. Hi,
    I am in the process of building a van similar to yours. I have no experience at all, just learning as I go. I am putting my batteries at the rear of the Ford Transit extended van. I need to run a battery cable to the Van battery around 20 feet. What gage would you recommend for the least loss of power? Also what type and gage wire for the 110 power? Any help would be truly appreciated!!

    1. Hi Michael,
      Sorry for the late answer, but I somehow missed your message.
      First, I’m not an expert, but probably have a few useful things to say. Usually, length of a cable is only an issue at 12V. Loss in a 120V system or cable at these distances are negligible. With 12V, a good point of reference would be to stay below a 2% power loss. There are lots of on-line calculators that you can use; I use this one: https://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html
      You would fill in: 12V, DC, distance and the max. load (amps) for the cable. i.e. at 20 amps, 20′, 12VDC, the voltage drop percentage would be 0.83% at 1AWG cable or 1.66% at 4AWG. At 40 amps, 20′, 12VDC, the voltage drop percentage would be 1.65% at 1AWG cable.
      Best wire to use for 12V is welding wire, the more strands, the better. Very flexible and easy to work with.
      These are examples, that I worked with:
      http://54.160.74.141/buy/welding-cable-2awg
      http://54.160.74.141/buy/welding-cable
      The easy way out with the 110V is the use the common Romex house wire or 12/3 SO Cord which is flexible. Please if you are unsure about what you’re doing, consult a professional. 12V can kill!
      Wish you success with your van; by the way, I love pics 🙂
      Van Williams

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