Installation of A/C and trailer light problem

[Hounddog]

I am new here and I must say this is a great site and thanks to all of you for the information you share.

I recently bought a 1982 Jayco popup that has been sitting unused for a long time.  It has no A/C but anyone from Texas would agree that it needs one.  I do not want to pump alot of money into it so I feel a window unit is my best route to take.  Can someone give me some tips on installing the A/C window unit?  I would like to install it in the front of the trailer and make some support beams coming off the front frame of the trailer.  Yes, it will be intalled permanetly so I also have to cut a hole.  Anyone every been through this?  Any advise or instructions would be greatly appreciated.  Maybe some of you know of a web site where someon did this before that could provide advise and help.

2nd issue is the trailer lights.  I tried using the existing 6 point wire system on the trailer and converting it to a 4 point only utilizing the wires I need for a 4 point system.  All functions worked except for when I have the brake on, blinker on and the running lights on, all lights on the trailer flash just as if the flasher were on.  If I cut the running lights off and try all the different functions, everything works.  So then I decided to just run a whole new 4 point wire system to the exisiting back lights thinking this will fix the problem since I will be using all new wires and the wires that came with the wire harrness I purchased.  I still have the same problem.  This is very wierd because the side lights, which I did not run any power to, flash under the exception mentioned above but I only ran power (wires) to the back lights.  The only thing I can think of is it must be getting some kind of power through the ground wire.  Very wierd.  Yes I do have all the wires connected correctly.  Anyone else tried this and had this problem?  Anyone have any recommendations or solutions?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I'm lost on this one.

[AustinBoston]

2nd issue is the trailer lights.  I tried using the existing 6 point wire system on the trailer and converting it to a 4 point only utilizing the wires I need for a 4 point system.  All functions worked except for when I have the brake on, blinker on and the running lights on, all lights on the trailer flash just as if the flasher were on.

If your post ended here, I would have said the trailer had an open ground.

So then I decided to just run a whole new 4 point wire system to the exisiting back lights thinking this will fix the problem since I will be using all new wires and the wires that came with the wire harrness I purchased.  I still have the same problem.  This is very wierd because the side lights, which I did not run any power to, flash under the exception mentioned above but I only ran power (wires) to the back lights.  The only thing I can think of is it must be getting some kind of power through the ground wire.  Very wierd.  Yes I do have all the wires connected correctly.  Anyone else tried this and had this problem?  Anyone have any recommendations or solutions?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I'm lost on this one.

I suspect you may have an open ground on the tow vehicle side.  Whatever the problem, because it happened with two completely different trailer wirings, it's probably wrong on the tow vehicle side.

Question: Does your tow vehicle have separate turn signal (yellow) lamps, or are they the same as the brake lights?

Austin

[Hounddog]

The tow vehicle is a 1995 GMC pickup.  The turn signal lights are separate from the brake lights.  I also have a boat trailer that I pull with the same 4 point wires coming from the truck and have not had any problems with it.  One thing I did think of (maybe you can tell me if this make a difference) is that I just backed up to the pop up trailer and plugged in the wires.  I did not actually hook the trailer onto the hitch reciever.   Maybe that makes a difference with the ground wire you talked about?

[mike4947]

If it does you have a bad ground on the trailer. One of the four wires in a 4 wire plug is a ground wire.

[Hounddog]

Thanks for the input.  I will probably mess with it again on Friday.  I'll see what it does when I acutally hook the hitch of the trailer on the truck.  If no luck then I will make sure the ground on the trailer has a good connection.  It still puzzles me as to why the some of the trailer light (like the running lights on the side of the trailer) flash since they have no power going to them and I am using a new set of wires only ran to the taillights.  Wierd.  Has to be getting some kind of current from the trailer frame or something.  Oh well, that is why I am not an electrician.  Thanks again.

Also if anyone has any input on the A/C, let me know.  Thanks.

[brgmgb]

Two weeks ago, we purchased our first camper.  Our lights behave much the same way.

It looks as though the camper had six wires from the TV.  Somewhere along the line, someone converted it to a flat four by combining two of the wires (one was just taped in the harness - I still don't know what it is supposed to control).  I need the flat four connector since that's what we have on both our vehicles.

The brake light/turn signal lights did not work, but all of the running lights did.  I thought I sorted out the problem, but now the running lights blink with the turn signals.

I plan to rip out all of the old wiring and start fresh.  I plan to ground everything to the frame locally instead of running a ground wire all the way back to the tongue, which is how it is now.

I have two questions:

1.  Are there any higher intensity brake/turn signal lights/bulbs available?  The camper is wired for an 1156 bulb to be the brake light and an 1157 to be running lights/turn signal.  I though of combining the 1156 and high side of the 1157, but don't know if that will just make two weaker bulbs.  The next option is to just use the 1156 for the brakes/turn signal and the weak side of the 1157 for the running light.  I am open to better options.

2.  What is the best way to connect the running lights?  I plan to run the wires down both sides of the camper  and connect the back lights first (currently, all wires run down the left side to the back and then go out from there).  I am not a big fan of the blue slice-the-wire connectors.  Is there an easier way than to solder all the connections?

Thanks.

Bill

[brgmgb]

Hello,

I finished the rewiring of the camper yesterday afternoon.  The wiring was more of a mess than I had initially thought, so I am glad I pulled it all out.

The first thing I found was that mice (or some other varmint) must like the wiring.  The camper was not wired using the correct colors of wire, but the black wire in the four-wire group was completely gone for about 6-7 inches with about an inch if exposed, frayed wire on each end.  The wire was sitting on the metal frame.  This wire was controlled the right turn signal, so this short must have been what was causing all of the lights to flash.

Hounddog, you may want to climb underneath and check all the wires.  Your situation sounds like what I had, and it was definitely power going to the ground via the frame.

I pulled out all of wire I could easily get to.  My main concern was to have brake lights and turn signal lights, so I just snipped the side-marker wires where they met the main harness.  I used the old harness to pull the new harness into position.  I drilled a new hole for the ground wire at the tongue and sanded down to bare metal. The old ground wire was very weak where it attached to the crimp-on loop.  It looked as if only a few threads were actually holding it in place.

I then soldered the left and right turn-signal and brake light wires and made sure they worked.  They were much brighter than before.  I soldered the rear running lights directly to the left side running light wire in the rear.  I'm not sure how these wires are actually wired, but there was one wire that must loop to them all.  All the soldered joints were secured and insulated with heat shrink and electrical tape.

The front running lights were attached to the right side running light wire in the front of the camper.  Since I was working on my back and did not want solder falling in my face, I used a crimp (slice-the-wire) connector for this connection.  

I found three other places under the camper where ground wired were screwed into the frame.  All of these looked good, so I did not touch them.

I did leave the 12V wire.  Since this camper has an ice box, I'm not sure what you would use this for since you can not open the camper enough to use it when the tow vehicle is attached.  The corresponding ground wire is screwed to the camper frame, so some additional wires would need to be run to hook up a battery.

I also plugged the camper into the 110V electric.  The outlets (one duplex in back and one on electric box) all checked out OK.  My two daughters played in the camper listening to the radio while I worked underneath.  Overall, I am very happy with the outcome.  Not bad for a few hours work.

[James]

I just complete a window a/c instalation in the front of my 91 coleman roanoke royale.  The first thing that you need is realistic expectations of what you will get out of a window unit.  When you permanently install the unit by cutting a hole in the box, it blows cold air near the floor.  Cold air sinks and warm air rises.  This problem can be fixed with some well placed fans.  I placed one in front of the unit pointed upwards and used two small oscilating units hung from the cieling to move the air around.  

My unit works fanstastic if it is in the shade.  The bunkends still get warm if I am camping in the sun.  I have heard that this can be fixed by covering the ends with a tarp or other comercially made covers.  I recently went camping in 90 degree weather and had a campsite in full sun.  I simply opened up the bunk ends to release the heat and closed the curtains to the box and the window unit cooled the box area perfectly.  My 14 month old son even took his 1 pm nap and didn't break a sweat.  Be sure to get a high enough BTU unit.  I started out with 6000 BTUs and had to exchage it for an 8000 BTU unit. Also, look for a unit that will alow the fan to shut off when the thermostat reaches the desired unit.  This way you don't waste energy and don't have to listen to the fan the entire night.  

As for installation, I took the front of my trailer apart in order to ensure I did not cut any thing important.  I had to remove one support and replace it with one on either side of where I cut the hole.  Here is a tip that an old carpenter once told me, "If you don't have to use a tape measure, don't use it".  This means simply place the unit where you want it and use a marker to trace the outline, then cut the holes.  I actually cut the plastic piece (front of the camper) after removing it from the camper.  Once the holes were cut, I simply pushed the unit through the holes and supported the rear of the unit with a piece of angle iron placed between the frame rails on the trailer tounge.  Make sure that the unit is at the proper angle to facilitate drainage.  You may have to drill a drain hole hole in the angle iron.  Then simply trim the unit on the inside of the trailer with baseboard or something. Run the wire neatly.  Buy an extension cord to plug it into the campsite electric.  I wouldn,t plug it into the outlets in the trailer.  This web site may be helpful even though it is installed in the rear of the trailer:  
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/145105215waLNdq

Another option is to use a portable a/c unit.  I found that even though it was a much easier installation,  they are too loud and took up too much space.  It is still an option though.

Hope this is helpful
James

[roanoke91]

Hounddog,
Click on my mods below to see where I added a window unit to my camper. Although my camper is a coleman it may be helpful and give you some ideas for your installation.
Good luck.

[James]

Hey roanoke 91, I can't wait to see the finished product.  Please keep your website updated.

Thanks James
91 Roanoke Royale