Electrical cable for Finally !

[birol]

I was looking for an electrical cable for Finally today. there was a 12 Gauge 50' coprd which was a whopping 40 bucks !!!! I went Holy Electricty !!! If I keep sepdnign money like this, I won't be able to go to the rally ! And then I saw this beautiful purple/pinkish cable Right underneath the super expensive cord ! The color is so carefully chosen, you can not miss it ! It is a flouresecent  color so bright so glossy ! And the price was right ! 12 Gauge, a whopping 80 feet long for 29.99 !!!!!!

I asked the guy why this was much cheaper and he said,, that was a once in a lifetime deal we had and once we sell the ones you see there we will never be able to get them this cheap ! It is a contractors cable and is made this color to be higly visible ! and 80 feet !!!!! I will make a short extension cord with around 10 feet of it or so since I have to cut one side anyways to turn it into a proper cord for Finally (again to be used whilecamping), so I will end up with a 70' cord with male plugs at both end ! I also grabbed a water resistant cover for the outlet and will install it hopefully today ! same with the ends for the extension cord.

Is 70' long enough or should I leave it as close as possible to 80' ?

[CAPEd CODger]

With a very few exceptions, I've found that I don't need much more than 25-30 feet of electric cable.
I'd make one cable 30 ft and the other 50 ft.
I'm guessing you got a regular 15 amp type cord, not the thirty amp.

C U there.

Bob

[birol]

it is a regular 15 Amp cable with regular ends ..... When I am done with it it will have two regular male plugs at the end one for the supply one going into Finally !

[mike4947]

Birol, I know it's easy to make up a cable with two male end and use a standard outlet on the trailer to plug into, but remember that you must plug in the trailer end first. As if you do the shore power end first, you have live connectors just waiting to short out to something on the trailer end.

That's why the kits that are used to sperate the fixed shore power cables have the special male connector built into the trailer connection and a female end on the cable.

[birol]

I know what you mean ... a disaster waiting to happen !  maybe I should "invest" in one of those special outlets, I did not see them at Home Depot though ......any idea where I can find one ? Since we will keep finally for a long while, it might just as well be worth it to equip it properly. I would hate to arrive somewhere tired and kill someone or start a fire !

Birol, I know it's easy to make up a cable with two male end and use a standard outlet on the trailer to plug into, but remember that you must plug in the trailer end first. As if you do the shore power end first, you have live connectors just waiting to short out to something on the trailer end.

That's why the kits that are used to sperate the fixed shore power cables have the special male connector built into the trailer connection and a female end on the cable.

[topcat7736]

B,

Our popup came with a 25 foot, 30 amp cord. We purchased an additional 2 in case we need them. But, when using them, you can't draw 30 amps any more as there is a loss in the cable due to the resistance, etc., of the longer run. You might want to divide your cable into sections rather than keep one very long one.

To help you decide what to do, try this link:

Electrical cable length vs carrying power

[birol]

Wowsers ! So much stuff to learn ......  

According to it, I can only draw 10 Amperes when the cable is 80' long ! 60' at 12 gauge gives me 15 amperes just the right rating for it !

I am thinking that there might be times we might sue an electric heater, and I do not want to exceed the rating of the cable. So I will cut it into 60 and 20 feet pieces ! Two extension  cords and if we want to use them at fuill length then we will make sure that we do not use an eslectric heater or high amperage stuff. I am assuming that a coffee maker OR  water heater will be just fine with with the full length .....

[Gone-Camping]

Birol, doesn't the electric connection have a cover? If so, why not hard wire one end to the trailer, then just pull the plug end out the hole to connect to the power pole with? When done, you just stuff the wire back into the hole. The entire contents should go into one of the dinette bench seats, about all you got to do there is put a divider up so that the whole bench doesn't turn into power cord storage?!?!

[birol]

The inlet into the  PU is on the back left upper corner of the PU, on the outside.
I wanted to use that receptacle and make it look like original, sort of ....

Birol, doesn't the electric connection have a cover? If so, why not hard wire one end to the trailer, then just pull the plug end out the hole to connect to the power pole with? When done, you just stuff the wire back into the hole. The entire contents should go into one of the dinette bench seats, about all you got to do there is put a divider up so that the whole bench doesn't turn into power cord storage?!?!

[Gone-Camping]

Hmmm, I was thinking something more like this....
 

 
This cover is only $2.65 (USD) at campgingworld, and would look like a factory installation...
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=4457

[birol]

I do not think I want to show 60' of cable in between the skin and the PU. There might be a lot of stuff there and is inaccessible. Good idea though .....If I could access that area it would be the best solution.

[Gone-Camping]

Ummm, on my Starmaster-8, they had that same cover as in the picture, it was located near the bottom of the trailer on left rear, cable hole went through the side into the dinette bench seat (power breaker box was also located there) and there was a divider inside the bench to keep the cord & box seperate from the rest of the storage. Seems to me the fresh water tank was also inside that same dinette seat...
 
If I can remember, I'll swing by there tomorrow and take a picture of it for you, new owners are close friends and live right down the street. Considering he's had it for 2 years now, and has not actually paid me for it, I guess it's still MY trailer (I still have the title to it). Wanna buy a 1978 model?

[birol]

I appreciate the picture, if you can pull it off !

And hey, 10 years younger than mine ! I will jump at it ! But wait ! Now Finally is a family member !!!! It rained two days and not one single drop in it ! Dry as a whatever Tomorrow I get the regulator piece hopefully ! And make the extension cord ! Still no work on cushions I guess we will just have to make do with the old one  :swear:  :banghead:

Considering he's had it for 2 years now, and has not actually paid me for it, I guess it's still MY trailer (I still have the title to it). Wanna buy a 1978 model?

[mike4947]

Birol, a male 15 amp receptical and mount runs IIRC about $25. They are available at most marine stores or electrical supply houses such as Graybar Electric.

But thinking back to our couple of cobbled up mail truck conversions we use a regular exterior outlet and simply carried a 35 mm film canister to put over the trailer end male plug so we couldn't hit the connectors if we plugged the shore power end in first.

[birol]

Now he tells me the trick !!!! Bad Mike !!!!!

Birol, a male 15 amp receptical and mount runs IIRC about $25. They are available at most marine stores or electrical supply houses such as Graybar Electric.

But thinking back to our couple of cobbled up mail truck conversions we use a regular exterior outlet and simply carried a 35 mm film canister to put over the trailer end male plug so we couldn't hit the connectors if we plugged the shore power end in first.