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Considering something I've never seen
#1
Question 
Not all of my ideas are good ideas -- I can live with that. But many times, I don't know enough about the situation to do more than hazard a guess. And I'm back at the Magic of Electricity.

I will be getting a van and insulating it, and covering the insulation. I would like to get some solar later on, but I'm not sure about the wiring. I don't want to rip things apart.

I've seen vans with paneling up the wall. And across the ceiling. Sometimes there's a gap between those two. Would it be feasible to either plan for or install some PVC tubing along that area to run wiring through later on? Maybe not permanently anchored in the beginning (or even later).

Any thoughts?
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#2
on my wires i used split loom https://www.truckid.com/dorman/black-3-8-x-100-split-loom-tubing-mpn-86632.html?view=443387&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkKqc4Ouu3gIVBY1pCh1nCQKhEAkYAiABEgJ-mvD_BwE

see some in the right corner
[Image: m981YC6.jpg]

extension cord for solar
[Image: TM9v02v.jpg]

cheap.comes in many sizes and flexible

you need to know exactly what and where things will be to pre wire and i didnt know
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#3
When I built my van the wiring was about the last thing I did. There was enough furniture and fixtures that most of the wiring was unseen. I wanted to be able to troubleshoot or rearrange without having to take things apart. Not as clean as hiding all the wires but it was neatly bundled and secured.

This is one of the issues I'm facing now with the Roadtrek. Trying to locate wires that are behind the finish surfaces.
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#4
When I rebuilt this motorhome, I gutted it so that I could start with the skin. I realized that I would probably not be able to see the future (failed ESP 101 and I got my crystal ball wet), so I put in the largest wire I figured I would ever..ever need. No matter what I plugged in. Hence, each side of the motor home has 8 gauge wire running to separate fuse panels..(total wire run of about 12 feet). Each wire coming from each fuse panel is 10 or 12 gauge total wire run of about 20 feet). If I didn’t know what was going to be plugged in at the end of that wire..I went big.

I did the same with the wire and cable in the main switch box.

In each instance where the wire/cable would be going thru holes drilled into the framing, I put conduit into those holes first to avoid chaffing....then wrapped the wires with an extra layer of insulation.

Yeah..over kill? Yeah. But, I never need to worry about any wire or cable even getting warm...and I never have to think again about how do I run new wire through a finished wall/ceiling because my needs have grown. Worst case would be to splice on additional wire for something new. I built an Anderson extension cord for this purpose.
1989 Honeywell motorhome
Ford E350 chassis.  460 engine
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#5
My current setup is the simplest yet, no real wiring except the isolator to charge the house battery. The house battery is in a marine style battery box, and attached to each side of the box with with double faced foam tape are 4 acc. outlet adapters, giving me 8 at the battery box, then plugged into one of those is 12 foot cigarette lighter extension cord, with another 4 outlet adapter plugged into the other end. All of this just attaches to the house battery via battery style alligator clips.

On my house style battery charger that I use with my generator, or could be used with shore power, I cut the battery clip wires back about 6 inches, and added a male ciggy plug to the end going to the charger, and a female one on the end going to the clips. This way if I'm using my generator and the battery charger, I can simply plug it into one of the acc. ports without getting into the battery box, and I can still reattach the original clips to use on any other battery.

This setup works really good for me, I have power by my bed for both my heating/cooling 12v blanket, and my heating/cooling 12v mattress pad, along with plenty of outlets to charge or run anything I want.

In previous builds I used PVC conduit, with a slip joint every foot, and ran one all the way around the top starting at the drivers door pillar, all the way around to the passenger door pillar. I did the same on the bottom, except stopped at the side doors. That gave me access every foot, to do whatever I wanted. I always strung a piece of twine all the way through each one. If I needed to add a wire later, I could tie it to the twine, along with another piece of twine, and pull it through to wherever I needed it. My house battery was behind my drivers seat, and the wiring went up to the top behind the trim on the drivers door post.

This scheme worked well, but it was a lot of lot work for unnecessary features. I came to realization that more portable worked better for me. With built ins, everything was always in the wrong place. What worked great when I was doing one thing, sucked when I doing something different. Now, with everything including my lights being totally portable, everything is just perfect no matter what I'm doing. Everything including my kitchen and bathroom can be used either inside, outside, or wherever I want it. If the need ever arises that I need to be separated from my van for repairs, I can throw up my tent and move into it and be just as comfortable as in my van. I could do the same if I needed to switch vans for some reason, and didn't have mine to live in during the process, and when I move into a new van, all I'll have to do is move in rather than build anything in.

Frankly, I'm tired of building vans for myself, when there's better ways of doing things.
[-] The following 1 user says Thank You to Handy_Dan for this post:
  • Roadtripp (12-13-2018)
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#6
Thanks for the ideas! I don't even think I know where the electrical outlets will be going. That flexible tubing is brilliant, Gary! I could probably add it later, after the insulation and walls are finished.
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