Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 09-07-2016, 03:22 PM   #1
Almost There
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Central Oregon
Posts: 74
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Gensis
Electrical input advice

I know this could be a bit of an open invite. There are so many different ways to do electrical within a bus but I figured I would post my layout and general plan. I would love to get some feed back as I have not yet commited to any particular electrical components or wiring but I am about to in the next could of weeks.

My intended use of our bus is for an RV that will be with our family for 20+ years. We do not plan to live in it.

Generic floor layout (Mid ship door once done will push the front seat forward)

Electric and plumbing layout


Here is my layout that I have in mind currently. I am about to lay the flooring down and plan to place any cross run electrical between the metal floor and the subfloor, in the same space as 1 inch r5 insulation will be (maybe with conduit). The length runs will be run along the sides of the bus behind the walls.

Specifically an area that gets a bit foggy is with inverters & converters, fuse panel options, battery chargers, electrical health system monitors, etc. I have bought nothing yet. Currently I plan to purchase 12g standard household wiring along with some smaller cauge stuff for led lighting. I have seen a few $250+ fuse panels which seem rather expensive for what it is. Inverters and Converters vary greatly... I feel like I could spend a year researching.

Lastly my thoughts are to go with solar for charging and shore power for when avaialble. The fridge im looking at is 12v dc and may have 110 switching. Mostly going to charge tablets, use a gridle or toaster in the kitchen, and tv/components. If on shore power we may even run an indoor ac unit and the water heater can run on electric.

Thanks for reading and any advice or questions are greatly welcomed.

Crozz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2016, 09:07 PM   #2
Bus Nut
 
Carytowncat's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Richmond Virginia
Posts: 932
Year: 1984
Engine: 366 Big block Chevy! :) w/ Stick shift
Welcome!

How exciting! So many possibilities, must be trying to have to wait and see which directions unfold
But they all do somehow. One step at a time. I have a couple inverters, one helped me figure out about what i needed and then after time to research i finally clicked with one and bought that ĺmicrosolar pure sine 1k watt. Adequate for my needs. but nice to have the first one i bought for back up.

I went with a Renogy 200w kit on Amazon. Superb!
Two trojan t105 deep cycle golf cart 6v batts in series.

May add two more panels come winter, but am taking my time.



Good luck, and enjoy!
Carytowncat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 08:43 AM   #3
Skoolie
 
NowhereFast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 171
Year: 1995
Coachwork: International
Chassis: Carpenter
Engine: d466 mechanical
It's best to go small electrical wise and see where you need to improve if any at all. Many here will say figure out exactly what you're going to run and for how long and then size accordingly!

I do recommend my inverter/charger from AIMS. It's been amazing and comes with a great warranty. also I use Renogy solar, a 300 watt system. They're equally impressive as almost plug and play as you can get
__________________
Nowhere Fast - Sarasota, Florida
NowhereFast is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 09:29 AM   #4
Almost There
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Central Oregon
Posts: 74
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Gensis
Thank you for the input. So Renogy is something I will go look at this morning! This sort of info helps especially when looking at all the options. I feel like if people like their solutions enough to post it, I should pay attention.

Thanks

*edits below*

Renogy has some great reviews. Definately who I will be going with for the start.
Crozz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 10:07 AM   #5
Skoolie
 
NowhereFast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sarasota, Florida
Posts: 171
Year: 1995
Coachwork: International
Chassis: Carpenter
Engine: d466 mechanical
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crozz View Post
Thank you for the input. So Renogy is something I will go look at this morning! This sort of info helps especially when looking at all the options. I feel like if people like their solutions enough to post it, I should pay attention.

Thanks

*edits below*

Renogy has some great reviews. Definately who I will be going with for the start.
Yea they're great for beginning solar! I got the 300 watt kit and upgraded the charge controller while purchasing ( so I can add more panels in the future without needing to get a larger charge controller then too).
There's people on here that have like 2000 watts of solar on their roofs, and people with a 100 watt panel to charge phones.
__________________
Nowhere Fast - Sarasota, Florida
NowhereFast is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 12:41 PM   #6
Bus Crazy
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Salt Lake City Utah
Posts: 1,635
Year: 2000
Chassis: Blue Bird
Engine: ISC 8.3
For a 20-year usage conduit may be a good idea because it provides a simple path for changing/upgrading whatever you build now to accommodate future needs that couldn't be anticipated today.

When you do choose equipment (inverter, charger, etc) leave yourself some extra space and wire. These things can break, be outgrown, or otherwise require replacement. Generally the replacement won't fit the same as the previous did.

If you're the type who values a neat and tidy installation, or who might want to make minor (or major!) changes from time to time, then you might consider terminating all the wiring at DIN rail terminal blocks, or some other style of terminal. This provides a way to leave the installed wire alone and only mess with shorter jumper wires in the wiring panel when changes are made.

The consumer electronics and LED lighting are relatively easy to power from solar/battery, but the cooking/heating appliances are much more power-hungry. Those will require a more substantial solar+battery setup.. or just get a quiet little generator.
family wagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 02:22 PM   #7
Almost There
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Central Oregon
Posts: 74
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Amtran
Chassis: Gensis
Awesome advice for the DIN connector blocks. Being a network admin that makes perfect sense as I use something similar for networking. I think I will be limiting cooking and power hungry devices to shorepower only.

Using a connector block system would allow me to move forward with my flooring without having to fret as much on the full wiring system. Know what I am doing next.
Crozz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-08-2016, 05:56 PM   #8
Bus Nut
 
Jolly Roger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: North carolina
Posts: 651
Year: 1986
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: Ford
Engine: Detroit 8.2
Rated Cap: 60 bodies
I can't touch any of the others comments but I would like to say run as big size conduit as you are comfortable with and add a spare here and there if you have the room.
Good luck and have fun
Jolly Roger is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.