Electrical installation estimate

ladybird_bus · 05-06-2019, 07:34 PM

Skoolies with electrical installation knowledge, I need some help. I am hiring someone to install my electrical for me. I'm in Oregon and have so far gotten two estimates from two different RV places, both right around $5k for:

a shore power connection,
battery charger/inverter from shore power
battery(ies) - at least 200 available ah.
a breaker box,
wiring for
6 overhead LED lights (2 in the living area, 1 in a closet, 1 in the shower and 2 in the bedroom) and
two reading lights in the bedroom, water pump, one ceiling fan,
4 outlets in the front living space one for the fridge and 2 in the bedroom.
Wiring for a thermostat and propane water heater.

I plan to add solar later, when I've saved some more pennies.

I'm trying to understand if this is a reasonable estimate? I have nothing with which to compare it and while it's a scary number on the face of it, if it's just what this costs then I can find a way to live with that. Can anyone weigh in knowledgeably?

HazMatt · 05-06-2019, 07:44 PM

DIY: Pride of ownership and glow of a difficult accomplishment completed- Will cost less.

Pro Install: Comfort in knowledge the job was done right the first time, warranteed work, and greatly enhanced probability of not waking up a crispy critter- Priceless!

PNW_Steve · 05-06-2019, 07:52 PM

I was a journeyman electrician and have wired a few buses and renovated or repaired electrical on a number of RVs.

I think that $5000 for a turn key install from an RV shop is within expectations. The challenging part is finding an RV shop that could wire my bus and leave me with enough confidence to sleep in it....

I have seen some pretty scary stuff coming out of the shops that I have been around. I am sure that there are some very competent folks out there. Just don't assume that because they are charging $85-$125 an hour that they are competent electricians.

Be safe.

PS: If you want to make a road trip I may be able to help you with the project. I am about an hour N.E. of Milton-Freewater.

JDOnTheGo · 05-09-2019, 03:53 AM

IMHO, there is not enough information here to know. What size inverter/charger? What sine wave type inverter? What type shore power (30 or 50 amp)? How many 120VAC circuits? What kind of switches? How accessible are things (running wire - installing electrical boxes/outlets/switches)? Etc. If you could share some details, we might be able to provide something helpful. Even knowing just your intended style of use would be helpful.

More opinion... the problem with this approach is that you must have the entire system completely designed/documented to get what you want. Once you go to that much work (including the learning curve), buying/installing the parts is easy. It is very rare to see this type of approach work out very well.

I would only allow someone else to perform a project like this if the $5k included a design (actual parts list, wiring diagram, etc.) that can be reviewed/approved before installation begins. Without that, I'd expect to get about 70% of what I want with this approach - assuming the company/person doing the work is legit/respected. There a plenty of stories of people spending this kind of money and having to pay someone to start over again.

BlackJohn · 05-09-2019, 07:52 AM

"I'm trying to understand if this is a reasonable estimate?"

Me too! This is 2 days work max if everything is framed up and ready to install electrical. Pretty good money for 16 hours.

Problem is the framing is never done completely to get the electrical done in the alloted time which means several more visits to the bus likely.
If you are in my area I will rough it in after you buy the materials needed.
I suggest you do some networking on here and find the help you need. That is an outrageous price to me.

John

ladybird_bus · 05-09-2019, 09:30 AM

Thanks everyone for weighing in.
I'm getting to one of those 'I should just sell this thing - it's too much' moments, of which I've had many the past few months. Part of that is running my own growing business, which already takes up all my available time and energy. The second part is that I had planned to do this conversion with a partner, who's no longer in the picture, so the planned fun experience of building something together looks nothing like I'd expected it to.
I was hoping to invest some money in paying an expert to do this, exactly because I would assume an expert has the knowledge and experience to do a much better job than I could - there are obviously aspects to installing basically a small house worth of electricity that I don't know to ask about precisely because it's not my area of expertise.

ladybird_bus · 05-09-2019, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

"I'm trying to understand if this is a reasonable estimate?"

Me too! This is 2 days work max if everything is framed up and ready to install electrical. Pretty good money for 16 hours.

Problem is the framing is never done completely to get the electrical done in the alloted time which means several more visits to the bus likely.
If you are in my area I will rough it in after you buy the materials needed.
I suggest you do some networking on here and find the help you need. That is an outrageous price to me.

John

Thanks, John. I'm nowhere near you but I appreciate the offer.

HazMatt · 05-09-2019, 10:06 AM

Nothing worth doing &/or having comes easily. There are knowledgeable folx here who, after spending some time perusing the archived knowledge base, can help you out.
There are diagrams and schematics posted here that can help crystallize it's emergence from crysalis!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladybird_bus

Thanks everyone for weighing in.
I'm getting to one of those 'I should just sell this thing - it's too much' moments, of which I've had many the past few months. Part of that is running my own growing business, which already takes up all my available time and energy. The second part is that I had planned to do this conversion with a partner, who's no longer in the picture, so the planned fun experience of building something together looks nothing like I'd expected it to.
I was hoping to invest some money in paying an expert to do this, exactly because I would assume an expert has the knowledge and experience to do a much better job than I could - there are obviously aspects to installing basically a small house worth of electricity that I don't know to ask about precisely because it's not my area of expertise.

Head up.
Eyes forward.
Keep puttin' one foot in front of the other!

BlackJohn · 05-09-2019, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladybird_bus

Thanks everyone for weighing in.
I'm getting to one of those 'I should just sell this thing - it's too much' moments, of which I've had many the past few months. Part of that is running my own growing business, which already takes up all my available time and energy. The second part is that I had planned to do this conversion with a partner, who's no longer in the picture, so the planned fun experience of building something together looks nothing like I'd expected it to.
I was hoping to invest some money in paying an expert to do this, exactly because I would assume an expert has the knowledge and experience to do a much better job than I could - there are obviously aspects to installing basically a small house worth of electricity that I don't know to ask about precisely because it's not my area of expertise.

Your situation is not that much different than any of us ladybird. Life changes when we least expect it and we can't always understand at the time, if ever. Ours is not to reason why!

If you have a good mechanically fit bus now, you are ahead of the game already. It can always provide you shelter from the elements if say your business went south. Too many people have too much faith in this economy right now and are going to suffer if they continue to live as they are. Get prepared for a collapse even if it never happens.

Buses take time to build for sure and you can do it at your leisure or not. Sure we would all like a quick build completion but I think that rarely happens no matter how well one is financially heeled.

With the time you have and a creative mind you can use this to best plan your layout. There are many here to tap for best advice. Once you can picture in your mind the best layout, the rest will fall into line.
Save your 5 grand and have patience. I'm sure many here would offer assistance and not expect any remuneration to help a fellow skoolie out.

I suppose you could test the market and see what you can get for it also, which might let you find a more completed setup which would work immediately for you.

Understanding your frustration here but feel you have the skoolie addiction too much to give up. Better days ahead I hope for you.

Best of luck,

John

o1marc · 05-09-2019, 12:21 PM

Massive info here about RV electrical installs. I find it very informative on what exactly is needed in parts and how to wire it all.

https://www.explorist.life/test-explorist-life-home/

Rovobay · 05-09-2019, 01:59 PM

What was the breakdown in parts and labor or did they just verbally provide a number?

I salvaged parts from a camper that had water damaged roof. I got a boat load of goodies that I will be reusing which will save me a ton of money. I just need some wiring (minimal amount) to finish the job. I have reused a lot from the bus and camper. perhaps source your own materials and just find someone who can do the install on an hourly rate.

o1marc · 05-09-2019, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rovobay

What was the breakdown in parts and labor or did they just verbally provide a number?

I salvaged parts from a camper that had water damaged roof. I got a boat load of goodies that I will be reusing which will save me a ton of money. I just need some wiring (minimal amount) to finish the job. I have reused a lot from the bus and camper. perhaps source your own materials and just find someone who can do the install on an hourly rate.

I doubt it would take anywhere near 100hrs to wire a bus if you had everything ready to proceed.

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