Howdy,
I have 2004 Hawk shell model that has been modified on the interior by the previous owner. Cabinets were added to enclose the LP cylinder and LP heater pretty much where I think they came from the factory (left rear of camper). I plan to add a 110V outlet inside as I may be using it for an extended period of time in a campground with electricity next summer.
To get ideas on how to add electric power, I looked over the 4WC website pictures and it looks like new models have an exterior plug and an interior GFCI outlet.
Is there a converter unit to run accessories and charge the camper (and possibly truck) batteries or just to plug in other items inside? Both the converter and charging converter really aren't necessary I feel but would like to consider the options and how much work would be involved to install.
Short of modifying the interior to run wiring from the exterior plug to the interior outlet (or converter) how has this been done by others adding 110V power themselves?
Ideally. just one cut thru the exterior to add the power inlet in a location where the interior outlet would be located seems simplest. Are the inlet and outlet just one unit making this possible? Or is this all not as or more complicated than I imagine?
Thanks for the help in advance!
Fred
I'm upgrading a 2007 Eagle Shell. It only had lights and fantastic fan, and those have no fuse protection in the camper. I highly recommend you plan out all you might ever add to your camper in the way of electrical load, routing and handling it now. Buy parts and install them according to that. You will save money in the long run and hassle of reinstalling things. Here is kind of a summary of all that's involved in mine, you are talking about only a part of this.
A 110 volt outside connection will be mounted (you need a connector and converter plugs to match the connections in the campgrounds you go to Most campgrounds have high amp connectors and some have nothing a regular extension cord will connect to. You can get this from FWC or probably your local RV parts supplier. It's independent of whatever you wire inside the camper. In my case this was the external unit and a pigtail to adapt that plug down for using a extension cord and I got it from FWC. It has no wires, you supply, route and connect those separately. And you have to figure out where the frame of the camper is when cutting the hole.
The inside 110 volt plug you talk about is just a standard item from the electrical section of lowes or wherever, CFCI are available. Make sure to match entire circuit components to the ratings to whatever you plan to plug in. If all you are doing is that for 110 volt you can wire it directly from the outside supply plug, though I'd recommend having a fuse or circuit breaker in the line which is preferably near the outside plug, it only protects what's past it. Most campgrounds have fuses or circuit breakers on their hookups, but tend not to like it if you blow those too often.
Going beyond the simple 110 volt install gets complex quickly. And if you go beyond simply you end up with things like something that kills batteries frequently or whatever, which is extra ongoing cost.
The 110volt and 12 volt wiring on the Eagle will be managed by a distribution panel (Iota IDP-30) which holds circuit breakers and fuses to protect the wiring beyond that from burning in case of a short or such you should always protect the wire. Add a Iota 30 amp 110 volt to 12 volt converter that will be plugged into the distribution panel (the panel has a connection for it) to both supply 12 volt appliances with power via the distribution panel and contains a charger for the "house" battery bank I'm putting in the Eagle to supply power to the 12 volt appliances when not connected to shore power. This supplies up to 30 amps for either use. It's also a modern computerized charger which optimizes charging and the life of the battery bank. From there wiring is sent to each appliance, and to all 110 volt using units (like your plug). You can handle this stuff by lots of little bits here and there, but I decided the two unit system was more desirable.
You are right, the furnace and propane unit sounds like how they do the option for that on shells, look at their option list for the shell and clicking on the option brings up a photo of how it's installed. If you are adding more 12 volt items you would route the power for the furnace from your distribution system. And you may have to design and build more cabinets. It's probably now just hooked up to your 12 volt plug from your truck if you have no house batteries. (and may not have a fuse on the 12 volt, something you should check.)
My house battery bank will be rated 200 amp hours, is the center of self contained power supply source and supplies waeco fridge, Propex heater, lights, fantastic fan, inverter that supplies independent 110 volts, pump for water for the shower. A Microwave will run off a big 1500 watt inverter (can only be used for short times with this size setup). A smaller inverter will supply laptops and any other small load 110volts. Most camera battery charging I use 12 volt chargers. It connects through the distribution panel for all this.
In addition to the 30 amp charging from the shore power above the battery bank will be fed from the Ranger's alternator system. The sequence is a large circuit breaker feeds a voltage sensitive relay that when the voltage is high enough on the starting battery energizes the wire to the camper and it's house batteries. That protects the starting battery from discharge. I'm running 8 or 10 guage wire to the plug in the Ranger's bed (a Attwood trolling motor socket) and the plug on the camper's external 12 volt supply wire will plug into that.
When I add solar it runs from panels through a panel charging and load controller to the same battery bank. With relatively heavy wires to minimize voltage loss from the wire resistance. It independently charges the house battery setup with the controller monitoring and setting the charge voltage to keep the batteries maximally safe, and with maximum life.
Note all this adds up to several "lumps" that have to be put somewhere and add weight, it's not insignificant space usage. Ideally you try to limit wire lengths doing this and balance the weight. In my case I also have a water tank and pump to install. Propane tanks and fittings. Cooktop, tankless hot water with outside shower, and propane to the heater. Water tank and the heavy battery bank will be in a compartment on the floor and as far forward and toward the passenger side as possible. Propane and fridge end up on driver's side rear.
