Lots of Electric Work

Spent a lot of this past weekend working on electrical projects on the Carpe Diem.  I am not a fan of electrical work.  I would say that the stupid butt joint connectors I worked with were the main reason I detest electrical work.  I can't imagine soldering the connections that are above my head as I'm clambering around under the trailer.  I used heat shrink butt joint connectors; let's just say that the percentage of them working as planned was pretty low.

Today I worked exclusively on the trailer lights.  I should say that I worked while waiting for it to stop raining.  Even though the teardrop is jacked up, crawling around on my back on the wet pavement was less than ideal.  Except for the butt joints, everything went as planned.  Unfortunately, I couldn't test the connections today.  I'm hopeful that next weekend will be beautiful and I can pull the Carpe Diem out to the road and give it a proper test.  All I can say is, those trailer lights better freaking work!  I don't want to have to crawl under the teardrop again to make all those connections.  I took my time.  I heat shrunk and taped everything very carefully.

Last night I took some images of the teardrop's lights.  You can see that I didn't get the spare re-mounted as of the images.  I ended up throwing everything in the cabin last night.  But, the lights work!  It wasn't pitch black out, but it was dark enough to see how the light looks.

I like the LED fixture in the galley.  It swivels and throws off a lot of light. 

The porch lights are much brighter than I thought they would be.  

Night vision red dome light.

Regular dome light.

The reading lights are as bright as the the dome light; but I really like the warm iridescent bulbs in the fixtures.

Here we go.  Short week.  Already looking forward to working on the insulation of the cabin.  Happy Memorial Day!

Black Freckles and Electrical Frustration

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I was able to spray the undercoating to the bottom of trailer.  That was quite messy, but I'm glad that I got it applied.  Jacked up the Carpe Diem to make it easier to work under it.  I'm loving my 3 ton jack stands from Harbor Freight!

 

I ended up using two cans of the cheap stuff; one can of the expensive stuff.  Then I found a third kind of undercoating at Lowes.  It was about half the price between the cheap and the expensive stuff.  I used four cans of it.  Purchased one of the inexpensive 'spray triggers.'  That made the whole process a lot easier.

 

I was really happy to have the glasses and mask on.  However, I ended up with some serious over spray on my face.  Took a long time to clean those glasses too!

I've given up on the idea of having four LED lights the teardrop.  My plan was for them to be on each corner of the teardrop and that they would go on when I turned on the porch lights.  The LED's had teeny tiny wires and I think somehow there must have been a bad connection in one of the many connections.  I spent a couple of days pulling wires again.  I had originally used some wire that I had on hand.  It was way too thick and made it close to impossible to join with three or four pieces like I had to.  I used automotive wire and waterproof connections, but I could not get them to work properly.  I couldn't get them to work and after spending so much time on it, I just clipped the wires and moved on.  No LED's on the corners. 

I had some real problems today too with the switch I planned to use for the porch lights.  I am not sure if I've messed something up with it or if the switch is bad.  Each time I connect the switch, the fuse blows.  I'm going to have to research that a bit.

I am anxious to get the inside insulated, but I'm going to slow down and focus on the electrical; it's not only the part of the project that makes me the most anxious; it's probably the most important part.  I won't be able to easily work on it once i cover the inside with insulation and carpet.

Lastly, I trimmed the cooler tray so that I could easily use the two 12 volt outlets.  I had made the cooler tray an inch too tall and it impeded the entry of the second 12 volt outlet.

 The battery meter is still not functioning properly.  I may have to purchase a new meter if I can't figure out what's going on with the one I have presently.

Now its time to do a little research on trailer wiring and how to fix the switch.

I ended the day with touching up all the paint and tidying up the wires a bit.  Tomorrow I hope to complete the trailer wiring and figure out the switch.  If I can get those two things done, I will install the Marinco power inlet 120 volt system.

On a side note, my wife crawled into the teardrop for the first time yesterday.  She was pretty psyched.  She's been investigating the body pillows and the mattress situation for me.  We planned to use our futon mattress, but we've decided not to do that.  It seems we can find some decent alternatives relatively inexpensively.  We are researching a bit more and we'll see where we come out.  I'm glad she's taking an interest in the project.  I cannot wait for our maiden voyage; whenever that may come!

Frustration.

Today was less than excellent.  I met with a lot of frustration today.

It started out pretty good; I got my new fish eye lens for my iPhone and I had a lot of fun making interesting images with it.  Here you can see that I was filling the holes and then re-painting the drawers and the counter trip piece.

One of the only things that did go well today is that I was able to wire up the fuse panel and all of the electrical fixtures, even the galley light, worked perfectly.

This is 'mid-wiring.'  I like how the steel box worked out as a cover for the two 12 volt outlets.

I took the fish eye inside and I could finally capture how huge the teardrop is inside!  That was meant to be funny; but it really is pretty spacious.  Here you can see what it looks like when I am leaning up against the bulkhead; which is where you'll find me reading when it's raining out.

Here you can see the full span of the interior.  

About the only thing that did go well today was that I figured out how to get the wires from the marker lights and the LED lights on each corner, to the back of the teardrop.  I ended up being able to use the PVC pipe I had from another project.  I used insulated pipe clamps to anchor the pipe to the frame.  Pulling the wires through it was a cinch.

I need to figure out a water tight way of bringing in the marker lights and the LED leads.  I'm thinking of putting a piece of threaded conduit in the wheel well in such a way that no moisture will make its way into the electrical area.  I'm going to need to think about that some more.  

One reader, Emmett, noted that the floor is bare wood.  It's actually marine plywood that has been treated, but I am planning to take the teardrop to have an undercoating applied to it; or possibly do it myself once I compare costs.  I appreciate the head's up.  I had it on my radar, but sure do appreciate the reminder.  I'll remove the spare tire, etc. before the undercoating is applied.  

Thinking back on the day and realizing that what frustrated me so much was not having all the supplies I needed to do the job.  I had to go to the hardware store four times today for various bits and pieces.  That always frustrates me.  I also ran out of wire; another thing I obviously needed.  Oh well, this is a short week and a long weekend.  I'm hopeful that next weekend I'll be able to finish the electrical and begin insulating the cabin. 

Finally, Some Progress I Can See!

My day started bright and early.  Went for a coffee and then dug right in.  Got the rest of the galley that had not been finished painted.

My second project was finding a way to mount the spare tire under the galley.  You can see the three bolts just in front of my drill.  I used rubber washers to hopefully keep any water from penetrating through the floor of the galley.

Three of the five bolts; should be plenty of support.

Next, I painted all the drawers and doors.  I started by painting them all blue.  I immediately regretted that decision.  I waited for them to dry and then painted them brown; which was my original plan.

The next project was to cut the hole for the Marinco power port entry.  I was very anxious about cutting the hole in the side of the wall.

There's the hole.  The problem I had to solve next was how to trim the wood on the inside so I could use the washer/nut that goes on the inside.  The walls were a little too thick.  I ended up using one of my sanding cylinders; that worked perfectly.

The port installed.

What it looked like from the inside.

Next project, install the gasket over the hinge. I taped it in place to get a feel for how large the gasket would be.

The sun was hot and it ended up helping me a lot because the gasket and the butyl tape heated up and made it easy to 'stick' in the right place.

I ended up adjusting the edges of the gasket a bit.  I bent the aluminum over the edge so that any rain would run off the drip edge.

I'm really happy with how this turned out.

Cabinets, drawers and doors, take two.

Not a good photo, but you can see how I mounted one of the four LED lights that will come on when the porch lights are lit.  Hopefully this will keep me from banging my shin into the corner at night.

Was able to install the galley light.  I really like that it is on a swivel.  That way you can aim it where you need it.

Was able to put in all the power receptacles and fixtures.  They are not connected yet; that's my big goal for tomorrow.

Close up of the spare tire mount.

The last major problem I solved today was one that had been causing me a lot of trouble.  I could not get the latch on the teardrop to connect.  I also could not figure out how to make the new handle work with the old fixture.  The first part, getting it to fit ended up being easy; I just bolted it in place.  The second part, getting it to work, not so much.  Because the latch is a blind connection (you can't see what's going on because the hatch is in the way) I could not figure out how to get the 'catch' to connect.  Then I had an idea:

I needed someone small enough to fit in the cooler slot so that when I closed the hatch they could see what was happening with the latch.  Jack just so happened to come out and ask if I needed any help.  Within twenty minutes, we had it fixed!  Now, the latch is installed and works perfectly!

As I mentioned before, tomorrow's goal is to get the electric completely done.  I'm going to go set my alarm.