Sky Deck Renovation

Sky Deck wrote:
Haven't run out of steam. Waiting on a plumber to rough in the new bathroom for me.

Also thinking seriously about upgrading from 30 to 50 amp. That decision will be influenced by what I could do with solar... specifically what all I could reliably run off batteries. I'm trying to get educated on amps, volts and watts, and I'm sure I can master it eventually. But lately I'm so busy with work I just don't have the mental bandwidth to really dig in and learn it. It's got to be one of the most daunting learning curves I've ever faced. I've read and watched some very good tutorials that try to make this simple to the non-electrician/engineer. It all makes sense at first blush, but then I get confused again... could it be any less intuitive and easy? It's amazing what all you take for granted when you are permanently hooked up to a power line. Anyone have any advice on this?

I'm guessing you're really skilled at design and planning and maybe just need help on the installation nuances.
Yeah, figuring out the electrical in an RV has to be addressed before walls and paneling go up or cabinets and fixtures are attached. It helped me to break it down into the two systems, 120V and 12V and do each one independently. The 12V went in first and was married to the converter. In my lucky case, I was using AGM's in a bank close to the interior location of the batteries. That means short wire runs and I was able to locate all of the important DC stuff, the AC load center, and the solar stuff all in a centralized location.
You are probably keeping the load centers,DC distribution panel, and most of the wiring as it exists (with the exception of future solar). If you aren't adding too many more devices like fans, heaters, electric blankets, CPAP machine, etc., there won't be a need for any more circuit breakers. The job then becomes where to connect and distribute what you have.
I ran my DC and AC into separate junction boxes in the ceiling and hung a light fixture with removable plate underneath. That allows me to get back into any of the circuits, if necessary. I also located a 1" conduit, empty, in the rafters for any future expansion. You could do the same in a wall cavity.
I upgraded 30 amp AC to 50 amp. The shore power cord was the most expensive part of the upgrade. Why not have it available, you can always use an adaptor to hook to 30 amp?

Solar is the shiz. I wouldn't have an RV without it now that I've harvested light. :B I run a 120v fridge through an inverter, along with my entertainment gear and anything else I want to run. I don't use hair dryers, coffee makers, or any other higher-watt devices so my system is sized accordingly. The first thing about planning any solar installation is to estimate the amount of power you're going to need. Here's a good downloadable calculator: spread sheet calculator for solar and batteries. If you can locate where the panel wiring will be located while you're restoring, it will be easier running it now than later. You'll want the controller and sundry fusing/switching located as close to the batteries as possible. This goes for inverters too. Power output will be better when making DC runs as short as possible. Use heavy wire. I ran 4 AWG from the roof combiner box to the controller. All of my solar switching and battery connections are #4 except for one 6' run from an additional battery bank. That is #1 welding cable.
Jack's Golden rules of solar

Hope this helps.