Hello all. I am new to all travel trailer everything. We are selling our house and we bought an old 1971 RV. Thought it would be easy to fix up. But Has been so difficult. We cannot understand these wires they have in here. We can plug in to an RV location, and things work. We hooked up propane and fridge and stove work. We have plenty of recourses to live off without plug in but cannot seem to hook anything up. We’ve been without power and water for sometime. We have solar panels, a solar generator a deep cycle marine battery and cannot at all hook any of them up to the trailer. All brake lights, turning lights etc work, and I’ve connected Solar to battery and that’s it. Please please someone help. If you can that would be amazing. Thanks all ??

Do you have a multimeter that you can use? Typically you can pick up a cheap meter at HarborFreight for about $8. A meter would make it much easier to see if there is power in the battery and where that power stops before you can use it in the trailer.Check on the tongue of the trailer and follow the wires from the battery positive post to where it goes into the trailer. Is there a fuse or a small metal box (circuit breaker) on that wire? If so you need to see if the power is getting through it. Check that the battery negative post is connected to the trailer frame.

There should be a converter with a 12-volt DC distribution panel. It is commonly located behind metal plate adjacent to the 120-volt AC circuit breakers.That is where the majority of the 12-volt electrical comes to gether.

Learning is hard sometimes. Your 115 volt outlets will only work when trailer is plugged into external power. The rest of the trailer runs on 12 volt or gas. The fridge may or may not. Older trailers did not come with inverters to make 115 volts when not plugged into external power. It sounds like it is working the way it should. What are you trying to do differently?

Hi thank you for taking the time to help so yes I have a multi meter, and see the fuse panel but the wiring is something else in there. I’ve tried all the wires into the fuse panels but nothing worked. So I unplugged them. I followed the wires from outside and connected frame negative to Meg battery still nothing. I will try multimeter way to see where I’m not getting power. And yes learning is very hard sometimes. I was trying to lean by trial and error but I think I’ve tried almost everything. I will try and post pictures because sometimes I cannot explain what I’m trying to say.

There should be a fuse adjacent to the battery. It should or could be by where the umbilical cord connects to rig's wiring and battery along frame ril.

Travel Trailer electrical | Good Sam Community

Bobbo
Explorer II
Jun 26, 2023
Is there a battery disconnect switch?
enblethen
Nomad
Jun 26, 2023
Did you look around the battery, umbilical cord and rig's internal wiring near the tongue for a fuse or circuit breaker? Sometimes they are hidden in small 4x4 box.
Your photos didn't come through for me!
enblethen
Nomad
Jun 30, 2023
Are you making any headway?
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jun 30, 2023
enblethen wrote:
Are you making any headway?

Good that you’re checking in on the girl/feller. But this thread smells kinda like the new one in class C forum does. No offense to them but tape on air cleaner lid, custom foil wrapping and fresh green paint on an old rusty chassis, Nevermind the ambiguity, all sound a little tweaky…
Who “sells” their house and “moves” into a half derelict 52 year old camp trailer? Before getting it working nonetheless?
Thith repair may be a little methy too…
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jun 30, 2023
One of the handiest tools in my electrical tool box is an automotive test light

Most auto parts and hardwares have 'em

They look like an old fashion ice pick but the handle will be clear plastic (or tinted) with a light bulb inside and a wire with a clip on the end.

You ground the clip and probe for power BRIGHT = GOOD Dim or Dark = Bad
(yes I had dim once. quickly found the problem and excised it)

In addition to the test light I suggest round 25-50 feet of flexible wire 18-20 Ga is enough. PUt a ring terminal on one end (hole big enough for the test light clip to grip it) and a clip like the one on the test light on the other end.

if there is no known good ground near where you are probing.. use the spool of wire to go back to the battery negative

To test blade fuses (This shows how handy this is) Leave them right where they are and prove the two small windows one on each end on top

BRIGHT-BRIGHT = Good
DARK - Dark = no power to fuse no test
Dark - Bright or Bright Dark = Blown fuse

Now that was fast. you could check dozen fuses in the time it took to type this and I type fast.
ktmrfs
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2023
1971 trailers, rv's didn't offer much in the way of 12V electrical. More than likely either the RV is bare bones and not much on 12V or Previous owner(s) added updates and who know (a) what the are (b) how well the were installed

likely going to take some digging to see what you have, what of it works and what fixing options you have.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jul 04, 2023
It’s ok. They probably got it “drugged” back to Portland where someone can fix up that old school glass fuse panel with a small piece of previously enjoyed tin foil….

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