Cable routing - conduit fittings?

It looks like the exterior is wood frame with batt insulation? If the wiring doesn't need to be in an enclosed raceway for physical protection, you *could* cut a small hole behind the controller and fish wires up inside the wall cavity to at least the beside cabinet. If needed, cut another hole in cabinet part way up the wall to help fishing the wire up closer to the ceiling, the use a single gang blank cover plate over the hole. Same process for going down into the pass-through.

This way you will only see the controller on the wall. If concerned about the weight of it, attach it to the wall with Oscar rivets, aka blind rivets.

Thanks, I'll think about hole in the wall behind the controller.

Solar wires on bedroom wall (those hanging from cabinet above) are NOT a problem. Don't have the last photo now - I'm back North and trailer is in Mexico. Bear with me. Have already clipped solar wires underside of cabinet, out of sight, and then they drop down the corner of sloped wall (hidden in Cornermate Wiremold), then along the night table and up to controller. Battery cables come out of the hole in the night table (last photo, on the right), go along the table (in another Wiremold, those ducts look nice), and up to controller.

One puzzling detail is how to hide them where they enter the controller from the bottom or from the right side. If you look closely, on the last photo there is a heat sink at the back of controller, so the knock-outs are ~3" offset from the wall. Even with hole in the wall I have 3" of cables near controller - either solar or battery, or both.

Yes, this is wooden frame with insulation batts.

Now, about concentrating on fixing the box on the wall. Didn't want to start on this now, but since you asked ;) ...

This is 1/4" plywood, fiberglass insulation, and sometimes a stud if I get lucky. Controller - 9 lbs - is sitting on 2 screws #10 in the stud on the left, and on 2 rubber well nuts with machine screws #10 on the right (no stud there). Or would you suggest plastic anchors and tapping screws instead of well nuts?

Btw, well nut is a tricky thing, it pulls itself into the wall as soon as you remove the screw. One is already sitting there inside the wall, in the insulation somewhere. Had to put a big washer on the next well nut, so that it wouldn't escape.

Breakers box (2 lbs?) for now is attached with #8 tapping screws in 1/4" plywood, haven't decided on well nuts or plastic anchors. There are no studs nearby. I like well nuts as they "reusable" - I can remove the box for inspecting the contacts etc, without destroying plastic anchors or fragile wood.

If that's unfinished plywood in the compartment, you could glues a 1/2" or whatever backer plate (of plywood, normal wood, or whatever) to the 1/4" plywood and just use normal wood screws into that. Any decent wood glue or epoxy over a reasonably large area will support an enormous amount of weight (assuming proper application); the goal is to make a thicker thing to mount the box onto. I see westend said pretty much the same thing, now that I reread things....

Molly bolts are another option kind of similar to well nuts, but they won't remove themselves...nor can anybody else reasonably remove them, for that matter. You do need sufficient room in back of the panel for them to work.

I don't know why you'd ever have to remove the breaker box to inspect or work on things inside it. Everything is clearly in the open once the cover is removed.

Thanks. 1/4 plywood is "finished", sort of. A wallpaper, made of some synthetic film. Can probably glue a backer to it with panel adhesive, but then backer will become permanent, you can't remove it later without visual damage to the wallpaper. In the basement storage I might do this, nobody cares how it looks there.

I know your attributes from the installation of solar panel mounts, I'm sure you;ll get a handle on securing those boxes. For all intents, two #10 screws into a stud will support a lot of weight.

FWIW, I have my 32" screen w/ articulating bracket mounted onto a backer board with six #8 screws that are secured into the studs. It isn't going anywhere.

Is the wall paneling/plywood really 1/4"? I thought 1/8" is what is typically used. You might be able to pull the plywood off the forward wall of the pass-through if it's just stapled in place. I removed that piece in a previous TT and it peeled off in seconds. That could give you wiring access and a way to mount a backer board behind the paneling. Then use screws with finishing washers which will allow easy removal of the plywood in the future if needed.

Gluing something to the plastic coated (or whatever it is) luan may or may not work. I had poor success in another previous TT when trying to glue to it. I would try PL400 premium construction adhesive.

Liquid-tite conduit & fittings are not cheap and not readily available unless you go to a wholesaler. Why not use rigid PVC which would lighter too. They make pre-formed elbows or you can field bend PVC with a blow dryer.

myredracer wrote:
Is the wall paneling/plywood really 1/4"? I thought 1/8" is what is typically used. You might be able to pull the plywood off the forward wall of the pass-through if it's just stapled in place. I removed that piece in a previous TT and it peeled off in seconds. That could give you wiring access and a way to mount a backer board behind the paneling.

Yes, I think it's 1/4" plywood.

Not sure how easy would be pulling it off the wall. Probably doable. Plywood sheets in the pass-through storage are stapled to studs and covered with plastic wallpaper. Where 2 sheets of ply join each other on the wall, the wallpaper is overlapping on the seam. In the bedroom there is also wooden trim/angle where interior walls meet each other in the corners, this trim is also covered with plastic wallpaper.

As I recall, PL40 or similar adhesive was what people used to glue shelf supports to wallpaper in closets.

westend wrote:
I know your attributes from the installation of solar panel mounts, I'm sure you;ll get a handle on securing those boxes. For all intents, two #10 screws into a stud will support a lot of weight.

:)... No kidding. I could hang myself from those solar panel mounts.

But two #10 screws in stud are supporting only the left side of 9 lbs controller, not the top side. The right side is resting on 2 well nuts with #10 screws in 1/4" ply.

For a 2 lbs breaker box in basement pass-through space, since nobody can see it, I will slap a 1/2" or 3/4" plywood backer on 1/4" wall, and make this backer so wide so that it will be resting on #10 screws in studs. The trailer is getting heavier and heavier.