Complete Rewire Wire Size
Hi all, I feel pretty competent about this since I am a journeyman electrician and I have good experience with 12v wiring. Its just that I have never rewired a travel trailer, just class B RVs. All...
Forum Discussion
Remember that ampacity for wiring is independent of voltage, so even at 12v the max for #14 is 15a, 20a for #12 and 30a for #10, etc.
Most of the lighting in my TT is all #12, mostly white zip cord with a red tracer on one conductor for polarity. All of the lighting is #12 wire. Example: there are 4 fixtures in the slideout, total of 7 bulbs (1.2a) with potential total draw of around 8.4a. From the fuse panel, it's about a 25' run to the first fixture the way the wire is run. Then 13' down the slide to the last fixture. As it is, if you turn on all 4 fixtures, you can see the first 3 dim slightly when the 4th is turned on. Problem is gone now that I have LED bulbs that draw a fraction of the current.
12v is lot more sensitive to voltage drop over a run than 120v is...so when you choose your wiring size, consider the distance to the source as well as the load. Note the numbers in the table below are the maximum run distances at load and wire gauge to maintain acceptable voltage drop.
Most of the lighting in my TT is all #12, mostly white zip cord with a red tracer on one conductor for polarity. All of the lighting is #12 wire. Example: there are 4 fixtures in the slideout, total of 7 bulbs (1.2a) with potential total draw of around 8.4a. From the fuse panel, it's about a 25' run to the first fixture the way the wire is run. Then 13' down the slide to the last fixture. As it is, if you turn on all 4 fixtures, you can see the first 3 dim slightly when the 4th is turned on. Problem is gone now that I have LED bulbs that draw a fraction of the current.
12v is lot more sensitive to voltage drop over a run than 120v is...so when you choose your wiring size, consider the distance to the source as well as the load. Note the numbers in the table below are the maximum run distances at load and wire gauge to maintain acceptable voltage drop.
