12v Power Access in 192RBS

Curious if you've figured this out. I'm the guy that asked about this over on the FR forum.

myredracer wrote:
Posting a photo of your ceiling in question might help. You could also come here (haha) or send me a PM if you are stuck. I'm an EE and installing wiring in a TT is pretty straightforward stuff.

Here are a couple of pics to illustrate where things are:
(1) I replaced the garnish on this vent above our bed before I remembered that I wanted to post a pic, but you can get the idea of where I need to go from this perspective:



This view looks laterally from the vent. When the garnish is removed, I can run my fish tape the 4' over to the wall in the "attic" between the ceiling and the roof. You can see just to the right of our draperies is the entertainment center. That vertical section just to the right of the drape is hollow and provides a cavity for the 12v power supply to the TV booster switch.

You can also see one of the LED ceiling light fixtures just to the right. But that fixture is on a switchable circuit controlled only by a paddle switch at the other end of the trailer by the entry door. No other 12v power is available in the area, unfortunately.

(2) This is a tight shot of the panel in question with the hollow area exposed by removal of the TV signal output and booster switch plate. The most available 12v power is from the 22AWG wires running to the booster switch circuit board:



Earlier today I called Coachmen's Owner Service Department and spoke with Steve Brandenberger to ask his advice in my proposed project. He confirmed that there is a rather small hole in the ceiling above that hollow area behind the panel in view. That hole is only large enough to allow a part of the wiring harness to go into the ceiling and then branch rearward over the refrigerator and thence down to our converter.

Since I cannot gain visibility upward to the ceiling behind that panel, he agreed that the only way to accomplish my task is to remove that panel (as SoundGuy suggested). I asked him about that task, and he said just do it very carefully.

Soooo, I reassembled my rig this afternoon to begin to load up our trailer for Saturday's departure. I will have more patience another day to "carefully" pull that panel to enable my project.

Meanwhile, if you want to drop on down to SE Texas and pull off this little challenge, I'll be glad to take you fishing in one of our bays or area lakes as "compensation!" ;)

myredracer wrote:
Running wiring through a ceiling cavity really isn't that hard to do and you shouldn't need to run surface Wiremold. Joists, AC units, skylights, etc. can be gotten over or around with coat hanger wire, and/or a fish tape. There may be insulation batts, joists and blocking for a roof vent that you have to get past and I've done it by bending the end of a fish tape and twisting it as I pushed the tape. Take down any lights, speakers, AC vents, trim around AC units & skylights, etc. to give access into the ceiling. If you have a surface-mounted light you can always make the hole in the luan a bit bigger. You might get lucky and find a spot where you can get a hand into the ceiling. If not, try exploring but pushing a wire up there and seeing if it is clear. You should definitely look for other wiring already up there. It's just laid across the joists and under the layer of insulation. If wiring is in the way, you *might* possibly find enough slack to push it to one side.
There's no reason why you can't relocate a light if needed to install a new roof vent.

You just need to find an un-switched source of power nearby. If you have a ceiling mounted light with an integral switch, that's your source. In some cases you can run up and down inside interior walls - if there is a switch, thermostat or receptacle, there is likely a hole in the top plate that should be large enough to fish low voltage wiring through.

I've run plenty of wiring through the ceiling space in 3 TTs - co-ax, HDMI, #14 to #10 romex and low voltage wiring and from one end to the other of the trailers. Never been stuck and not able to do it. A small area above a bed should be easy peasy. Photo below shows a project of mine in progress. My approach is any mods I do must look like they were factory done.

Posting a photo of your ceiling in question might help. You could also come here (haha) or send me a PM if you are stuck. I'm an EE and installing wiring in a TT is pretty straightforward stuff.

Thanks for the comprehensive post. I've also run lots of RG6, CAT 5/6, Romex & other stuff over the years, so fishing something to get where I need to go is the core of the issue here.

I'll try to get in there soon and snap a photo or two to better illustrate the situation. It really shouldn't be hard at all - assuming the previously described hollow area behind our entertainment center leads up to a hole in the ceiling that will allow me access in between the roof and ceiling.

I have already successfully run my fish tape above the ceiling parallel to a truss (fortunately aft of the area I need to get to) so that I can "feel" my tape just above that hollow area behind the panel in question (a picture will really help illustrate this better than all these words I'm throwing around!). It's a short run - just 4' - half the width of our 192RBS. But the issue is finding a hole in that ceiling (if it exists) that is immediately above the hollow area where I can see a "hoped for" run of 12v, 22 AWG wires feeding my TV booster switch. If I can get to that non-switchable power, I'm golden.

I prefer not to run wire mold, and my wife will either file suit or divorce me or murder me if I did so! (It's perhaps necessary in some applications, but I really think I'm close to solving this issue without using it.)

And to address your other observations about grabbing power from another location, everything is switchable power and therefore not suited for this application. Unfortunately our smoke detector that is nearby is battery powered, so forget that one.

Really appreciate your encouragement. I think with patience - and me being able to gain some visibility into that hollow area - upward - from behind my TV booster switch - this little project just might turn into a laughable memory at some point

Of course, Coachmen could have solved this problem by simply investing "maybe" $2.00 of 22 AWG positive and negative twisted copper wire into that roof vent when they built this thing. If so, my dog could have installed that fan by now!!

Not complaining too much, though - because we really have enjoyed this couple's camper. This weekend will be a short trip to Lake Livingston State Park. A typical short range, relaxing time for us. But, this September we are probably headed to Mount Rushmore. Everyone who has been there tells us we should go. Then a small possibility of at least heading from there in your general direction in BC to northwest Montana. Glacier National Park is calling my name. I think that 12v fan will come in very handy on that trip. Great sleeping with cool, fresh air . . .

Last Train wrote:
Sooo, I may not want to mess with disassembling that part of the cabinet before we head out again this weekend. Too much else to do this week other than RV stuff!

Long term I guess you probably do want to install a powered vent fan since you already have the vent hole to work with but in the short term any one of these fans would serve the purpose, just as it does mine. :)

Running wiring through a ceiling cavity really isn't that hard to do and you shouldn't need to run surface Wiremold. Joists, AC units, skylights, etc. can be gotten over or around with coat hanger wire, and/or a fish tape. There may be insulation batts, joists and blocking for a roof vent that you have to get past and I've done it by bending the end of a fish tape and twisting it as I pushed the tape. Take down any lights, speakers, AC vents, trim around AC units & skylights, etc. to give access into the ceiling. If you have a surface-mounted light you can always make the hole in the luan a bit bigger. You might get lucky and find a spot where you can get a hand into the ceiling. If not, try exploring but pushing a wire up there and seeing if it is clear. You should definitely look for other wiring already up there. It's just laid across the joists and under the layer of insulation. If wiring is in the way, you *might* possibly find enough slack to push it to one side.
There's no reason why you can't relocate a light if needed to install a new roof vent.

You just need to find an un-switched source of power nearby. If you have a ceiling mounted light with an integral switch, that's your source. In some cases you can run up and down inside interior walls - if there is a switch, thermostat or receptacle, there is likely a hole in the top plate that should be large enough to fish low voltage wiring through.

I've run plenty of wiring through the ceiling space in 3 TTs - co-ax, HDMI, #14 to #10 romex and low voltage wiring and from one end to the other of the trailers. Never been stuck and not able to do it. A small area above a bed should be easy peasy. Photo below shows a project of mine in progress. My approach is any mods I do must look like they were factory done.

Posting a photo of your ceiling in question might help. You could also come here (haha) or send me a PM if you are stuck. I'm an EE and installing wiring in a TT is pretty straightforward stuff.

SoundGuy, I recall seeing your fan solution in your gallery sometime in the past. Good workaround for the lack of a vent.

Skimping on RV manufacturing has been taken to a high art form, so maybe that's why we do so many mods!

I had a phone conversation earlier today with an "experienced" tech at our dealer. (Though I requested someone who was directly familiar with our model, that did not happen.) After stating my intent his answer, though well intentioned, was filled with way too many words like "probably," "should be," etc. in responding to my question about a hole in the ceiling above that hollow panel we have spoken of. He did give me the name and number of someone at Coachmen who might know the answer. We'll see.

Sooo, I may not want to mess with disassembling that part of the cabinet before we head out again this weekend. Too much else to do this week other than RV stuff!

Last Train wrote:
Have you considered opening up your roof for a ceiling vent on your 2014 model? At a minimum, the static ventilation for our unit has been a good thing. But penetrating your roof takes the project to a bit more challenging level. Certainly doable, though.

I have, and to that end my dealer provided a blueprint for my particular roof so I'd know where to best cut in a vent hole. A daunting task, but as you say certainly doable - however, I now probably won't bother as I find the 3-speed, reversible, twin fan I bought for $40 to hang over the street side bedroom window works just as well for moving air in or out of the trailer as the Fan-Tastic Vent Fan we had in our previous Spree.



It does obstruct the view out that window but there's little to look at on that side anyway once we're on-site so for me it's proven to be a much less costly and effortless solution than cutting a vent hole into the roof. Since then Coachmen has seen the error of their ways and now does provide a standard 14" square vent hole over the main cabin ... why they would not also supply +/- 12 vdc at that location with which to power a vent fan can only be described as "penny pinching", just as is their continuing refusal to properly support the fresh water holding tank, another issue I had to solve myself. :R

SoundGuy wrote:


That thin paneling on which the television wall plate is mounted is secured in place with just a few small staples so with a little care you should be able to remove it without much difficulty. That in turn would allow ready access for fishing wires up into the ceiling and over to the vent area.

Last night I took some time to examine how that panel is secured, and yes, I can confirm that small staples hold it in place. That's encouraging. I will still communicate with our dealer's tech to confirm I am on the correct path.

You may have seen part of the rig's wiring harness that runs vertically in a bundle behind that panel when you installed your accessories. Hopefully that's an indication that there is a sufficient opening in the ceiling above that hollow area to fish the power I need.

There is another 192RBS owner over on the Coachmen Forest River Forum who has a similar interest as mine and has faced the same challenge. Hopefully resolving this will help him as well as other owners. Have you considered opening up your roof for a ceiling vent on your 2014 model? At a minimum, the static ventilation for our unit has been a good thing. But penetrating your roof takes the project to a bit more challenging level. Certainly doable, though.

Last Train wrote:
However, some good news is that I already have run a fish tape above the ceiling over to the very top of that panel where it meets the ceiling. (If you remove the vent garnish you can see a truss running laterally across the ceiling/roof. And fortunately it does not interfere with getting to that hollow area behind that paneling.) But I don't know if there is access through the ceiling behind that panel above the hollow area.

My best skills are not in carpentry, and I don't want to damage any paneling or cabinetry in gaining access to that area. So I want to tread lightly there, especially since all of that stuff is understandably light weight and downright flimsy! Thoughts?

That thin paneling on which the television wall plate is mounted is secured in place with just a few small staples so with a little care you should be able to remove it without much difficulty. That in turn would allow ready access for fishing wires up into the ceiling and over to the vent area.

SoundGuy wrote:

RSD559 wrote:
In my two previous trailers, the lights were turned on at the light fixture. No wall switch. My new one has wall switches.

The cabinet wall on which the television wall plate is mounted is hollow and already does have wires running through it up to the ceiling area but easy access would require pulling that panel free in order to fish wires up into the ceiling. That wouldn't be difficult but I'd imagine that then fishing those wires across the interior of the ceiling to the vent area would be.

And that focuses on the challenge. However, some good news is that I already have run a fish tape above the ceiling over to the very top of that panel where it meets the ceiling. (If you remove the vent garnish you can see a truss running laterally across the ceiling/roof. And fortunately it does not interfere with getting to that hollow area behind that paneling.) But I don't know if there is access through the ceiling behind that panel above the hollow area.

My best skills are not in carpentry, and I don't want to damage any paneling or cabinetry in gaining access to that area. So I want to tread lightly there, especially since all of that stuff is understandably light weight and downright flimsy! Thoughts?