Suggestions for RV panel install, long run

Stoic_J wrote:
OK, got the conduit yesterday, hoping to get the wire I need today. Lowes has #4 copper by-the-foot for $.91 and there's a 10% Pro discount the next 2 days, but only black was in stock. Rolls are much better priced, and available in black/red/white, but we're talking 500 feet per. Might hit a handful of stores and see what comes up.

Curious what prices per foot are you finding? Looks to me like the going price today is over a buck a foot for #4 THHN copper. That's going to be around a kilobuck for 240'! Ouch. And there's conduit on top of that.

Note that you don't have to buy two #4 in black and one in white. You can re-identify the neutral with some white electricians tape on each end. Might be able to get a little better pricing on all black (need the ground in green of course). The thing about buying long runs of wire like that is not buying an excessive amount, but if you come up short, you are scr*wed. 250' is a common length in rolls.

What size conduit did you get? You should be able to pull 3-#4 + ground into 1" but at 240' would be a real challenge. 2" thin wall DBII PVC conduit is cost effective sometimes. Don't know about today's prices, but it used to be cheaper than the next size up from 1" sched. 40 PVC and makes pulling much easier.

Another option would be to buy individual #4 wire that is rated for direct burial. Then you can use cheap poly water pipe for conduit. That is done sometimes and meets code.

For pulling 240' wire that gauge, you'll want some pulling socks, nylon rope and some liquid dish soap. You might want to leave the vertical bends off if you can for pulling to reduce the tension required. Might be able to pull it by hand if fairly straight. There are online calculators for pulling tension.