30 amp Electrical connection

Today the weather still was not cooperating for outside tasks.  With that said I decided to cut in the shore power inlet and the water panel.  A 30 amp weather proof  plug was purchased from a Marine outlet.  Along with a 50 foot cord prewired with weatherproof ends.  To insure that the hole needed for the power inlet was in the correct place, I marked it from the inside on the wall of the trailer.  The water panel was marked the same way.  The water panel is lockable so noone can tamper with our water supply, and it had provisions for a city water hookup and a fill nozzle for the tank side.  The onboard water tank will follow but is only 20 gallons, which should be enough for 2 showers and some dishes.

The electrical plug is going to be hardwired with 10 gauge wire to a 45amp charger/converter, which I will outline when I get to that point.

Bear Lighting System

My wife really wants to see a Grizzly Bear while we are in YellowStone.  And I want to be able to see if a bear is waiting outside the door BEFORE I open it.  So 4 High Intensity Halogen lights were installed today.  Wiring has been run inside so the lights can be activated by a switch. 

Provisions have been made for a 12 volt Motion Sensor light to be installed later on in the build.

Also there is a window that will be put in the door as soon as the weather clears.  It measures 18 X 22 inches and has a full screen

I have decided to use Dow 1 inch foam board to insulate the trailer.  The walls are all sealed with the foam board and then any gaps are finished off with "Great Stuff" expanding foam.  This keeps the foam board in place and ads approximatly a R=5.5 insulation factor.  Which does not seam like much, but I believe it will keep the 15000 BTU air conditioner from working over time.  And it will cut down on the outside noise transfer.

The ceiling will have a different setup.

I will be using the 1 inch Foam board PLUS a thermal radiant barrier that will make the overall insulation factor about R-22.  The barrier material has been used by us in Radiant floor heating systems and it has proved its performance.

End of February and it finally snows.

Well now that I was set to get working on the trailer it SNOWS, hard. We have about 10 inches and it is still coming down. Sooooo I am going to change the plan today. I was set to run the 110 volt wiring under the trailer alomg with the TV cable and Cat-5 cables.
BUT I am going to get the insulation finished on the walls.
On the interior I am using Dow 1 inch high density foam insulation. I am also using "Great Stuff" to seal any areas that the foam doesn't cover well enough. The foam is rated at an R-6.5 factor with a 3/4 air space. I have about 1/2 air space so it is probibly close to 5.5 I guess. It will help the 15,ooo BTU AC unit keep it cool, and deaden the sound inside.

The reason for this blog.

We are going to haul our Harley across country this summer.

My wife, Tina, and I enjoy camping in our 34 foot fifth wheel. Well it is more luxurious than the days we spent backpacking and canoeing, but still camping. We can not get the Harley in the fifth wheel so we needed to find a way to haul it and be able to camp it across the country.

We are not ready to part with the 5th wheel yet so we decided to get a cargo trailer and convert it to a camper/ toy hauler.

We purchased a Haulmark FVN 7X22 for the conversion. Here is what it looks like: