Mounting Electrical Parts on Front Storage Area Wall

[itat]

When the Rockwood factory wired the 12V lines in my 5er they connected all the positive feed wires (and the external “solar prep” plug) to the load side of the battery disconnect switch. There are 4 wires in total. I plan to move those wires off the switch and connect them to a Blue Sea Systems common 150A bus bar rather than having them connected to the one side of the disconnect switch. I’ll also replace the factory disconnect switch with a Blue Sea Systems m-Series 6006 ON-OFF switch that I had on my previous TT.

So I have a couple questions:

1) What are people using to mount electrical parts on the rear wall of the front storage area where the battery is? (I don’t know what that divider is made of.)

2) What gauge of wire should I use between the battery and the switch and the bus bar? I will never be boondocking as my DW refuses to camp without an electric hookup. I’m thinking of just using one gauge thicker wire than the factory used.

Any other comments/suggestions are welcome but remember I’m not trying to setup for a future solar installation here. My goal is just to tidy up the wiring a bit.

[itat]

[kcmusa]

you should find some pictures of what people have dome, I have seen them here. Some mount a plywood base and then mount the fuse and buss bar. I used a waterproof plastic case on my travel trailer up front on the exterior.

wire size, well I would say the minimum would be 4ga, thats good for 70 amps. can you determine how many amps you will be pushing through?

[kcmusa]

found my picture.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by itat

When the Rockwood factory wired the 12V lines in my 5er they connected all the positive feed wires (and the external “solar prep” plug) to the load side of the battery disconnect switch. There are 4 wires in total. I plan to move those wires off the switch and connect them to a Blue Sea Systems common 150A bus bar rather than having them connected to the one side of the disconnect switch. I’ll also replace the factory disconnect switch with a Blue Sea Systems m-Series 6006 ON-OFF switch that I had on my previous TT.

So I have a couple questions:

1) What are people using to mount electrical parts on the rear wall of the front storage area where the battery is? (I don’t know what that divider is made of.)

2) What gauge of wire should I use between the battery and the switch and the bus bar? I will never be boondocking as my DW refuses to camp without an electric hookup. I’m thinking of just using one gauge thicker wire than the factory used.

Any other comments/suggestions are welcome but remember I’m not trying to setup for a future solar installation here. My goal is just to tidy up the wiring a bit.

1) most dividers are basically "door skin" plywood which is somewhere around 3/16 " thick and really not good for mounting much of anything.

In my TT I mounted my bus bars, solar controller and DC-DC battery charger (for charging my Battleborn Lithium batteries from my Tow Vehicle 12 V wire) on some 3/4" cabinet grade particle board and replaced the front panel in my compartment. When I needed to mount catastrophic failure fuse and switch I only had room on another "Door Skin" panel so I used some gorilla glue and fastened a piece of 1x6 to the panel to hold switch and fuse holder.

Here's a pic. The fuse holder is to the left of the switch and the pos terminal of second battery is just below it.



Here's a view before I added the DC-DC charger:





2) Since you are re-wiring and changing size I'd strongly recommend using battery cable which is usually #6 AWG. Place your batteries, fuse holder, switch, and such, then measure and purchase cable that covers the distance with the wire routed so you can secure it out of the way.

I wired mine with #4 AWG welding cable and bought a crimp/cutter tool set on Amazon for ~$30. Also bought connectors to fit stud size and the #4 wire. Made my own cables that are just the right length and for a lot less than buying made up cables off the rack at an Auto Parts store.

BTW, the Solar Controller and DC-DC charger are mounted on spacers to allow air circulation behind. Both can heat up noticeably when running "flat out" so I decided to isolate a little from the wood surface--------- just because.