Well here is an up date on the work I have been doing to DDH. I will be mounting a generator in the front in the void under the drivers area. It will be one of the finale things I do, at the RV shop where I have the bus. I will have to build a frame to hold the generator, that I can attach to the frame of the bus. I will also have to hang or attach a gas tank, as my bus is diesel. The generator was propane but "MIKE" could not find a part for it so it well have to be gas.
It was a pain to run this simple wire. First I had to go buy it. I'm not real knowledgeable about the electrical stuff, that is why it is over at the RV place trying to get "Mike" to help. He sent me to get what he said was number 4 wire metal covered. That is like the stuff I attached previously that went from the breaker box to the junction box for the 30 amp cord.
I went to Lowe's and Home Depot and could not find it, and Mike would not answer his phone so I could ask him what he was talking about. I had to drive back to the shop and talk to some other guy about the wire, and he told me to get 12/3 with a ground. I did and came back and ran the wire. only to discover that is was the wrong size wire. I had to take it out and return it. They did not have what I needed so I had to go to a electrical supply "City Electrical" in Pasadena and they made me a great deal on the wire. Uh I think its 6. I could be wrong. All I know it is enough to handle 50AMP.
Anywho here is the pics and some explanation.
I don't why I did not take a pic of it, but I used the devices that held other hoses and wires to hold this wire. I also used zip ties to keep the wire in place. I drilled a hole in the front of the storage bay and ran the wire along the top along the MC wire from the breaker box. I will be attaching a 50 AMP female plug there.
WORK ON 11/08/11 "I NEVER HATED MY BUS UNTIL TODAY" I ALSO PUNCHED MY BUS IN ANGER.
I know that sounds strange but I was really frustrated doing this.
I wanted to pre-wire and cut the inner sheet metal for my AC's. For the first or front AC I chose the area close to the front. There is a vent there and it allows rain to leak in when it rains and the wind blows hard. I also want one there because it will be cooling the driver and passenger area when traveling. The other will be near the rear, and that should cool the the sleeping areas.
I only got one pre-wired, and here is why. After measuring and cutting the first opening ( I used a grinder with a grinding wheel), and used a hole saw to cut a hole behind the wire chase. I wanted to run the wire inside the roof, between the inner and outer layer, and run the AC wire through the wire chase to the breaker box. I used a fish tape and it got stuck. It took me 45 min to dislodge the fish wire. Then when I finally got the fish wire from point A to B, and tried to pull the wire through it pulled the freaking insulation all the way down to the side. After attempting to correct that and pulling violently to try and pull the wire through. I somehow grabbed the 12v wire to my interior passenger lights and pulled it out of the light, and down to the side. I now have no operational interior passenger lights. I did eventually find the 12v wire and fish it back to the light, but for some reason it is shorter that it was before. ahhhhhhhhh.
There is several supports in the roof structure of my bus that I did not know were there. I have heard of people replacing their roof insulation with board type insulation by pulling it through the outer and inner layers of the roof. You could not do that with my roof. starting from where I cut the opening for the AC unit. about 12 inches along the top to the side is a support that runs from front to back in between the roof support ribs and is welded to the support ribs. Then where the roof curbs to meet the side of the bus is another cross member that runs along the curb and is about 6 inches wide (if you see the pics and see where the seat belt is attached to the roof, the bracket is about as wide as the cross member.) Then there is a support about 4in before the wire chase.
What I thought was going to be a 45 min to 1 hr thing took all freaking day. (5hrs).
You should see my hands, from having to stick my fingers in the openings and feel around to find 12v ripped out interior wires, to trying to locate supports and feed wire around the supports, it looks like I shook hands with Freddy from nightmare on elm street. ahhhhhhh.
Like I said, at one point I got so flustered I actually punched the roof of my bus. It did not help the situation, but it made me feel better. Anyway here are some pics.
Above is the stained area where the vent is located. if you look really hard. you can see what looks like two stripes on each side of the stain. I thought they were supports and they were exactly 14in apart. The exact size of the opening for the AC unit. I thought great, I cut it here and use these supports for good structure to hold my AC. Well they are not supports. apparently they are adhesive strips to hold the thin layer of fabric in place in that area of the roof to prevent insulation from falling through.
This is what the vent looks like on top. I will be cutting this out and placing the AC here.
I had measured and marked the area to be cut.
First cut made with a metal grinder. I did not want to cut through both layers at this point.
This is what it looked like after removing the metal.
After cutting and removing the insulation.
Here is the wire ran. on the right edge of the pic you can see where the wire comes out of the chase and goes down to the breaker box. You can also see the seat belt bracket, and get an idea about the side support.
I wanted to bring the wire out where I drilled the first hole. That is where the paint goes from white to primer, and it looks like an upside down U. but between that and the hole right above is a support, as well as between the second and third hole. that is why the wire is coming out of the third or top hole. This will all be covered by my upper cabinets eventually.
****WARNING****
THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE GRAPHIC IN NATURE, AND MAY UPSET SOME VIEWERS. PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN VIEWING, AND COVER THE EYES OF SMALL SENSITIVE CHILDREN.
What you are viewing are medical pics of my colon exam.
I think I need some help.
Really this is the area between the upper roof and lower roof. Just thought I would share.
ITS NOT REALLY MY COLON.
Anywho, What a pain in the butt. I apologized to my bus for striking her, and promised I would not do it ever again, ( I had my fingers crossed). I did not get to even start on the other AC opening so that is what I will probably be doing next Tuesday.
Until next time.....
