Wiring for lighting & accessories - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Problem Solving | Owners helping each other
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-01-2014, 12:25 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Zardoz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Marana, Arizona
Trailer: 2018 Airstream Flying Cloud (Escape 19 & 5.0 previously)
Posts: 1,078
Wiring for lighting & accessories

I'm about to change a couple of existing light fixtures and add a couple of new ones (all LED) as well as add an additional 12V outlet. Is 18 AWG stranded speaker wire appropriate for these projects? All very short runs and will solder all connections. Thanks in advance for your replies!
Zardoz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2014, 01:35 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Phoenix Metro Area, Arizona
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19
Posts: 767
LED lighting - yes.

12V outlet - probably not, but it depends. See:
Amps and Wire Gauge - 12V Circuit
jamman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2014, 06:51 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
I used thermostat or bell wire for led lights but heavier for 12v outlets.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2014, 07:32 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Zardoz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Marana, Arizona
Trailer: 2018 Airstream Flying Cloud (Escape 19 & 5.0 previously)
Posts: 1,078
Thanks, guys. It'll be easy to tap into existing lighting wiring. Any idea where I can find access to an existing source for the additional 12V outlets? I want to put one in the small, upper compartment above the microwave and another near the stove. Thanks for allowing the follow-up question.
Zardoz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-01-2014, 07:36 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
cpaharley2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
In the 19 if there is a factory 12v by door you can get access to the rear, perhaps tap into that and run a lead thru the cabinet to the opposite wall? In the closet is the wire to the light in the bath, how about using that for an extra 12v? ETI uses pretty heavy wire to their lights.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
cpaharley2008 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 08:50 AM   #6
Commercial Member
 
tractors1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
Does ETI physically block off the cabinet outlets internally or are they in retail style plastic boxes? I'm adding an extra 12V outlet on my 21 above the nightstand with the hopes of tapping off the back side to install undercabinet LED strip lighting (with dimmer.) Should I try for a 12V "drop" there (just coiled up wires capped off) instead? Final build sheet due today!!!
__________________
Charlie Y

Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
tractors1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 09:50 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
DonF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Corinth, Mississippi
Trailer: 2014 19' Escape - 2023 JGC-L Summit
Posts: 193
Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1 View Post
Does ETI physically block off the cabinet outlets internally or are they in retail style plastic boxes? I'm adding an extra 12V outlet on my 21 above the nightstand with the hopes of tapping off the back side to install undercabinet LED strip lighting (with dimmer.) Should I try for a 12V "drop" there (just coiled up wires capped off) instead? Final build sheet due today!!!
I had ETI leave 12v drops in all the OH cabinets for "future" modifications of some sort. Sure glad I did as it made it much easier to add strip lighting in the cabinets.
DonF is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 09:56 AM   #8
Commercial Member
 
tractors1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
Thanks Don - exactly my plan. Wifey went bonkers when I added dimmable LED lights inside a kitchen cabinet with glass doors and now wants it everywhere!
__________________
Charlie Y

Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
tractors1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 10:24 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2013 15B
Posts: 124
We did the same thing and will be adding more.
__________________
Jim and Robin
15B
Jeep Liberty
JimJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 11:15 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
FMLNM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Trailer: none
Posts: 737
Someone once mentioned that the wiring for the lighting in the overhead cabinets runs in between the false floor of the cabinet and the true bottom of the cabinet...does anyone know how to remove the false floor to gain access to the wiring inside the cabinet?
__________________
Fran & Dave Albuquerque, NM
2013 to 2022 had a 2008 Escape 5.0 Classic
2011 Frontier Crew Cab Short Bed Pro4x
Sold both 7/22
FMLNM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 12:40 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2013 15B
Posts: 124
In our case, we had Rease install wire in each of the cabinets for future install of lights. The wire was coiled-up and available to us in each of the cabinets--not in any sort of false floor.
__________________
Jim and Robin
15B
Jeep Liberty
JimJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 03:29 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
FMLNM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Trailer: none
Posts: 737
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimJ View Post
In our case, we had Rease install wire in each of the cabinets for future install of lights. The wire was coiled-up and available to us in each of the cabinets--not in any sort of false floor.
That's certainly the way to do it if you buy new, but ours was purchased used so no option for that.
__________________
Fran & Dave Albuquerque, NM
2013 to 2022 had a 2008 Escape 5.0 Classic
2011 Frontier Crew Cab Short Bed Pro4x
Sold both 7/22
FMLNM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 04:10 PM   #13
Commercial Member
 
tractors1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
Fran, could always make a hole in the false floor to access the wiring, than put in a new false floor on top of the old one.
__________________
Charlie Y

Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
tractors1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 04:29 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Cochrane, Alberta
Trailer: 2008 Escape 17B
Posts: 226
Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1 View Post
Fran, could always make a hole in the false floor to access the wiring, than put in a new false floor on top of the old one.
Another option is to pull the 12 volt light fixture from underneath the cabinets to gain access to the 12 V wiring and then "fish" wires through to where ever you need to go to thru the existing hole for the fixture.
Buddy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2014, 05:48 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
dave macrae's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: St.Albert, Alberta
Trailer: 21 ft November 17th
Posts: 847
I am going to have ETI run power and ground wires into the over head storage bins and wardrobe so I can install lights later, really tired of holding a flashlight in my mouth while I dig around in these areas
__________________
MacRae, 21ft
2016 GMC Yukon SLT
St.Albert Alberta
dave macrae is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2014, 02:00 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 247
Quote:
Originally Posted by FMLNM View Post
Someone once mentioned that the wiring for the lighting in the overhead cabinets runs in between the false floor of the cabinet and the true bottom of the cabinet...does anyone know how to remove the false floor to gain access to the wiring inside the cabinet?
A really good question Fran. I'll ask it again, has anyone actually removed the floor in a cabinet to get access to the wiring? Of so how did you do it?

Dave
dave1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-31-2014, 05:35 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Vermilye's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Oswego, New York
Trailer: 2017 Escape 21C, 2018 Ford F150
Posts: 5,363
I didn't remove a section of floor to get at the wiring; just added new. I'm not sure how it would be possible to put back the flooring you removed - it looks to be continuous the length of the cabinets.

I ran #20 wire fused at 1 amp for the in cabinet lighting. Some cabinets already had 12V wiring which I tapped into. Others required runs, either from other cabinets or new. In all cases, the new #20 wire was run along the top edge inside the front of the cabinet, which was also the location of the LED strip lighting. I added a miniature toggle switch for each. Photos on my modifications page (scroll down to the end of the 2011 modifications).
__________________
Jon Vermilye My Travel Blog
Travel and Photo Web Page ... My Collection of RV Blogs 2018 F150 3.5EB, 2017 21
Vermilye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2014, 09:01 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 247
Jon,

Thanks for the reply. The floor of a cabinet does look well installed. I was hoping someone may have found a secret release spot..........insert small pry bar here and lift sort of thing.
No such luck, guess its fishin' a wire time.

Dave
dave1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2014, 11:36 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
MyronL's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
I really like that sensible little hot water-is-on LED mod of yours. Got to do that.
Attached Thumbnails
HotWatr.jpg  
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
MyronL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-01-2014, 02:10 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
7th Heaven's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: palo alto, California
Trailer: 2013 Escape 21 Classic #7
Posts: 314
. I think jim was the first to do that .. My LEDs and holders are on order for that project
__________________
7-7-7 Our Marriage
2013 Escape 21 Classic
2014 Sequoia
7th Heaven is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:14 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.