Trailer Projects: Lights, Dining Area

[Feds]

With the trip to Elora looming, it was time to get the trailer more towable, and more campable. I started by checking the lights, only to find that the weren't working.

A little investigation found A couple of problems: First, whoever installed the last set of lights couldn't wire worth a damn, and second, The left rear corner of the trailer had seen some pretty serious leaking at some point in the last 37 years.



Above you can see the leak "repair". Also notice the white wire, and what it is connected to. This is the ground for the lights. My suspicion is that it was tucked against the sheet metal somehow, and worked its way loose. Either way, this is the root cause of the non-op trailer lights.

The right rear had the same ground setup (a little bare wire left to touch the sheet metal), so I had to get a ground wire over there, without disturbing too much trim. To achieve this, I looped one of the existing wires to a piece of string, and taped it off to prevent it from snagging. I then pulled the wire back to the open corner, tied the new ground to it, then used the string to get the two wires back where they belong.



Further investigation suggested that the original grounding strategy from the factory was to use the trailer skin as a ground, as all of the clearance lights were set up that way. Well, not good enough for me, so I found a convenient cross bar under the trailer, and drilled up through it, and through the floor. I then sent a machine screw through the hole to use as a grounding stud. Tough to see in the picture, but the floor is a little soft, and even though I used a pretty big washer, it still sunk in. More mono-foam repair is visible as well... At least this area is at the bottom of a storage nook, so I don't have to look at it while I figure out a proper fix. The second wire coming to the stud actually connects to the upper skin of the trailer to ground the clearance lights.



As you could see in the first picture, the wood that was supporting the original square lights was pretty much rotted out. I took a little short cut replacing it, and just cut it back to where there was decent wood left, and used some plumbers tape to get new supports in there. This is midway through before properly routing the wires:


You may have noticed that the new lights poke into the wood of the trailer, whereas the old lights didn't. Well, since I was fixing, I figured I go for something a little more stylish. Original replacement light:



New replacement light:



This actually created a problem for me on the left side, as the square light had a built in licence plate holder and light... To solve that, I cut some tin to make the plate holder, and stuffed it and a beehive lamp behind the trim. I painted the beehive black, then cut out the bottom to make it shine on the plate:



That's it for lights. Problem the first with the dining area was a wobbly leg on the table. Screws + pressboard = not good. So, I removed the leg, glued and screwed a piece of cedar I had kicking around over the original mounting location, then mounted the leg to the cedar. Of course, I had to trim the leg by the thickness of the cedar to make the table level.



As you can see, the cushions that came with the trailer were pretty grungy. I originally intended to spend a lot of time and money reupholstering the inside, but being laid off put the kibosh on that plan. So, to make the dining area more comfortable, I hit up the local walmart, and bought 4 cushions that are meant for patio furniture. They fit pretty well, brighten the place up hugely, and were not terribly expensive. They're actually fairly comfortable as well.

Before:


After:


Bed mode:

[xrover]

Mines at 47 years old.........welcome to the "they made them like this?" club. It's pretty amazing how simplistic travel trailers are made and why they rarely survive this long and any crash. Basic 1/8" - 1/4" plywood on a minimal frame and covered with some sort of skin. The good news is the basic frame held up pretty good since they rarely saw winters, and they were so open underneath that things didn't get built up.
As for mine, she's like a 47 year old hooker slightly past her prime (sorry ladies for the analogy). She's got some great makeup on her, but when you get under the covers, then the horror begins!
As I have stated elsewhere, I plan to do a rebuild on her using the old wood as a template, and reskin with the same aluminum. So right now I am patching and found that almost 1/2 of the rear panel is missing the exterior wood. It is aluminum, open space, and then 1/8" plywood on the inside. Oh well. She'll be back to her former glory next year.
Good luck on your build. Nice job on the cushions!
Len

[Bow_Tied]

Yeah, I hear that. 50 years here but most of the "WTF?" stuff I have encountered has been previous owner stuff. For example, I have a few strands of house wire (solid) I need to replace at some point with stranded. The previous owner put down 1/4 plywood over top of the original floor (incl tiles) in 10" wide strips and then put carpet/underpad on top. I am not a carpet fan, especially in a camper. There is a 2.5" hole in the floor near the rear bunk


Good work in the wiring upgrades. I was doing wiring on Sunday myself, getting the kitchen light on it's on switch.

Question on your taillight change - you went from rectangular to round, recessed. I was wondering if the rectangular lights by design projected light to the side of the trailer, and if so, have you reduced the side visibility lighting? If you have rear side marker lights, then I would think this is a non-issue. Wish I could check it out at Elora.... it is coming along nicely.

Question for you two trailer guys - is your interior lighting 120V, 12V or a mix? Mine is all 120V and I think I'd prefer it to be all 12V....

[xrover]

Right now my interior is all 120v but I plan to run some 12v stuff to it. I do however have a Noma 400W powerpack that I plug into my trailer and that goes well for the lighting. I have changed all the bulbs to compact flourescents as well. I should have no problem running the lights and the tunes from that source for a weekend. On the TTT forum, a few guys have made mixed lights where they take a conventional light, wire in a 12v socket and then run them in parallel so it's always the same light fixture, just different power source. I find 120v provides a better spread of light however 12v are much more efficient. You get a 400w light panel and a deep cycle battery and you'd be good for a while.
I was looking into gas lights as well, but they generate a lot of heat and why have another open flame in the trailer.
My fridge is a 3 way so it will run propane although I think it needs some work. I'll be testing it this weekend on propane as I have only had it running from 120v.
If anyone is interested there is a nice 13' scotty (like mine but without the bathroom (has a small closet) listed for $1295 US and appears to be in very decent shape. It's in CT so some travel involved, but there aren't many around here in that condition for that price. I've asked the owner for some more info (I am buying some original hubcaps from him).
Len

[Bow_Tied]

Thanks Len. I meant to ask about CFLs too - I wondered if they would take the vibration of travel? I have already put in 3 of 4 and plan to change the last once this weeekend. I would love to have a gas light - but not to actually use it, I just hink they are cool / neat. The heat would be too much in the summer, although welcome if camping early/late season.

Do either of you guys have a propane/CO2 detector?

[Feds]

Question on your taillight change - you went from rectangular to round, recessed. I was wondering if the rectangular lights by design projected light to the side of the trailer, and if so, have you reduced the side visibility lighting? If you have rear side marker lights, then I would think this is a non-issue. Wish I could check it out at Elora.... it is coming along nicely.

Honestly, I never thought about the side visibility... I do have reflectors down low, and marker lights up top, but you are right, I've probably reduced it somewhat.

Question for you two trailer guys - is your interior lighting 120V, 12V or a mix? Mine is all 120V and I think I'd prefer it to be all 12V....

All my interior lighting is 120v on romex household wiring. I am working out the best way to add some 12v to the mix, whether by adding an inverter to power the lights, or piggybacking on what is there. It will wait a little, as I won't do the 12v system until I have a 7 prong plug in the truck.

Also, good idea on the CO2 detector. Once I figure out how to work the heater, I'll be adding one of those for sure.

We've run gas lights in the cottage for years. The quality of light is not great, and you'd probably destroy the mantel any time you moved the trailer. But the hiss of a gas light is a direct link to my childhood.

[xrover]

The hiss and dad pumping the tank!
A detector for sure, and potentially even put an escape hatch. Later year Scotty's have a swingout window in the back. I know my boys would get out, but I'd still roast like a pig. My a$$ let alone shoulders, and maybe even the gut, won't make it through that.

Do a search on running 12v and 120v wiring. Some folks use these kinds of 30amp panels.
http://www.iotaengineering.com/idp30.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another idea I saw was someone bought some cheap 12v lighted accessories, removed the guts, and then mounted them beside a 120v light socket. They ran separate wires, but in this way they were able to use the same light fixture regardless of the source. You should subscribe to http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; as there are a ton of ideas and it's not just about teardrops on there. It is a Teardrop and Tiny Trailer forum.

Len

[Bow_Tied]

Honestly, I never thought about the side visibility... I do have reflectors down low, and marker lights up top, but you are right, I've probably reduced it somewhat.

If you have lit markers up top I am sure you are fine.

All my interior lighting is 120v on romex household wiring.

Really? I was told that like a car, all trailer wire should be stranded to better handle vibration. If your trailer is all romex, maybe the strands of romex I have are fine. I agree the stranded might be better, but man, I'd think the solid 14/2 would stand up a long time, no? Maybe worrying about nothing...