Power cords

[Seann45]

I have never liked the power cords you slid through the wall of the RV. So the other day I finally went out and made mine a detachable. At the same time I put my portable surge guard as a hard wired inside the RV http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/portable-surge-guard/2279
was always nervous that it would disappear..
The old hole that the cable ran through is now my inputs for my hidef sat dish and my satellite internet service.

[Spike99]

Cool mod. I like it.... If my Jayco was being towed (instead of at its current Seasonal site), I'd probably apply this mod to it as well. You do great work.

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[Seann45]

Thanks... more mod photos coming... solar stuff and power vents

[av8arkie]

I loved my hide a cord on my old 5'er. We now have the detachable cord and it seems like its gonna be a pain to schlep it around to plug in? To each his own I guess. Nice work anyway!

[Seann45]

I loved my hide a cord on my old 5'er. We now have the detachable cord and it seems like its gonna be a pain to schlep it around to plug in? To each his own I guess. Nice work anyway!

Mine was always getting tangled up in the hideehole. getting shorter and shorter.

[obrienj]

Seann,

Could you post a parts list and source specifically for the new socket for the trailer and the plug on the end of the cord?

The power cord on my new 23' G2 Jayflight seems to be designed to get stuck and usually at an inopportune time.

Regards,
Jim

[Bob Landry]

Plug # 305CRPN

Inlet # 301EL-B

Marinco Numbers.

[obrienj]

Bob,

Thanks for the info.

Another question. I'm accustomed to using 3M sealants on a boat I owner a few years ago.

What sealants are generally used to seal around exterior wall fittings and, if different, external roof fittings on a RV?

Regards,
Jim

[clutch]

Until this trailer we have always had power cords that were just pushed or pulled to use and put away. I don't like this cord that I have to roll up and stash in a storage door. It is 50amp and heavy and I have to take it all out to use it.:cussing::mad:

[Mopar1973Man]

Nice... I might consider the mod... I got a damaged power cord and should replace the cord soon...

[Bob Landry]

Bob,

Thanks for the info.

Another question. I'm accustomed to using 3M sealants on a boat I owner a few years ago.

What sealants are generally used to seal around exterior wall fittings and, if different, external roof fittings on a RV?

Regards,
Jim

I'm on my first trailer, so I don't know about the roof. For the other, no one ever went wrong using a 3M product. They are one of the companies that you can always depend on to make a consistant product. I would stay with their white silicon for exterior sealing. If you ever need to get it off to reseal something, it's easy to remove, clean the surface with alcohol and reapply. I don't know if they still make the polysulfide products, but stay away from them as they have a tendency to deteriorate plastic and some like 5200 are impossible to ever remove. I've seen fiberglass decks pulled apart by trying to remove fittings that were bedded in 5200.
I wouls also sealing any openings in the exterior with epoxy and let it kick before putting the gasket material on, be it silicon or whatever, especially if there is a raw plywood edge exposed. That way, if your seal does leak, it won't wick intothe plywood and cause delamination of the plys. Interior grade luan will get pretty unhappy when it gets wet.

[Bob Landry]

Until this trailer we have always had power cords that were just pushed or pulled to use and put away. I don't like this cord that I have to roll up and stash in a storage door. It is 50amp and heavy and I have to take it all out to use it.:cussing::mad:

You'll appreciate that 50A detachable cord when it gets cold.;)

[Seann45]

Seann,

Could you post a parts list and source specifically for the new socket for the trailer and the plug on the end of the cord?

The power cord on my new 23' G2 Jayflight seems to be designed to get stuck and usually at an inopportune time.

Regards,
Jim

I got my stuff from Camping World... you can check there for price... I have had both styles and much prerfer the plug and play to the pull pull unknott unknott

[clutch]

You'll appreciate that 50A detachable cord when it gets cold.;)



I am planning to get a 30 amp cord about 12 foot long for easier hooking up when we are traveling.

[Seann45]

Best thing is it seals one more hole that bugs can enter the RV through.

[Tanker42]

I did this mod and got the cord and plug from Amazon.

[obrienj]

I'm on my first trailer, so I don't know about the roof. For the other, no one ever went wrong using a 3M product. They are one of the companies that you can always depend on to make a consistant product. I would stay with their white silicon for exterior sealing. If you ever need to get it off to reseal something, it's easy to remove, clean the surface with alcohol and reapply. I don't know if they still make the polysulfide products, but stay away from them as they have a tendency to deteriorate plastic and some like 5200 are impossible to ever remove. I've seen fiberglass decks pulled apart by trying to remove fittings that were bedded in 5200.
I wouls also sealing any openings in the exterior with epoxy and let it kick before putting the gasket material on, be it silicon or whatever, especially if there is a raw plywood edge exposed. That way, if your seal does leak, it won't wick intothe plywood and cause delamination of the plys. Interior grade luan will get pretty unhappy when it gets wet.


Bob,

I know what epoxy is but in this case what specifically (product name if possible) are you referring to? When I look from inside at factory openings in the sidewalls I don't notice any plywood edge sealing. However, I prefer your approach.

Regards,
Jim

[Bob Landry]

Bob,

I know what epoxy is but in this case what specifically (product name if possible) are you referring to? When I look from inside at factory openings in the sidewalls I don't notice any plywood edge sealing. However, I prefer your approach.

Regards,
Jim

I'll elaborate. First, my background is in the Marine industry, so that's where this comes from. Anywhere there is going to be something through bolted, the accepted practice is to seal the raw edges with epoxy. I should say accepted REPAIR practice because from a manufacturing perspective, it's not a cost effective operation. It's much cheaper from the builder's standpoint to chop a hole with a router or jigsaw , stick in a window with some caulk and let the future owners deal with the problems. Any brand will do. Epoxy is epoxy, but for the record, West System is the best and is the marine industry epoxy of choice. We still use some kind of sealant around the hardware, but any sealant has a limited service life and it will eventually break down for whatever reason, constant moisture, UV, whatever. Knowing that the sealant will eventually breakdown and allow water to permeat, the epoxy sealed edges prevent the water from being wicked into the base material, mostly fiberglass.
It started with boat decks that were cored with end-grain balsa. Balsa was used because it's stength to weight ratio is very high when cut cross-grain and it is light and very strong until it gets wet. Once that happened, and it always does because deck fittings all eventually leak, the deck had to be opened up, the wet balsa had to be removed and the deck glassed in and re-gelcoated. The result is a much heavier structure. The same would apply to any exposed fiberglass edge. I personally think the reason luan is used extensively is because it is much lighter than a solid fiberglass shell, not to mention cheap.

When my new trailer gets here, I'm not going to pull all of the windows out and seal them, but as I do the required maintainance I will. I think the return on labor is very high for this type of preventive care because I've seen some bills for fiberglass repairs because of water damage that would make you choke.

[SockyG]

It is 50amp and heavy and I have to take it all out to use it.

According to the owner's manual, even with the pull-out style you are supposed to fully extend the cord due to a heat / safety warning...

---
SockyG

2011 - 19H

[Old Blue]

Question does the replacement cover the hole in TT or is it smaller I am not woried about doing the work just want to make sure that it will cover hole compleatly. have seen them on camping world on line but dosent tell you size. and in this case size might matter.

[Seann45]

I think they are a little smaller... I made a new hole right beside the power cord hole... I use the power cord hole to run the twin sat TV and twin sat internet cables...
you can always make a plate that covers the old hole if it is larger then cut a smaller hole through the plate..

[Tanker42]

When I did this mod, I discovered that the new plug is smaller. Instead of cutting a new hole, I went to Walmart and bought a plastic cutting board. From that, I cut a plate that would cover the hole. Then I cut an opening in the plate to insert the new plug. After connecting the wires (color coded) I attached it to the TT with screws and caulked around the plate. Works great and no more mouse hole.

[Old Blue]

Thanks for oyur asnwers cutting a peice of plastic to make a plate and putting plug in plate sounds good. dont have a sat and havent used TV that much yet but dont want to cut new hole in trailer if dont have to.

[obrienj]

Seann,

What satellite internet service do you use?

What type of TV satellite antenna do you use and for what provider?

BTW, I'm just about to start the install of the Marinco shore-power setup like you have. Only difference is that I ordered a 90 degree plug on the cable. I plan a bit of re-enforcement to the wall here the socket goes but with the cable dropping straight down it should eliminate most of the stress.

Regards,
Jim

[Seann45]

I have the Hughes net...for internet... and Shaw direct for TV High def dish... for my low def eyes..:shocked:. LOL

[obrienj]

Seann,

Thanks for the satellite info, I am thinking of going with Hughes.

Since I am about to start the Marinco mod, could I ask what you used to open the hole in the side of the trailer.

My last trailer was fiberglass, so I just used a hole saw made for wood, but I am concerned that such a saw might shred the aluminum.

I would appreciate your input.

Regards,
Jim

[Seann45]

Seann,

Thanks for the satellite info, I am thinking of going with Hughes.

Since I am about to start the Marinco mod, could I ask what you used to open the hole in the side of the trailer.

My last trailer was fiberglass, so I just used a hole saw made for wood, but I am concerned that such a saw might shred the aluminum.

I would appreciate your input.

Regards,
Jim
Mine is fiberglass Jim... I used a cut a hole... just have it at a high speed when you drill... and stay very close to where the cord comes out.
Seann

[Tanker42]

Here's a pic of my power plug mod.

[Bob Landry]

That's pretty much how I did mine except I used a square piece of King Starboard.

[Bob Landry]

Mine is fiberglass Jim... I used a cut a hole... just have it at a high speed when you drill... and stay very close to where the cord comes out.
Seann

For my satellite input I used a regular hole saw, one inch I think, Don't worry about it distorting the aluminum siding. I cut a clean hole. I also used a heat gun to soften the inlet so when I tightened it down, it conformed to the side. That let me put it at the same height as the TV inlet and it looks like a factory installation.