Getting Ready to run the 12 volt wiring

[thekid745]

I'm open to advise or things that didn't work for others. Kind of looking for some experience knowledge on this.

[chessie4905]

   Lowes or HD wire THHN has a very durable coating in different colors. Don't skimp on wire gage. 14, 12,10, 8 gage or heavier depending on load. Ground wire in low voltage is different than 110. Pull spare wires for future use. Install wiring in some type of protective sleeving with proper supporting clamps. Where it looks like it could rub through on a projection, it surely will down the road. Good soldering or crimping at wire terminations. label ends of each wire with number or letter tags. 10 years from now, you won't remember which wire went where, let alone where you left the door keys. A plan, then schematic is very useful. Don't forget the fuses for circuits

[luvrbus]

It will cost you a few bucks more but will pay off in the long run go with Marine grade wire from some outfit like Del City and color code everything. I found these neat Velcro ties at www.monoprice.com cheap and a lot better the plastic ones

good luck

[bevans6]

what I did is pull through wire pairs, I used red and black, so that each load had a ground wire pulled back to a ground bus bar.  I used 14 gauge for most things like lights, fused at 15 amps in the DC fuse panel.  A few things, like the furnace and the fridge, got 12 gauge fused at 20 amps.  I fed the DC panel with 10 gauge fused at 30 amps.  What I did to make it easy is unroll the wire off the spool, get about 50 or 100 feet, tie off the end of the pair to something, stretch it and chuck the other two ends in the chuck of a cordless drill, and spin it into a neatly twisted pair of wires.  Take no time, and they don't undo so you can pull them around very easily inside the bus.

Brian

[brmax]

I was looking around the site the other day and found a great thread in Tech articles with a Bus electrical title,  Nick had posted quite a bit of information on the subject with some reference to others and there information also.
Its a good read and info source for myself I thought, take a look it.

[robertglines1]

Prevost wiring is color coded: red=24Volt DC   yellow=12 Volt DC  the ground for DC=black----120 V wiring is a little different  White=common  Green =earth ground Black is a hot wire as is Blue.  I can look at a wire and tell what it is--Black a little confusing but is normally paired with yellow or red when it is DC(12 or 24 volt)  At most Lowes etc there is a book of vinyl sticker you can Identify your wires with.  FWIW  Bob

[thekid745]

This is great feedback.

Thanks

[Seangie]

Have a color scheme and label everything. 
Keep in mind that 110v wires use white for neutral and black for hot where as 12v or 24v will use a color for hot and black for neutral or ground.  Can be confusing so keep that in mind.  Alot of people will use a different color for ground/neutral in 12v or 24v than black to keep them distinguishable (like black with a yellow or white stripe). 
When you run cables in a conduit - Keep in mind that it is good practice (and code) that the smallest wire in the conduit should be able to handle the voltage/amps of the largest cable in the conduit. 
I used 12 gauge wire for all my 12v and 120v runs.  There are some instances where 14 gauge is used. 
Blue Sea Systems makes a pretty good phone app (iphone or android) that you can put in the length, amps, volts, percentage of use, etc... and it tells you the preferred wire gauge or fuse to use.
Label everything at both ends.
All my 110v electrical is UF-B (underground/outside) romex.  All my wiring is solid wire.
Plan out your wiring on paper first before you start.  Figure out how many sources, how many amps for each source, fuses and where to put the fuses.  Its better to go in with a plan than figure it out as you work along.  Easier to fix it on paper.
Plan for replacing the wire at some time in the future.  All my wiring is accessible without having to take the bus apart to get to it. 

Most of all - Be safe and have fun!

-Sean

[bevans6]

with respect to conduit, chases and junction/breaker/fuse panel boxes - not allowed to mix low voltage DC and AC, must be kept separate at all times.

Brian

[Len Silva]

And these days it is also important to keep all your very low voltage wiring (Cat5, coax, HDMI etc.) separated from everything else.

[thekid745]

Any recommendation for conduit to protect the wires? What materials will fit best in the ceiling. Walls will be easier but not so much room in the ceiling area.

[mung]

Wiremold would probably work well.  I use it all through my house because my walls are plaster over lath on the interior walls and concrete block on the exterior. 

Vern

[robertglines1]

I use the 3/4 inch flex(pvc) for hard runs .Also depending on coach type the prevost have a utility trace down center accessible from spare tire compartment to just in front of rear axle.  several 3 inch pvc and 2 inch .Also accessible from roof of each bay..You can drop runs out anywhere then return them to ducts. A small hole and fish tape accomplished this.  I also ran 2ea 2 inch PVC along roof line where curve is to drop 120V out tee's and junction box are glue in.  FWIW   Bob