How To Wire An Enclosed Trailer To Run Off Shore Power And Battery Power

Question:

Hi there, I have a enclosed trailer that Has absolutely no wiring in it. I would like to wire it up for shore power and to run it off a battery. Is there a kit or a inclusive guide into doing something like this? Thank you.

asked by: Kasey K

Expert Reply:

The first thing you'll need is a power inlet to receive power from the shore power pedestal. You'll most likely only need 30amp service since you're in an enclosed trailer so I recommend the Furrion Replacement Power Inlet # 431861. You'll need to use at minimum 10AWG wire to connect this to a distribution center.

Now the you have an inlet for the power you need a distribution panel to run it to and distribute it to all of your appliances. For this I recommend the Progressive Dynamics Mighty Mini AC/DC Panel and Converter/Smart Charger # PD4060K. This panel will allow you to convert your AC shore power to DC power for your appliances and act as a hub for every electrical component in your trailer.

Your battery will also connect to this power center and be charged by it when connected to shore power. I do want to note that only your DC appliances will have power (from the battery) when not connected to shore power. If you want to run AC appliances off of the battery you would also need an inverter.

To complete all of this you'll need a bunch of heat shrink butt connectors and wire of various gauges. You'll also need some wire strippers # PT43ZR and crimps # PTW30764. The # PD4060K will require circuit breakers and fuses as well, which you can get at your local hardware store.

It can be intimidating but it's honestly just a lot of easy time consuming work to run all the wires and make the connections. If you have any other questions please let me know and I'll try to walk you through it.