Shop in Oregon to replace electrical - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 02-11-2013, 10:14 PM   #21
Member
 
Name: Lisa
Trailer: 1978 Scamp 13'
Oregon
Posts: 38
Francesca, I have a feeling that previous owners just used any old wire. I did look at the wiring diagram for scamp that is in the links here but after looking at it and then looking at my trailer I was so confused. Red wires are attached to black wires are attached to yellow wires and it makes me wonder what color wire all these little pieces are coming from and they are all taped together in really awkward ways. I will print out a copy of the diagram for whoever I get to work on the trailer with me if they are not someone who has some previous experience with it.
I am hoping the borrowed boyfriend will be able to show me the ropes though since he is currently a contractor and used to be a mechanic so he should have knowledge of the inside and outside components of the wiring, if he can make sense of it.
If all else fails I will try the robert guy in bend that dylanear and Donna D recommended. It would be worth the drive.
And Green Frog, i appreciate the offer and it sounds like a great vacation but Virginia is a little too far out of the way on the road to Alaska.
Lisallison is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2013, 02:38 AM   #22
Senior Member
 
santacruzer's Avatar
 
Name: Bob
Trailer: Escape 19
California
Posts: 100
I think you hit the nail on the head in your initial post when you talked about having it professionally rewired as being the best option. If it were me, I'd put more trust in the person who had previously done a trailer rewire than I would in someone's borrowed boyfriend...contractor or not. He may have done some electrical work as a contractor, but 12v vehicle wiring is slightly different, and you'd want to be certain he's up on that. Besides basic running lights, does your trailer include a converter/inverter, water pump, reefer, and if so is he up to speed on all that as part of the system? If you're rigging a trailer to hit the ALCAN, you ought to have a high degree of confidence that you won't be needing more work part way up.
__________________
2019 Tundra CrewMax Limited 4DR TRD 4wd
2014 Escape 19
santacruzer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2013, 12:35 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
Francesca Knowles's Avatar
 
Name: Francesca Knowles
Trailer: '78 Trillium 4500
Jefferson County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Posts: 4,669
Registry
Is there a chance that we're overcomplicating this for Lisa?

My Trillium is the same vintage as her Scamp, and once I understood which wires did what, the wiring was remarkably simple....especially inside!

It's hard for me to believe that a 13 foot Scamp would be much different...any non-colorblind person with a basic grasp of wire size/routing/fusing ought to be able to do this job.

Francesca
__________________
.................................
Propane Facts vs. Fiction:. Click here
Tow Limit Calculator: Click here
Francesca Knowles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2013, 05:01 PM   #24
Member
 
Name: Lisa
Trailer: 1978 Scamp 13'
Oregon
Posts: 38
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles View Post
Is there a chance that we're overcomplicating this for Lisa?

My Trillium is the same vintage as her Scamp, and once I understood which wires did what, the wiring was remarkably simple....especially inside!

It's hard for me to believe that a 13 foot Scamp would be much different...any non-colorblind person with a basic grasp of wire size/routing/fusing ought to be able to do this job.

Francesca
We may be doing that (me included). I have made contact with the borrowed boyfriend and he is coming over later this week I have a feeling he will be able to figure everything out for me, teach me the basics and explain what I am looking at. I'm sure all my research etc will go out the window and everything will seem much simpler once someone is actually with me pointing out what goes where and does what.
All the advice from you guys gave me confidence that someday I will be able to grasp this whole electrical thing and do such tasks on my own. Thanks
Lisallison is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-12-2013, 05:18 PM   #25
Senior Member
 
Francesca Knowles's Avatar
 
Name: Francesca Knowles
Trailer: '78 Trillium 4500
Jefferson County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Posts: 4,669
Registry
Good girl!

No harm in lookin'...

Here's a tip, possibly irrelevant to your Scamp, but:

The most confusing wire I found in my Trillium was a carefully routed yellow that I eventually figured out ended at the taillights. It's an "auxiliary" in my case, and I now believe that its intended use was for backup lights if one chose to add them.

I've kicked myself for not figuring that out before I paid someone to wire my tow vehicle for the seven-blade connector, since that pole was left "dead" due to my not directing them to hook it up. And it wouldn't have added much if anything to the cost of that job had I only been smart enough to mention it!

If I ever do add backup lights to the trailer, I'll have to go back in to the tug wiring and fix that...live and learn!

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Francesca
__________________
.................................
Propane Facts vs. Fiction:. Click here
Tow Limit Calculator: Click here
Francesca Knowles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2013, 12:10 AM   #26
Senior Member
 
Jared J's Avatar
 
Name: Jared
Trailer: 1984 19' scamp
Kansas
Posts: 1,610
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles View Post
Good girl!

No harm in lookin'...

Here's a tip, possibly irrelevant to your Scamp, but:

The most confusing wire I found in my Trillium was a carefully routed yellow that I eventually figured out ended at the taillights. It's an "auxiliary" in my case, and I now believe that its intended use was for backup lights if one chose to add them.

I've kicked myself for not figuring that out before I paid someone to wire my tow vehicle for the seven-blade connector, since that pole was left "dead" due to my not directing them to hook it up. And it wouldn't have added much if anything to the cost of that job had I only been smart enough to mention it!

If I ever do add backup lights to the trailer, I'll have to go back in to the tug wiring and fix that...live and learn!

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Francesca
Warning on that. In my scamp, that yellow wire is hooked up at the tail lights and the diagram says its for brakes on foreign cars (separate lamps, I suppose). The wire was not connected to the camper harness at the end of the 3' lead with the plug on it. I cut the yellow wire off the lights, and hooked it up between the lead and camper harness, as that is the reverse lamps on my truck connector. I'm going to install led backup lights on the camper.
Jared J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2013, 07:29 AM   #27
Senior Member
 
841K9's Avatar
 
Name: Logan
Trailer: 1976 Scamp 13'
Wisconsin
Posts: 230
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo View Post
If you need to save money, I'm not sure why you want LED tail lights. The only time they are in use is when you are hooked up to the the tow vehicle, using the power from the tow. They are pretty, but that's that last thing I'll be doing on my trailer.
Never needing to replace a light.
Not damaged by vibration.
Less strain on the tow vehicle. (Newer alternators have just enough capacity for the vehicle- it saves fuel)
Brighter- makes me more visible on the road.
No heat- No chance of melting a lens and starting a fire. (More common than you would think)

I work on commercial vehicles every day and most newer units use LED lighting. The commercial stop lights I use currently cost $8.95 per unit and have never burned out on any or my customers' vehicles. (Some have been crushed or burned and one had acid spilled on it)
841K9 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2013, 07:55 PM   #28
Senior Member
 
Donna D.'s Avatar
 
Trailer: 1988 16 ft Scamp Deluxe
Posts: 25,697
Thanks for the info Logan. I'm in complete agreement. LED tail lights of 5 years ago are sooo different than newer modules. They're relatively cheap to replace if the entire unit becomes unviewable. And being seen... is PRICELESS!
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward - 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Double Yolk - 1988 16' Scamp Deluxe
Donna D. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2013, 02:12 PM   #29
Member
 
Name: Lisa
Trailer: 1978 Scamp 13'
Oregon
Posts: 38
Update:
My friends boyfriend (I should probably start calling him by his real name, Mike) came by last weekend to take an initial look over everything. He concluded that I am right, it needs a whole new wiring harness and completely new dc wiring. He has a crimper, he has all the wiring we should need and I only have to go out and buy a couple small things to make the job due-able. He is also planning on putting a 12v circuit braker in so that there is no risk of fire. I am so grateful and already covertly have asked my friend what Mikes favorite kind of cookies are so that I can have a box waiting for him when the job is done. Next weekend is the date and I am so relieved to know that all the electrical will be safe and road-worthy soon!
Thanks for all the advice. We are going to test the tail lights and if they need replacing I will put in LED, if not, then I'll just ride with the old ones for now (my costs for this project are getting really high!).
P.S. the borrowed boyfriend mike is currently a contractor but worked for years as a licensed car mechanic when looking at my trailer and talking to me about it he said all the things that I would expect him to say from everything that you guys have said on this forum and the other research I have done. Because he isn't licensed he doesn't come with an insured guarantee, which is the best part of paying a professional, but he is invested in helping me and offered to lend a hand because he said he wants to make sure I am safe, that is enough of a personal guarantee for me.
On another note, now that the weather has consistently been better here in the rainy state of Oregon I've started doing other stuff on the trailer and will be beginning a new thread here in the mods section about all the modifications I am slowly doing. -Lisa
Lisallison is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2013, 03:16 PM   #30
Senior Member
 
Francesca Knowles's Avatar
 
Name: Francesca Knowles
Trailer: '78 Trillium 4500
Jefferson County, Washington State, U.S.A.
Posts: 4,669
Registry
Hurrah!

Nothin' like having the right friends who have the right boyfriends/husbands/whoevers...


Keep us posted- pics and particulars would be nice!

Francesca
__________________
.................................
Propane Facts vs. Fiction:. Click here
Tow Limit Calculator: Click here
Francesca Knowles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2013, 04:16 PM   #31
Member
 
Name: Lisa
Trailer: 1978 Scamp 13'
Oregon
Posts: 38
Thats for sure! And once he shows me how to do the wiring i can do it myself and pass on the knowledge to someone else in need!
Lisallison is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2013, 11:01 PM   #32
Senior Member
 
Night Sailor's Avatar
 
Name: Conrad
Trailer: Bigfoot 3000 & Barth "slide-in" truck camper
Connecticut
Posts: 958
He deserves more than cookies. Send him home stuffed.
Night Sailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2013, 09:19 PM   #33
Senior Member
 
Reid Larsen's Avatar
 
Name: Reid
Trailer: 1979 Trillium 4500
Oregon
Posts: 208
Registry
I know if it were me I'd appreciate a bottle more than a batch of cookies-Just sayin' You might check w/ his significant other to get a favorite brand.
Reid Larsen is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
electrical


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
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


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
It pays to shop around Ian G. Towing, Hitching, Axles and Running Gear 14 12-26-2012 07:19 PM
76 scamp...going to the paint shop... jimtesla General Chat 3 09-04-2009 05:50 AM
Did you shop at AdventureRV.net? FredericL General Chat 6 04-11-2009 10:18 PM
gas heater overhaul - RV shop or HVAC shop? jack maloney Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 1 04-20-2008 01:58 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:40 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.