Invisable Wiring

[Con]

Hi all,
Ever since we bought our Boler I have been bothered by the fact that is is difficult to add any electrical items above the cabinet line because of hiding the wiring without peeling off the Ensolite to do it. Items like a roof vent fan, extra lights, LED light strip above the back window sterio speakers or what have you.
Some where in my travels I had seen what looked like a two wire conductor that was flexable surface mounted and self adhesive and hardly noticable. The only thing in doubt is how well
it would stick to the Ensolite

I did some searching on the net and this is what I have found so far. These look promising.
I would be interested in some feed back if anyone else has thought about this.

http://www.pacificcable.com/Flat-Adhesive-Wire.html
(Double click on the picture for more details)
http://fccindy.kumbayah.org/search/self-adhesive-1.htm

[Elsie G.]

Hi all,
Ever since we bought our Boler I have been bothered by the fact that is is difficult to add any electrical items above the cabinet line because of hiding the wiring without peeling off the Ensolite to do it. Items like a roof vent fan, extra lights, LED light strip above the back window sterio speakers or what have you.
Some where in my travels I had seen what looked like a two wire conductor that was flexable surface mounted and self adhesive and hardly noticable. The only thing in doubt is how well
it would stick to the Ensolite

I did some searching on the net and this is what I have found so far. These look promising.
I would be interested in some feed back if anyone else has thought about this.

http://www.pacificcable.com/Flat-Adhesive-Wire.html
(Double click on the picture for more details)
http://fccindy.kumbayah.org/search/self-adhesive-1.htm

You are looking at speaker wire on those pages. I don't know if I would have any trust in this product, for anything, but speakers. Seems to me it wouldn't be approprate to use for electrical appliances or wiring. Could possibly short out - IE: start a fire. I would run regular electrical lines along the frame, and thru the floor, before I'd trust that kind of flimsy wiring. I don't need a tragedy. Just my 2 cents, take it for what its worth.

[Lizbeth]

Neat stuff Con! I don't know if it would stick to the ensolite though..... buy some and let us know.

The 12 gauge would run anything 12v in my Boler. The only reason you can't use it for 110 is the insulation on the wire. They have coax too.

[Gina D.]

This is not really new, tho it's a new twist on an old idea. It's Ribbon/flex cable and is used very commonly in electronics assemblies. I have a love hate relationship with it. It is easy to use, makes things neat and clean, but is also very brittle. "Flex" should be changed to "Gentle bend. Flex it a couple times.. it snaps. It's basically squashed copper wire. The weak points are obviously at the thinest edges. It's always mad.. it loses it's "Temper" easily.

Liz is correct, I would not use it exposed anywhere carrying any significant voltage.

It should be fine for low voltage lighting etc. as long as you don't bend it at 90 degrees repeatedly in the same spot.

[Con]

Whoa! Hold on everyone. I never stated it was to be used for appliances of any sort, only for small 12v/low amp. things that are hard to wire up in a Boler where you can't hide the wires in a cabinet,etc. As far as it crimping or breaking that would not be an issue in my mind as once it is stuck on it is not going to be touched again.
I am certain the slightly heavy gauges would be perfectly all right to run the items I first mentioned in this post. If anyone has a better idea for hiding surfce mounted wire, than lets hear it. Peeling back the Ensolite to get a wire to a vent fan is not an option as there are no seams close by. A lot of the wires in the trailer are all ready 14 or 16 ga. for the low currnet items.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Whoa! Hold on everyone. I never stated it was to be used for appliances of any sort, only for small 12v/low amp. things that are hard to wire up in a Boler where you can't hide the wires in a cabinet,etc. As far as it crimping or breaking that would not be an issue in my mind as once it is stuck on it is not going to be touched again.
I am certain the slightly heavy gauges would be perfectly all right to run the items I first mentioned in this post. If anyone has a better idea for hiding surfce mounted wire, than lets hear it. Peeling back the Ensolite to get a wire to a vent fan is not an option as there are no seams close by. A lot of the wires in the trailer are all ready 14 or 16 ga. for the low currnet items.

You'd be ok running a few lights.
Runing something like a fan or any thing with motor could be a problem.

[Gina D.]

I just bought a bunch of finish quality rails to run wires in and to create a horizontal border around the inside of the trailer. Kind of breaks up the white monotamy.

I intend to install it with 3m vhb tape. The stuff is bullet proof. I have a speaker cabinet hung from the underside of my kitchen cupboards that hasn't bundged a bit despite much bouncing.

I suspect this mothod would work with ensolite if you clean it thoroughly before sticking down.

I have also thought of using this same method just above the cushions and creating a gutter to catch condensation and routing it thru the floor to drain. All it would require is slicing the upper edge off to creat the opening.

Burros have a nasty problem with that, and I am tired of being dripped on.

[Con]

Ok Gena! What do they look like? Got a pic or a web site? Please

[Gina D.]

they are similar to these:

Wire Raceway

Almost any large hardware store has them. There are a variety of styles.

[Penny Taylor]

I have used a product called 'Wiremold'. I know it comes in almond, and maybe white. You can get it at Lowes, etc. You can make it look like it is trim around the inside of the trailer. It makes it very inconspicuous, and looks like part of the trailer.

[Lizbeth]

You can burrow under/through the ensolite. It can also be cut and patched fairly easily if your walls are painted. For the fantastic fan we burrowed throught it with a coat hanger, cutting slits at the curves to reinsert the wire. Wires are almost completely hidden by the ensolite, just a little bump where the wire runs. For the front table light I ran wires in the seam under the window before I filled the seams with caulking.

For running wires to the upper back cabinet....My side curtain rods are tubes inserted through holes drilled in the upper back cabinet and holes drilled in the closet and kitchen cabinet. Waalaa, wire runs!

[Con]

Ahh Ha! Now Gina,Liz & Penny we are coming up with some constructive ideas, all good! That is the kind of input I was looking for. You gals seem to have more ideas than the guys!! HeHe

[Gina D.]

The only thing I would caution against in using these on ensolite is IF you use the VHB tape, the ensolite surface.. the plastic thin skin on it, may tear if there is already a weal spot in it.

If it's painted, the paint would be the weakest link as well. BUT..

since there is not a bunch of weight here, it may not even be an issue.