AC Electrical Wire Choice Romex vs Stranded

[Jim G. - Ohio]

Airplanes, boats, trucks and cars all use stranded wire since it will hold up better than solid wire. The RV industry has gotten by with using Romex but they are not constantly in motion like other vehicles. Would you fly on an airplane with Romex wiring?

[Joe MacDonald]

I generally use NMW type romex, it is designed for damp locations, it works well with any type of outlet, just take your time, and do it correctly

[stevebaz]

look at using this wire, best of both worlds. its expensive but you are not using miles of it.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/ancor...hoCzvoQAvD_BwE

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

look at using this wire, best of both worlds. its expensive but you are not using miles of it.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/ancor...hoCzvoQAvD_BwE

That is probably the best wire there is for boats and trailers. Excellent stuff. Likely better than needed for trailers because of its superior corrosion resistance designed for marine use. You can't go wrong with marine romex, as long as you don't try to use the stab connections on the plugs.

[steve dunham]

One needs to look at the actual failure rate and not at the possible or hypothetical failure rate . If the actual failure rate is one in a billion how far do we go to eliminate that one failure if that is even possible
For example using marine wire in a trailer , if your trailer is damp/ wet enough on the inside to require marine wire your trailer would be destroyed by mold / mildew and rot long before the wiring failed .

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

One needs to look at the actual failure rate and not at the possible or hypothetical failure rate . If the actual failure rate is one in a billion how far do we go to eliminate that one failure if that is even possible
For example using marine wire in a trailer , if your trailer is damp/ wet enough on the inside to require marine wire your trailer would be destroyed by mold / mildew and rot long before the wiring failed .

Can't argue with your conclusions, but if some wire is run outside the trailer, along the bottom, for instance, then the tinned wire and extra resistant jacket is nice. If it is subject to vibration, the stranded wire in nice.

I don't wait for a one-in-a-billion failure expectation to try to select good materials to use. If you are selecting a material for a repair, and a bit of extra cost is not an issue, why not use the best, instead of deliberately using less than the best? And I'm not saying household romex will fail, just that the marine grade is clearly better stuff, albeit, harder to connect in some cases. This approach applies to quality tires, quality paints, stainless and grade 8 fasteners, tools, generators and many items, where there are choices. I'd rather, given the choice, pick something extremely unlikely to fail, than something that probably will be OK if installed perfectly.

[CarlD]

If anyone knows of any failures of NM solid conductor cable in a trailer, or knows of any statistics please speak up.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Can't argue with your conclusions, but if some wire is run outside the trailer, along the bottom, for instance, then the tinned wire and extra resistant jacket is nice. If it is subject to vibration, the stranded wire in nice.

I don't wait for a one-in-a-billion failure expectation to try to select good materials to use. If you are selecting a material for a repair, and a bit of extra cost is not an issue, why not use the best, instead of deliberately using less than the best? And I'm not saying household romex will fail, just that the marine grade is clearly better stuff, albeit, harder to connect in some cases. This approach applies to quality tires, quality paints, stainless and grade 8 fasteners, tools, generators and many items, where there are choices. I'd rather, given the choice, pick something extremely unlikely to fail, than something that probably will be OK if installed perfectly.

NM by code is approved for dry locations not wet locations
I would not recommend NM for outside use .
That being said I have a piece of temporary Romex I ran outdoors, laying on the ground over 5 years ago and it is still in good condition
The only time it failed was when a scotchlok / wirenut connection went bad
Again like I said before gold is a better conductor then copper so if you follow the only use the very best philosophy, we would be paying a $100 a foot for wire
Most /All of the electrical code is based on human safety and fire prevention
The materials are UL tested and listed for their intended use & purpose
When I was an apprentice, all residential wiring was done in metallic conduit , metal boxes and soldered connections
It was a great system but when the price of conduit went up 500% it got too costly to justify
When I was working in the trades the quality of my work was the same whether I was doing a small job for a working class family or the Governor of the State of Minnesota and yes I did work on the homes of three different Minnesota Governors.

[CarlD]

Just to set the record straight, Silver has the lowest conductivity, followed by copper, then gold, then aluminum. The reason gold is used in electrical terminals and connections on circuit boards is because it doesn't corrode.

[Raspy]

Carl, I think you mean low resistivity, or high conductivity

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

One needs to look at the actual failure rate and not at the possible or hypothetical failure rate . If the actual failure rate is one in a billion how far do we go to eliminate that one failure if that is even possible
For example using marine wire in a trailer , if your trailer is damp/ wet enough on the inside to require marine wire your trailer would be destroyed by mold / mildew and rot long before the wiring failed .

Good point here. With Scamp, Escape and others using Romex, we would be hearing about these failures if they were happening. I’ve not seen a single complaint. Maybe they are out there? I do know know.

[CarlD]

Senior moment. My bad. I guess that is some kind of dyslexia.

There is an old saying that goes something like this:

I know you believe you think you know what I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by CarlD

I know you believe you think you know what I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

I need a nap now.

[Keith2000]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

Good point here. With Scamp, Escape and others using Romex, we would be hearing about these failures if they were happening. I’ve not seen a single complaint. Maybe they are out there? I do know know.

My wife pulled apart a ‘68 airstream over the summer that uses Romex for both the AC and dc wiring throughout. Exact same wire for both. None of the connections showed any damage.

We are replacing all of the AC Lines because in 68 they were using aluminum romex.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Keith2000

My wife pulled apart a ‘68 airstream over the summer that uses Romex for both the AC and dc wiring throughout. Exact same wire for both. None of the connections showed any damage.

We are replacing all of the AC Lines because in 68 they were using aluminum romex.

There's irony, considering that it was aluminum wire in an Airstream...

Should have bought the copper-top trailer.

[Dale Thompson]

Romex is the standard. It was used in my Scamp. It was used in my Chateau class C, and it was used in my Newmar class A. I agree, use the clamp receptacles.

[getaway1]

Hi for what it's worth I rewired my Trillium 120v outlets with 12/2 romex wire using new plastic boxes and approved outlets (CSA) .
Quick and cheap best describes the stab connections used in trailers for 120v systems. Solid wire is much more resistant to moisture issues which will cause corrosion in boats ,trailers and other outdoor installations. Stranded wire does help with connections where vibration/ movement is an issue. The current carrying capacity is a factor for any load placed on the circuit in addition to how the wires are secured . My home has only screw connections on all outlets with not one failure in 40 + years. I hate back wired outlets where you just push in the wire ends .Contact is only on one tiny spot on one side of the wire, these connections are Ok when new but will heat up with age and any corrosion or large loads. I worked in the Electrical Power Generation field and ALL high voltage lines have bolted connections, some carry as much as 345 ,000 volts on the grid. There is a good reason this is done, it reduces failures. Sorry to be a little off topic here but poorly done installations can be deadly. Be safe and enjoy your camping times worry free. Regards ,Duane

[Arthur II]

Originally Posted by getaway1

I worked in the Electrical Power Generation field and ALL high voltage lines have bolted connections, some carry as much as 345 ,000 volts on the grid.

A little off topic ...

Don't know your age so you may not be aware of the following. I remember reading many many years ago about a gentleman that was sued by a power company.

High voltage transmission lines had been run beside his property. Being creative, the gentleman built a large induction coil that he placed on a raised mount and was able to collect enough energy to power his home. The power company sued on the basis that he was stealing energy from them. They lost. The court decision was that any energy floating around in free space was not owned by anyone.

Have always remembered that ... But, I'm not going to buy anything near transmission lines just to try it myself.


.

[JamesML]

Having spent significant time early in my career working on a vibration table, environmentally testing (shake and bake) aircraft components and systems, I can state with some degree of confidence:
1) ALL components or structures will eventually fail--just a matter of time and the wrong conditions.
2) fatigue (vibrational or flexing) breaks generally occur where, for instance, a stranded wire is anchored under a screw head. Many of you have experienced a stranded wire failure in a power tool cable where the strain relief converts to solid mount. Ditto for solid wire.
3) Providing that the wire-solid or stranded,- is restrained such that there are no large loops to flex during normal operation, either will function adequately for trailer wiring. It is probably more important that other environmental factors such as exposure to weather are accommodated. Trailers are not as subjected to steady vibration as tow vehicles (engine vibration) so resonant vibration frequencies are not likely to be as significant over the life of the vehicle.

Solid wire is easier to work with for the 120v electrical applications--just don't nick the wire removing the insulation.

[CarlD]

We did our vibration testing after everyone when home for the evening. It was noisy and kinda vibrated everything around the test fixture!