Love it or hate it, this is how I wire my buses
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
- In this brief guide I cover the basics of how we wire our bus conversions. From sizing conductors, to breaker panel options, to wire routing, I could talk for hours about this part of the job and this barely scratches the surface, but this information is applicable to any skoolie, van, or other camper conversion.
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***this is just the tip of the wiring and electrical iceberg, I have much MUCH more to say about this with more tips and tricks forthcoming. OH and dont run AC and DC lines parallel ;) forgot to mention that**
By "parallel" do you mean don't run ac/dc alongside (touching) each other?
Yes.
@@ChuckCassadyYT thanks for confirming, thought so but wanted to be sure. Very thankful for all this great content, I am taking copious notes for my bus build!
What is the reasoning for not allowing the AC and DC wires to touch?
@@rossallen738 from my research so far, it seems to be a concern of voltage inference whereby the DC voltage affects the AC conductor which is supposed to oscillate around 0 volts axis. I'm not an electrician, just sharing what I've surmised following chuck's comment 🙂
I have no intent of converting a bus, but still watch your videos! I feel like I’m actually learning something cool!
That's awesome! thank you for stickin around
Chuck PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make the video you mentioned planning on making in a prior one about deleting unnecessary wires! WE NEED IT! Love your content. Thanks for all you do
Yes please 🙏🏼
Yes please!!!!
Could you include how to add to your current panel, if you need more power/outlets?
As a DIY'er converting a box truck, these tips/tricks have infinitely been more helpful and applicable to my build than a lot of videos out there. Thank you!
Chuck is the GOAT when it comes to the bus game.
Thanks for sharing all you wisdom and knowledge.
I appreciate that
I really like the under the chair rail idea for the 4 gauge... Thank you for giving away this very valuable info! May all these other 'professional' builders take some notes and elevate their game!
Glad it was helpful!
Love this. Direct and to the point. No dogs, no kids, no nonsense. Wish I lived closer to CO.
1) 2:49 All wire for AC should be Use ‘’Anchor’ 12-3 marine stranded wire for all AC stuff. Marine wire is less prone to corrosion. Corrosion causes resistance which means wires heating up which could cause a fire. 12-3 will handle 20 amps which is even good for mini splits.
2) Stranded wire has lotsa little wires so requires ferrules at the ends. (Like I did with the battery cables on my boat.)
3) 3:36 He uses 10-3 for shore power because it can handle 30 amps. AC wire has 3 conductors, so 10-3 or 12-3, etc.
4) 4:28 DC wire has 2 conductors. He uses 6-2 coming off of the solar on the roof.
5) Use 18-2 for interior lights.
6) 6:55 For stuff like data lines and backup cameras, use the cables that come with the equipment.
7) 8:05 Junction box’s and terminals and places wires end up and how they are affixed to the vehicle: He uses blue box’s because they aren’t too deep and can take many kinds of face plates and are cheap and work for both AC and DC. He uses deep blue box’s for exterior outlets. He uses metal box’s for stuff outside like for a mini split.
8) 10:10 He uses solar entry glands for outside for exterior wire for solar.
9) 10:39 For shore power outlets he uses stainless steel Marineco because they last longer than the plastic ones and look better.
10) 11:09. For outdoor AC outlets for tools, lights, boom box’s, etc., he uses these 15 amp outlets.
11) 13:43 He uses Teks Sharp Point Lath Screws to attach box’s to framing.
12) 14:01 Use clamp connectors at the knockouts of the boxes to take the strain off of the wires as you feed the wire.
13) Use zip ties to secure wires along the way.
14) 14:37 He uses 3M foam connectors with a hole for zip ties to go into.
15) 14:50 He uses gorilla tape to hold wires until the foam insulation cures.
16) 15:14 He uses split wire looms to protect wires in places that they can be chafed inside and outside.
17) 15:38 Use 4 gauge wire connected directly to the alternator for alternator charging. ((Could be as high as 900 watts.) This minimizes voltage drop.
18) 16:33 Tools: Good wire cutters, screwdriver, sharpie, drill and screw gun. (What about putting the ferrules on? Could take to West Marine.)
19) 16:56 He doesn’t use conduit because his wires will be encased in spray foam insulation. He suggests that you could use conduit when usingfoam sheets though. He does use wire loom in areas where the wires are on metal or go through holes in metal.
20) 18:28 Watch steps for wiring.
21) 24:00. Watch to see what he says about avoiding screwing into wires later.
20k and more subscribers. Well done Chuck, you deserve it!!!
appreciate that!
Recently purchased a 2001 International bus and going to start self converting it this summer so I’m very thankful that you go into such depth in your videos and provide your expertise tips and tricks. Electrical is my biggest stressor. Thank you!
How many people have asked when you're going to change the name to 'This Old Bus' ?
there's something sunday-morning-coffee-relaxing feeling going on with your intro...
+1 for video or photos before insulation goes in. That will save you so much time and heartache later on. Excellent electrical walkthrough! Thanks!
Thanks for the good tips and tricks Chuck! Didn't know about the trailer wire solution to replace the mess of wires. Then run it under chair rails, brilliant!
that one is my favorite
Fricking awesome as usual!!!!
You sir are a goldmine of information. I always learn or think about something new every time l listen to you!!! 💜💜💜
Lots of great info in this video. This should be required viewing for anyone about to do their own wiring
Oh wow…So much invaluable information! Thank you for going over all the materials beforehand.
This video got another subscriber. Great work! Attention to detail, combined with a few error’s lessons made this a very solid list of products, practices, procedures, and documentation. Super solid video!
Today's lesson was. I need to start freshening up my knowledge of electrical. Thanks Chuck another great video.
Charlie I've been doing your way for years and the Marine wire is the only way to go we have always called it boat cable but it's all the same as long as it's tinned and it's stranded great explanation on how it's done right .
Great system! Thanks for another awesome video, you make it look easy.
Just caught the tail end...but I’m on my bus doing some demo so the replay will feel that much more real! Eager to watch! 🚌💨💥
ETA great info! 👍🏼
thank you!
Thankyou so much! Very concise and really helpful information. You’ve made an overwhelming and daunting task seem far more doable for me.
Glad it was helpful!
Great info from an experienced builder.
Thanks!
Another great video, Chuck. Informative and entertaining.
I'm much too old to do any of this but I sure enjoy your videos. Horse apples to anyone who glibly proclamations, " You are only as old as you feel".
Thanks for all the details and good info. This will be helpful as I am just coming up on this step.
I'm sorry I came to these after you quit. You're very informative and edit well.
I hope to meet you on the road someday 😎
Thank you Charlie for posting these videos you’re a wealth of knowledge !
Glad you like them!
Best bus electrical video I've seen yet.
Very informative, Chuck. Thanks for sharing.
Nice, as an electrician it seems to all make senses. Only suggestion make sure to leave at minimum 6” of stripped wire coming out of your boxes. (A) it’s electrical code (B) nothing greasier than working on short wires coming out of an box like it was run by a homeowner in 1957 like they were paying for the wire by the millimetre or something. Also I wouldn’t worry too much about the AC and DC being too close except for communication ccts. It’s just AC induction they are worried about but isn’t too big of a deal. How do you guys spice on the busses?
Chuck Cassady is really just the Nomads version of This Old House... This Old Bus
Thanks you two :)
Love the fact of Marine Grade wire, it really is a game changer for longevity.
Chuck is amazing g at educating/informing!!
Another great video! Thanks for all the info! Congrats on hitting 20K subs! 🎉🎉
thank you!
Love it! 👌Perhaps some dielectric grease for external wiring connections as well. I used to wrap my outside Christmas lights and extension cord's connections in baggies to protect against GFCI trips but was lazy this year and just squirted some of that grease into the socket...wow it worked! better than the baggies in fact lol.
That's a great idea! most of my connections are heat shrunk but for things like plugs that is a must do!
Great video as usual Chuck
Great video! Lots of prep work
#ChuckCassady, The Bob Villa of Coach Making!!!
Thank you Chuck for this Wiring Video. 👍😃🇺🇸
I ran out of time to run wires before spraying before the fall weather came. Now I have to cut channels in to place the wires. The plus side is that the wires are easier to access.
Great videos! Thanks!
I rewatch your videos every so often as I get each little step accomplished. So much info! If you run out of video ideas it would be cool to learn how to wire that 7-wire cable with the brake lights, etc. How do you know how high to put your electrical outlets (a/c and d/c)? Thanks again!
Thank you for all of these videos! Wondering if you might have links to Amazon or elsewhere for the shore inlet and those nifty exterior 120V outlets
I really wish someone would do some tests using chassis ground. You have this giant chunk of metal that very well likely is well ground (or should be) and you’re running twice as much copper it seems just to handle your return.
Little late, watch your viedo. There is so much for a bus built. Cool.
Chuck Cassady are you planning on releasing an exterior paint tutorial? Or do you hire out for paint? Thx!
I have been really enjoying your videos, but I would love to see some work on a smaller bus - like a shuttle bus or transit style. I'm sure a lot transfers over but curious what tips and tricks you've found!
I'm currently working on a ford 7.3 diesel shuttle bus to convert for a tour bus for my band. It's been a blast!
Thank you Chuck! My head hurts trying to comprehend all this information! However, I’m this medium I can watch and rewatch as often as needed! Essential and comprehensive!! Thank you again!
Something tells me I'm gonna love it
Hahaha I hope so!
I'll probably never build out a bus, but I love these videos
i love to hear that!
Well done sir, well done.
love the scrap wood to protect wire from trimming blades.....I've done some similar 'tape/foam/prep', but used colour coding for different voltages.......and one other critical thing (I learned the hard way) - walking through with a still or video camera....capturing every angle/inch......and - as you say, it's always worth running a couple of extra wire runs, in assorted voltages, ....always useful as we all know that all things change with time, and it's so easy to do at the wiring initial stage....before the unforgiving (and awesome) spray foam comes to live
totally agree! when you hire stuff out, you gotta make it fool proof especially for the biggest fool--me!
Yeah, never hurts to try and make things as easy as possible....electrical is complex/important stuff......I even started using colour coded Zip Ties.....
Fantastic and informative
As an Rv’er and long time fixer up’er, tinkerer and master of only a few of the trades - I like to see what others are doing and how! You are doing the “community a great service! As I’ve installed thousands of feet of electrical cable, I only have one comment on your very well done install. Remembering these “mobile units” go over VERY difficult surfaces at speeds not experienced by a sticks and bricks(S&B) house - I would recommend more relieve in your wire runs. I understand your “conserving” mode of wire runs, but the lack of strain relive is a major reason wire falls in these situations. Also, even in S&B builds, there is code for having so many inches of strain relieve for wire connections. PLEASE - look into this as you don’t want to have to repair your work in the future! Keep up the great work and service to the mobile community! Thanks!
thanks! if i werent encasing them compeltely in foam, i would certainly do things differently, but the wires will be fully supported everywhere! one reason I love spray foam
I don't think he was referring to the support of the wires, but rather pointing out how tight all your wire runs are from box to box. There should be some (2" to 3") slack at each box to allow for movement of the wires without pulling on the box connections/connectors if ever the body of the bus bends/twists whevener going over uneven or rough roads.
Love the videos and have gathered several good tips from them. Will be doing one of these in the near future. First raise roof, then I have 4 years to complete the rest on my own.
@@timdupont3227 i can see why you'd say that, but if the bus is flexing that much, then tile, cabinetry, and the whole works are going to be in sad shape too. In the 8 years of doing it just this way, we've yet to see those issues, so i feel confident. to each their own!
Great video we just got done wiring our bus
Nice 👍
A quick warning: There's a lot of "CCA" wire out there, which is copper clad aluminum. It does not carry power the same way that real copper does! But a lot of online vendors conveniently forget to say that.
Again a great and also entertaining lecture. So many hours of experience condensed in a video.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge Chuck.
So nice of you
Chucky baby always good stuff! Thanks 😊
Yeah buddy! Thanks for watching
Thanks for sharing all that 😊
Any time!
There’s a lot to learn, but I’m up for the challenge. It’s like building a PC, but bigger 😁
Thank you Chuck for all the great information. I am right behind you on my build and I am incorporating all your awesome techniques as I move along. Will you tell me what gauge that seven conductor trailer wire is for all the tail lights?
it is 14awg
I feel like so many of us are "just behind him on our build" :D For me as well the timing of some of your videos was perfect. 🙏🏻😍
Thoughts on putting some plastic conduit in the foam, behind the wall to allow for wires to be pulled in the future ?
Perfect timing !
love when that happens
love it or hate it, this is what peak performance looks like
Hahaha yes
That was incredibly helpful. Chuck I’m curious if that line of wires running to the back rail lights is the only thing you’ve got that connects to the bus battery? Also is it possible to use that with the exterior light monitor thing that’s above the driver seat?
My 1991 TC2000 has a big wire bundle running underneath the bus all the way back. Is this replacing that or is that something else?
Could you do a video on all the steps of a build in the order you recommend? Like buy the bus, demo, roof raise, windows, floor insulation, that’s where I’m getting nervous on our build. wall and ceiling insulation but you need the floor plan pretty close to finalized. And need plumbing in there…it would be great to have a list in the order to be able to check off and know exactly what step is next so we can re watch that video. Also where is your shop and how do we book with you? If we run into an issue and need help. We are pretty good diyers but some is overwhelming lol
great idea, ill make a video explaining the order of operations. if you follow my build, its the order that im doing it in
Have you considered the Smart Plug for shore power inlet? I have been super happy with mine.
Just looked it up--looks really sweet. $$ but worth it from what I read. I already have my inlet for this bus but this one might be worth it. thanks for sharing
And we’ll leave the light on for you
hahaha ive heard that one before
Do you still build? Your work is awesome! I’m looking for someone to build mine., intend on living in it while I’m working.
Chuck. Have you ever used a Power Over Ethernet (POE)? Power comes from an Ethernet POE Switch. The cabling is all low voltage, Cat5e or Cat6. I am thinking of ways to optimize any power from whichever affordable Full Solar System. I just won an auction on a 2010 E350 22 16/22 passenger Short Bus. I am planning on using it for Chasing snow storms and Ski resorts starting hopefully in a few weeks.
Most PoE only gives you 15W per port at best and usually only 12V under load so you have ~1A to work with if your tun is more than 10ft or so. That's about what a camera with some IR leds or a small single board computer like a Raspberry Pi 4 will use. They do make some pro equipment that go to 48W I think but the cost tends to go up faster than the wattage. That still is only going to give you around 4 amps which still isn't much but might let you run something like small low power computer or other device. PoE is great for what it was made for and the equipment that is made for it but don't expect to use it for more general electrical needs. Another thing to keep in mind is most CAT5 or 6 cable is solid wire which is subject to breaking in a high vibration environment like a vehicle you need to make sure you get strained wire and connectors made for it.
just curious are you gonna show us the spray foam insulation I would definitely like to watch that
You're gonna love next weeks video, then ;)
What about upgrading the OEM incandescent lights to LED’s such as brake and back up light. Anything out there one can just insert into existing light fixtures
Yep. That will be happening here
Hi chuck will you be building schoolies for a while yet? Look to get one this summer and your my first pick something like regret lysis but a few changes and what do you think of propane incinerator toilts?
Incineration septic is the only acceptable septic in protected lands like the Adirondack Park. I hate the idea of carrying around septic. It’s disgusting and too much work for my disabled self.
I wish that you would share the brand and links of these items. Especially the outlet boxes so that I can buy the exact ones that you recommend.
I have started doing this on my new videos! thanks for watching
especially that shallow blue box with multiple mudrings
@@ChuckCassadyYT
What are you using to step down the 24DC to 12? Transformers don't work, so some sort of switching regulator built into the DC sub-panel? or just as needed at the device/load? I like this distributed DC idea and also since you are feeding with 24v and stepping down your back to no voltage drop on the 12v.
i use converters from victron but there are many out there. most are buck style
Thanks for all the great info. I would be really interested in paying for your advice and purchasing products concerning the wiring of my bus. What is the best way to get in touch with you?
There is a link in the video description for reaching me!
Strain relief can also be at code within 8” of box instead of right at box. Correct?
Hey Chuck! Are you still doing solar/electrical system consultations?
interesting re "split loom" similar to what we in Australia call "corro" or "corrogated conduit". Are you saying that in a bus the issue of cables chafing is significant ?
I couldnt understand why in the beginning you said you were spraying and had to get all your cables in first. I couldnt understand why you wouldnt just run corro with draw wires.
The vibrations must be significant, eh?
This may be a dumb question, what advantage is there to running dc? Why not just use inverted ac when not on shore power?
My solar panels have designated mounting holes, that probably won’t exactly line up with the 90 degree location for the L brackets and the racks. How would you recommend handling that?
the panels are held in by clamps from above with these systems so it shouldnt be a worry
@ChuckCassidyYT How do you terminate the stranded wire at your AC outlets?
Is it a bad idea to do all DC wiring with 14 awg?
I was told it not if it breaks, it is when. So what do as it ages?
Hey Chuck. What gauge wire did you use for the brake lights and stuff? The 7 wire one ?? I have a 40’ bus. Is the 14/7 okay for that run ?
14ga is great
@Chuck Cassady
At about 11:30, you hurriedly show a cool 15A outdoor receptical with a weather sealing plug that has a channel it inserts into, but don't mention a name to reference it...
All I can find are cheap stiff plastic-ey junk.
Any help is appreciated!
Hi! I'm wiring my bus with 50a shore power, and had a question about the wire to use when connecting the inlet to the breaker box. I have 4 gauge AT-8000 (aluminum) someone gave me. From what I've read, this can be used, but I just don't see anybody using it. Copper is the convention, but do you have any experience using aluminum for this application?
Chuck would a bus or shuttle bus do me better saince I use a wheelchair part of my time and a walker full time
Have you looked into electric vehicles that will allow you to get off pavement? I recommend them to all my friends. You could ride it up a ramp and store indoors.
Which videos or creators would you suggest for more electric information?
Chuck - I am an electrical engineer and I am impressed. Another margarita seems appropriate. :
Thanks ken!
Question. I bought all of my DC wire for my setup, and it's all triplex 🙃 is there any way I could still use it, but without using the ground??
hahah yeah there is nothing wrong with just leaving that wire out
@@ChuckCassadyYT hallelujah! 😅
How much do you charge to run electrical in a short bus?
I sent you an email through your website titled "Partial Conversion", hoping to hear from you about it. Haven't as of yet.
did you by any chance film the spray foaming?
Watch the video this sunday!
@@ChuckCassadyYT looking forward to it. thanks.
Chuck, don’t understand why you’re using 12/3 over 12/2 unless you’re only using that for 3-way switch wiring, which doesn’t sound like you are. The second number is the number of correct carrying conductors and 12/2 would be suitable for all the loads you listed. Is that what you meant to say or am I missing something here?
In the marine wire world, the ground is counted, so what I call 12/3 someone from the residential world would call 12/2
Forgive my ignorance, but help me understand the 12/3 wiring to the dedicated 20amp outlets, rather than a 12/2? I am learning...or trying to
I wish my brain could comprehend all of this 😂😩
🚌 💪😎🇺🇲 🚌
not gonna lie, this is pretty intimidating.