I finally got my 12V outlet installed! (Honestly, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.)
Brian wired the new outlet into the electrical panel. I have room down the row where the fuses are, and he wired it into one of those and popped a new fuse in.
Here's his contact info in case you want to reach him - he pretty much does everything RV related:
Brian Boone – (406) 270-4820
He drilled a hole in the side of my upper cabinet on the right side by my bunk then ran the wires along the inside of the cupboards, drilled a hole into the closet wall and brought the wires down to the electrical panel.
There are a lot of things in that area. I have three drawers that fit into those holes and the bottom left one is the panel. Alongside and behind and below the drawers are my inverter, two switch boxes, a converter, whole house water filter, water pump, and tons of wiring. (I checked behind the drawers as I was writing this yesterday, and guess what I found? More about that bad news at the end of this post.)
Below is the cupboard by my bunk where the installation was done. Unfortunately I didn’t get photos of the first outlet, but it was a regular 12V that went through a hole in the walls of that upper cupboard. Brian used good sized wires so I can actually put a 200 or 400V inverter in the outlet and plug my crock pot into it (or other things). Can’t imagine what else, but who knows? The wires will be able to handle a larger load then the smaller wires installed with the original 12V that came with The Palms.
I talked to Brian later that week and he said he just ordered a bunch of new 12V outlets that included another outlet with a 1 amp and 2.1 amp for USB cords. So I can use that plug to recharge my iPad or cell phone and it draws right from the battery without having the generator on, even if I turn the inverter off. And it has a LED readout of the battery bank voltage, too.
I told Brian I wanted one! So when his order came in, he was back to install it for me.
Here it is installed with my Sirius radio plugged in:
The photo below shows the charging plugs on each side with the battery readout in the middle:
When it’s dark, this is what it looks like:
I didn’t really take the above photo at night, but changed the camera settings to show the readouts. I’ve NEVER had a 14.7 Voltage readout at night!
It’s fun to get little mods like this done. When I had a sticks and bricks home and I started getting antsy for a new place, I’d move the furniture around or get something new for the house. I’m finding with The Palms, as much as I’m wanting to nest again in a home base without wheels, just having something like this new outlet gives me so much pleasure, it takes the edge off a bit, you know?
I can’t think of another thing I want to add to The Palms. For now we’re good! Nice!
This was my VERY BAD DAY yesterday:
When I looked inside that cabinetry yesterday (where Brian had been working to wire the new 12V outlet), I noticed some water on the floor where some of the electronics and lots of wires are. I immediately called Brian. I can see his campsite from my kitchen window and his truck was there, so I had my fingers crossed that he was home and available. He said he’d be here in 10 minutes, and when he looked inside and we tested the water pump, he said it was leaking and I needed a new one. Mine is 10 years old and has been getting pretty loud when I turned it on, so I wasn't surprised.
It was 1:30 on New Year’s Eve and the stores in Quartzsite were still open, so I quickly packed up The Palms, grabbed some cash and a credit card for my pocket and I headed for K B Tools on W Kuehn. The owner came over to help me, to make sure I bought the correct one, luckily they had them in stock right there on the shelf. Whew! Brian said he’d be over Sunday or Monday to install it. I have fresh water in gallon jugs and Brian said to keep checking the towels he put around the water pump, and that if I needed to, I could use the water system in The Palms. I think I have enough water to last me, though.
As I'm buying the new water pump, I realize the credit card I put in my pocket with $100 cash isn't there. So I paid with the cash, figuring maybe I left the credit card on my dinette table. I go back to the rig, look all over - no card. I called CitiCard and there had been no charges, so they put a security hold on it for 5 days, and if I find it in the meantime, I'll call them to take the hold off. If I don't find it, they will re-issue the card with another number.
I’m driving home and along the paved road through the campground I hear "clang, clink, clang." I pulled over, checked the inside and all was fine. I went outside and looked all around the rig, under it, everything looked fine. Then I looked at the rear tire, and it's missing the tire cover. Luckily it was just down the road so I went to get it. But I'm still missing two of those little things that stick out, one plain one and the one that screws into the wheel. (Anyone know where I can replace them?)
So yesterday I had to replace the water pump, lost a credit card, and lost the wheel cover, luckily found it, but still need parts go get it back on.
Looking at the positive side of all this, I was lucky Brian was immediately available, K B Tools was open and had the water pump, I found the tire cover, and when I was putting Katie to bed in the bunk last night, there was my credit card laying on the bunk. I must have put it there when I was lowering the TV antenna, and it never did make it into my pocket with the cash. All in all, I guess I had good luck each time after the bad. It could have been a lot worse.
From me and Katie, have a great New Year’s Day, and a very happy, healthy, prosperous 2016!
(I love the emoticons on Open Live Writer, can you tell?)
