My 30 amp service upgrade

[JCrown]

Hello everyone. After reading all of the posts in this section I decided to upgrade my Mesa to 30 amp service. I already got the rear bed end wall tore out and bought all the necessary parts (I hope). Here is my plan. I bought a 30 amp male twist lock power inlet and power cord from etrailer that should be here in the next couple of days. I bought a new breaker box and installed a 30 amp main breaker, a 20 amp breaker for my future AC unit and a 15 amp breaker for the original circuit which includes the 2 receptacles on the bed ends and the dc power converter that powers the ceiling light and fan. I figured since I only had 15 amp service before and the original circuit (which was the only circuit) worked for everything that I needed except the AC unit, leaving the original circuit intact and on a 15 amp breaker would suffice. Both of the 15 amp receptacles on the bed ends are getting changed over to GFI as well as the 20 amp receptacle for the AC unit which will be a window shaker that I will install in the hole where the original refrigerator was. I have 10ga wire for between the twist lock power inlet and the 30 amp main breaker, 12ga wire for the 20 amp circuit and the original wire, which is 12ga, for the 15 amp original circuit. I haven't taken any pictures yet but I will take some when I get home on Sunday. I am open to suggestions, concerns, ideas, or whatever before I start wiring this thing.

Thanks to everyone who has posted in this section in the past for giving me a good starting point.

[JCrown]

Ok so after going over some of the posts in the AC section I am realizing that my plan for the AC unit probably won't be very effective due to the air flow issue with the AC being enclosed where the old fridge was. So the new plan is to replace the old fridge and wire the 20 amp circuit to the front bed end and use that with the 12000 btu portable AC that I already own. My only concern is should I wire a separate 15 amp circuit for the fridge or will it be good on the same 15 amp circuit as the 2 original bed end wall receptacles, the road cover fan and the light? I'm thinking that it should be good because the original 15 amp circuit powered all of that same stuff anyway but I almost feel like if I am in there rewiring anyway, maybe I should just put the fridge on its own circuit. What do you guys think?     

[raider]

Well I'm not an electrician and there is probably a reason for that. I was just never able to grasp the concept of it all, as far as doing my own work anyway.
For your last statement though:
"but I almost feel like if I am in there rewiring anyway, maybe I should just put the fridge on its own circuit. What do you guys think?"     

Whatever project I do or whatever I'm working on I try and think of what I can do that might make things better, especially as you say, "while you are in there anyway." Whether  it makes things better for your project I don't know. Is it better to do it now or wait and say I wish I had done that or this after things are buttoned up?

Are you cutting a hole in the front (bezel) for the AC? There have been folks that have made window mounts for there AC's

[naturelover]

If feasible to do while you’re at it, may be best on its own circuit.  That way you’ll have the full 15A  capacity at the outlets, and if one of those would happen to trip the breaker, it won’t cut off the fridge.

[JCrown]

Well I'm not an electrician and there is probably a reason for that. I was just never able to grasp the concept of it all, as far as doing my own work anyway.
For your last statement though:
"but I almost feel like if I am in there rewiring anyway, maybe I should just put the fridge on its own circuit. What do you guys think?"     

Whatever project I do or whatever I'm working on I try and think of what I can do that might make things better, especially as you say, "while you are in there anyway." Whether  it makes things better for your project I don't know. Is it better to do it now or wait and say I wish I had done that or this after things are buttoned up?

Are you cutting a hole in the front (bezel) for the AC? There have been folks that have made window mounts for there AC's

So what I ended up doing was adding a 20 amp GFI on a dedicated circuit directly below the large window that is in front of the range. My plan for now is to use the portable 12000 btu AC unit that I already own and sit it on the bed end that my wife and I only use for storage, pipe the hot air exhaust out of the window using a piece of old plexi glass that I cut to fill in the gap that the exhaust tube will create in the window, then use 1/2 inch rubber tube going out of a drain hole that is already behind the fridge to drain the condensate water from the AC unit. Part of the reason that I put the 20 amp receptacle where I did was because In the future I might end up putting a window AC unit in so the power for it would be right below the window when and if that happens.

[count me in]

I rewired my 76 Mesa with a bigger and better power converter out of a salvaged 80s pickup truck camper that had been wrecked. This converter had more breakers on the 110V side (I think just on account of the "newer" thing)  I did split off the circuits that all were one originally, thinking I would add an AC unit later on, but sold that camper before that could happen.
I now have a 78 Ramada on which I do plan to replace the power converter and add a few 110v receptacles at that time, plus a car stereo to run off the 12v side and a cig lighter or 2 (I never was a smoker) for charging my phone when I don't have access to shore power. Particularly at this one campground that we like to frequent, we usually take a site in the "non electric" section, because of its view of the lake and close proximity to the shower house. and its like 1/3 the cost per nite to camp there/   but we usually go there in Oct, when AC isn't usually needed around here.  sometimes heat is at nite but my furnace will run off of 12v or 110v because of the power converter. I have my furnace blower motor on a short plug that is detatchable from the rest of the camper electrical, and when we go to this one particular place, I plug in a "Y" with 2 alligator clips so that I can isolate just the furnace blower motor and can run "just that" off of a deep cycle 12v battery if I want to. I set the battery just outside the hatch for the power cable, in a battery case on the ground.
On the fridge thing, my Mesa had a 2 way fridge, meaning it would run on propane or 12v power. In the Ramada I put in a brand new 3 way fridge, which can run off of 110v also depending on where I am at/ what is available. I got a he11uva deal via CL on that fridge.
I like the way it runs off of propane, it will run a LONG time on a 20# tank.... and seems to work the best that way vs either AC or DC electrical power.

[kanega]

Instead of upgrading my service, I converted to LED lights reducing the power demands.