Are any of you connecting your trailers to your AC wall outlets when at home and if so what method are you using?


Thanks
Randy

Here is what I have come across so far.

1. Purchase the right adapter from the local trailer dealer for a good penny $16+.
2. Install a female receptacle on the trailer, build a male to male pig tail (unsafe).
3. Drill a hole in the trailer be it through the floor or wall, big enough to run a bare cord through and then make up the ends female to male one inside the other outside and conceal the other end under the trailer somehow.

Anyother ideas?

Thanks
Randy

Randy, your right, male to male very unsafe, and unwise. Go to your local computer guys and get the chassis male plug that you normally have in your computer and build a normal extension with the proper female plug to plug into the trailer.
For the road, I never use an inverter, I would rather use one the tail lights wire to supply 12 volts to a field charger and an onboard 12 volt DC fluorescent light.

Me being a computer guru I never would have thought of that aero :idea: , I just so happen to have a couple of power supply's lying around thanks man

Randy

You know the funny thing about it, is when you where asking about it, I started thinking about it and its only then I came with the idea, never thought of it before,.

Solar Power to a car battery?

CT, I plan on installing a car battery as well, I want the best of both worlds although how nice it would be to have a continus charger (solar), I plan on using my wallwart chargers as well.

I think Aero's idea was a great one.

Randy

I leave my field box in my trailer with it's 12v lawn tractor battery in it. I then plug in my 12v Battery Tender to my field box to recharge the field box battery, it's the only battery I charge prior to going to the field.

Agreed, get the proper connections to provide 120vac power to your trailer, a hot male end is asking for trouble. Sooner or later it will be exposed hot and someone will come in contact with it.

Vince

Randy,
I don't know about Ford trucks but my Chevy has two auxillary power connections on a fuse block under the hood. Each has a 30A fuse. The wiring harness the factory routed along the chasis to the rear contained two extra 10awg wires. I put connectors on the ends under the hood and bolted them to the fuse terminals. One of the wires goes to the lights in my cap/shell and the other goes straight to the 12V power supply in the bed. Both are constant-meaning they are independant of the ignition harness.
If your truck has the setup mine does it would be easy enough to get a five pole connector for both the truck and trailer. Just put the constant power on one of the poles. That way you could have a dedicated circuit for charging the 12V battery in the trailer.

For 120V just take one of your extension cords and cut it about one foot from the male end. Get the appropriate size male and female cord ends and replace the one you just cut off. Drill a hole in a convienient place on your trailer and insert the cut end of the piece from the extension cord. Inside the trailer put the female cord end on the cut wire. Silicone around the cord as it enters the trailer and let it sit overnight. (It would be better to have the factory molded end outside.)(A power strip might be nice too.)

For 120V on the fly: Since you may have the battery inside the trailer a simple 12V DC to 120V AC power inverter will convert the already avialable DC to AC. A 150Watt power inverter can be had for around $35 and will last for days with a fully charged battery. I've done it in the back of my truck with the wall warts.

I have to admit it sounds pretty involved. It really isn't though. Just three things to do and you'll have constant 12V and 120V whether you're traveling or sitting under the tree in your backyard.
Remember, the simpler you make things now the easier it will be to deal with away from home. Less time monkeying around means more time flying!

Jazzy, your method is what I had in mind, Aero's idea was a great idea but after tearing into the power supply I found that the wires were soldered on to the connectors. I was back to where I started trying to find a way to mount the PS plug. I would rather use the screw type terminals then soldering wires to the terminals.

I plan on building a box on the tongue of the trailer up against the main vertical wall of the closure that will house a 12 volt marine battery. there is where I will also house the the male end of the extension cord.

I have ruled out the male end to male end pig tail.

Some background of myself; The company I work for now is the City of Austin Electric "Austin Energy" 17 1/2 years with 5 1/2 more to go before retirement, when I first started with AE I was in substation maintenance "38kv and up" for 6 years and then migrated over to transformer shop where I did another 4 years, my next move was a career change into the world of computers where I now sit behind others computer helping them with their problems.

The idea of building the male to male pigtail was a foolish thought on my part and I of all should have known better. I have seen what the higher voltage can do to someone and have even gotten bit myself by 220 a few time's, OUCH!! I really! really! don't want to be taped by 220 anymore much less 120 for that matter.

As far as the inverter, I don't have one as of yet but do plan on purchasing one. I do have a 10amp power supply that converts AC to DC that I will be using as well.

I use a DC/ AC inverter in My Truck to power up my computer, fax and wireless internet. ( I work in remote area's) The only problem I had was the supplied 12 V cord is a little small. I installed a solenoid and ran heavy gauge wiring from the battery in the truck to the solenoid, and installed a 2 pole switch for turning the solenoid on/off. Seems to hold more consistant voltage, less line loss.

I hear ya Randy! Gettin' Zapped is not much fun anymore! I spent seven or eight years as a part-time commercial/industrial electrician and the last five full-time. As a journeyman I too know what higher voltage feels like. 277V kicks like a mule! 480V hurts pretty darn good too!
Whenever I'm working in energized high volt equipment my body tells me to be careful. The hair on the back of my neck and on my arms stand on end!

Having had safety pounded into my head, it might be a good idea to put a switch on the constant power to your truck's trailer pigtail. That is, if you go that route.

I don't know how familiar you are with camping trailers , (RV's)

I own a a fifth wheel camper and it seems you could very easily got to a rv dealer and get a snap cover for a an electrical cord use a cord of your choice and you have a way to plug it in to the house without getting zapped It will require you to drill about a 3 inch hole for the snap cover and as far as the inverter if your truck has a 12v hot wire to the plug, use that to run the inverter.

I have a 2000 f350 and mine has one from the factory

Being a Truck Mechanic......If you are near a Heavy Truck Dealer you can get a Block Heater Plug that mounts in a fender or bumper. It is a single 110 plug with a sealed snap cover to keep trash out. Then all you have to do is lift the cover and plug in a regular extention cord.

DEG

I contemplated most of the above and decided on the following a few months back....

I purchased a like new RV [recreation vehicle] power supply/charger/120AC power panel with multiple AC and DC breakers, complete with enclosure. $60.00 at an RV bone-yard. This device provides the means to have a 30 amp AC power supply, 12 VDC regulated power supply with an automatic charging system, circuit breakers and power distribution buss for AC and DC. The unit is small and enclosed in an metal enclosure.

I utilized a 30 amp capable #10 gage contractor power-cord much like an RV would use but it's longer. I have a small ventilated compartment [accessible from the exterior and interior of the trailer] which house's two group 27 hi-capacity Sealed maintenance free 12 volt battery's, coupled to the power distribution buss, DC to AC power inverter and a regulated solar panel for battery maintenance when out and unhooked from the tow vehicle. When towing the truck or motor-home charges the batteries automatically as required, while at home the power converter handles all the work.

I additionally rigged a 16 VDC regulator to provide a power source for charging TX batteries and other things requiring more than 12 VDC input. This is somewhat redundant with the DC to AC inverter but you don't have to carry around the AC powered wall wart's and such. I have the batteries coupled in series and parallel to achieve either 12/24 VDC.

Is it overkill probably... But works flawlessly and is rather simple. Nearly every RV and Marine application produced, currently utilizes the same components. All is readily available at Marine and or RV parts suppliers.

For the simplistic approach as mentioned by others you can purchase at a RV or Marine parts store a raintite standard 2"x4" size electrical faceplate adapter which has a twist on or spring loaded door which will accept nearly any grounded #14 gage or better extension chord female end. It could'nt be any simpler, just obtain a chord long enough for your needs and your plug and play...