Wiring Schematic Nightmare

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Bosse

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Oct 15, 2024
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My husband and I, recently (within the last year) became owners of a 1978 holiday rambler free spirit motorhome, with a 454 Chevy big block motor, and it is super quiet for not being started in about 6 years prior to our ownership.. my husband is a skilled mechanic, under the hood he's amazing..
But... He's not familiar with the electrical parts of the motorhome. We need any and all knowledgeable feedback we can get on how to properly wire everything from under the dash/hood/power converter/breaker box/fuses & panels/to electrical outlets, etc etc etc...
**We're currently going to be living in this RV and would like to get it figured out with the wiring**
Any feedback, pdf's, pictures, videos, links, on this would be greatly greatly appreciated..
 
never owned a motorhome so can't speak to how to wire the motorized end, but you might start with this for the RV basics.

There is also a library section on this site. Click on resources up top. Electrical stuff can be found here

Unless you get very comfortable with how to wire it you might consider hiring a qualified electrician or RV repair place to do it. RVs go up in flames extremely quickly and it's not worth the money you save if you don't do it right
 
It begs the question, what happened to the wiring that was there? Odds of finding any documentation ('schematic') for a near 50 year old RV are as close to zero as statistically possible so you are rolling your own here. A 70's vintage RV will not be terribly complex, just a handful of 12 and 120V circuits but if this is a full time proposition, you might think about updating some of the features and capabilities than simply restoring what's there. Scorched earth R&R will likely be more time and money efficient than surgically restoring a 45 year old setup so think about what this thing needs to do when it's done, and work backwards from there in terms of devices, outlets, lights and appliances you would want.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
By far the best information about the 12V circuitry of an RV that I know of is the articles The 12V Side of Life, parts 1 & 2. For the 120V system I suggest 120V RV Systems from Living the Dream as a pretty good general explanation. As one who made a career as an electromechanical technician, I recommend that he read both of these articles before getting started.

For any advice to be of much value, we need to know more of what your questions are. The motorhome had far too much electrical equipment and wiring for us to explain everything here. Tell us what is working and what isn't and we can probably help. Does your post imply that all of the wiring is bad, or some of it or? Since you seem to have it running and I assume it can be driven, the chassis side of things must be working.
 
The first thing you need to do especially as you're going to be full timing in a 50 year old RV is make a plan. Times have changed a lot since it was built, a lot more electronics, we use a lot more power. Microwaves were new then, today there a necessity but a big power draw. Are you gutting it where new wiring could be run easily? What type of RVing you will do, park to park or a lot of boon docking? If you're going to boon dock is there a working generator? Is solar something you want to invest in? An inverter/charger? If you're going to spend a lot of time in parks and want the modern conveniences would you consider converting to 50 amps?

I'll agree you're not going to find any documentation for this, you might as well consider it a blank slate, decide how you're going to use it and what you'll need to do that. Your husband should be pretty familiar with 12v from being a mechanic, lights and motors are the same in a car as a motor home. If you're going to try to keep it looking period the appliances should have a tag with the manufacturer and model, search for manuals online. But in all honestly if a 50 year old frig is working today I wouldn't put a lot of faith in it working tomorrow, I'd be considering replacements for most appliances when I was working on an overall plan. You won't find repair parts the same as you won't find schematics or manuals.

Do you have any schools in your area that offer enrichment classes? One in home electric would be a great way to get some hands on experience in how everything works and works together.
 

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