Wiring Our Skoolie
Our 12V Skoolie Electrical Setup
I really should’ve kept notes for this blog post! It’s been a year since we did the wiring on our skoolie and I can’t remember every detail. I will try and summarize what we did as best as I can and include photos & supply lists as per usual.
Power Source
Our Goal Zero YETI 3000.
We have a Goal Zero brand YETI 3000 Portable Power Station. It’s essentially a lithium ion solar battery bank. We also have four 100W solar panels on top of the bus that charge up the YETI 3000. On days when it isn’t sunny enough, we can also plug the battery bank into shore power for an extra charge. However, with our 12V fridge and our Maxxair Fan running about 24 hours a day, our consistent output is only about 12 watts. Not bad at all!
Our 4 100W solar panels.
The power cords from the solar panels in the bus’ interior.
Wiring All of Our Lights/Appliances
Steps Taken:
Sketch out where we would want lights to be located. This was tricky because we made these choices based on theoretical room setups. Somehow it’s worked out!
As we put the ceiling in, we used a 2.5” hole saw drill bit to make the holes where we’d place each recessed LED ceiling light. Then we wired the lights and pulled the wire through the ceiling as we continued to install more. (See picture of Emmett below).
Each connection has a positive and a negative connection. Positive connections were then attached to ring terminals which we connected to a fuse. The negative connections were also attached to ring terminals which we then connected to the bottom of the fusebox where the negative connections were grounded. (See diagram below).
Fixtures Wired:
12V LED RV Wall Sconce Light Fixture with ON/Off Switch with E26 LED Bulb (2 pack)
RV Boat Recessed Ceiling Light 4 Pack Super Slim LED Panel Light DC 12V 3W Full Aluminum Downlights, Warm White (x3)
12V Reading Lamp - Machined Aluminum Brushed Nickel - LED Light with USB (x2)
Maxxair (00-04000K) 12V Roof Top Fan/Vent (x2) {see this link for fan install}
SHURFLO 4008-171-E65 12V 3GPM Revolution Pump
CONTOURE 10.7 cu. ft. Frost-Free 12V Compact Refrigerator, Stainless Steel
Supplies Used:
Battery Cable with Anderson Powerpole 45 Amp Connectors and 3/8 inch Terminal Rings, 10 Gauge Wire, 6 Feet
Blue Sea Systems ST Blade Fuse Block - 12 Circuits with Negative Bus & Cover
10 Amp Standard Blade Fuses (20 pieces)
Utilitech 20-Count Ring Wire Connectors
American Technology Components Single SPST On-Off Switch with Bezel, 12V (x3)
Female Heat Shrink Spade Connectors - Blue 16-14 Gauge Wire Connectors - 150 ct.
Male Heat Shrink Spade Connectors - Blue 16-14 Gauge Wire Connectors - 150 ct.
Quick Disconnect Wire Connectors - Electrical Spade Terminals - Yellow 12-10 Gauge (90 pieces)
AWG Heat Shrink Step-Down Multi-Wire Connectors (25 Pack)
7 Function Digital Multimeter
GARDNER BENDER Terminal and Crimping Tool Kit
TITAN3 Multi-Function Butane Torch
IDEAL Reflex Super T-Stripper Stainless Steel Wire Cutter/Stripper, 8-16 Awg Solid, 10-18 Awg Stranded
Gardner Bender 8-Count 3.2mm 3-in Heat Shrink Tubing
Gardner Bender 5-Count 4.7mm 3-in Heat Shrink Tubing
Utilitech 100-Pack 4-in Nylon Zip Cable Ties
Southwire 100-ft 20/2 Solid Twisted Doorbell Wire (By-the-Roll)
Utilitech 66-ft Black Electrical Tape
Cambridge Resources 5-Count Butt Splice Wire Connectors (x2)
Southwire 25-ft 12-AWG Stranded White Copper THHN Wire By-the-roll
CERROWIRE 50 ft. 12 Gauge Black Solid Copper THHN Wire
Step-down connectors. The top has not been heat shrunk but the bottom one has.
Emmett threading wire through a hole we pre-drilled in the ceiling for an inset LED light.
We wired the fan and then put in more ceiling boards, pulling the wire through as we went.
This is how we set up our fuse box. All of the negative connections are attached to the lower portion of the box.
The Final Result
Putting together a solar-powered 12v system on our skoolie.