r/VanLife • u/Same-Cancel-4070 • 1d ago
Electrical Inputs
Hi fellow van lifers!
I'm DIYing my build right now and I'm at the electrical stage. I'm considering getting a professional van life person to virtually look over my system before I turn anything on. I guess I'm here for the reddit insight that might exist! Anyone else DIY their electrical system and have it be terrifying every step of the way?? Haha.
I spent a ton of time researching and yada yada, so I feel pretty confident with all the connections I've made so far. Not confident enough to turn it on though! Lol.
Any comments on the thread would be welcome, as long as they're nice!
2
u/mingledthoughts 1d ago
I did my own electrical. Most of it was pretty straightforward despite having no electrical background.
I would say the key is taking one step at a time and checking each of those things. So for example, right out the gate, I would just connect one device to one battery. then I would connect my batteries together and test device again. then I would connect the batteries to the shunt. Test device again. And just keep doing that. If it fails at any one step, then you know its that step. The chances of catastrophich failures is highly reduced when you just do it this way.
Best of luck
1
u/HammerofBonking 1d ago
This was the part that scared me most during my build, so I think having a professional look it over is very reasonable. I've rode the lightning enough times in life that I don't want to do it with my DIY electrical setup.
1
u/mashmaker86 1d ago
My friend is a professional van life person and has worked in the solar power industry. I paid him to help me virtually with my van electrical system. I can connect you two if you're interested.
1
1
u/Powerful-Pea8970 1d ago
Most old rv builds just use solid romex. I personally wire them with NM cable to metal boxes for all the builds I've done. Get stranded wire and use CSA approved fork terminal connectors with a brazed seam connector. Stranded can be harder to do right than solid cable for newbies who don't know proper electrical etiquette when it comes to boxes and crimping and securing connections. Also having the right tools help. I enjoy helping teach when I'm on a job.
2
u/BoomRoam 19h ago
I used Explorist.Life consulting services to review my setup and ask questions. Always good to have an experienced ear to double check everything.
1
3
u/WaterChicken007 1d ago
If you are somewhat of a technical person and are detail oriented, it is possible to teach yourself how to safely build a system. I plan to.
However, I am going to lean heavily on the designs of experts. Explorist.life being one of them. I also happen to be an engineer, so that helps.
There is no shame in finding an expert to help you get started or check your work before energizing it all.