Running 12 Volt DC Stranded Wire In Our School Bus * Skoolie Conversion * Gus The Struggle

[@stevenannett1739]

i love how youve taken the time to explain,,then show everything you guys do ,,,most videos just kind of run through it ,,,and the electric scares me to death !! thanks again

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you, hope it made sense!

[@watahyahknow]

you the first rv builders i see using damping mat throughout the buss , it will help a lot wth roadnoise and during rain (no plunking of rain on steel roof)

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We are exited to see how well it works!

[@wasabifetish2972]

It electric boogie woogie woogie lol another song that got stuck in my head

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Now that is a good one!!

[@paulm.6437]

I hope you put protective metal over the through-holes where your wires go through your wood, so that you prevent either screwing into a wire to cause a fire or short, when you put the walls on.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We sure did thank you

[@Reviewing_Playing_and_More_RPM]

Great walk through and explanation of how the wires will work, very well done...

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you very much!

[@arkaidywisniowska4429]

Again, thank you so much for this video. Electrical is such a mystery and this helped tremendously!!

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We are so glad it actually made sense!!

[@JasmineRich23]

so much great information. thank you guys

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you so much! So glad that it actually made sense!

[@DBauer-oe8yo]

I appreciate your videos, humor, and the quality of your build. I am currently building a 40' roof raise and you have provided a good baseline for a 'solid build out. Nice 💪

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Wow thank you so much! And that sounds like an awesome build!

[@neilfairless4589]

Guy's, for the water pump, run heavy guage wires fused from your batteries, short as you can get away with. Don't run long wires, run longer pipes. This will help to prevent hunting/pulsing of the pump. Also, put in some draw lines so when the walls go up, you can easily feed in the circuits you forgot.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

These are great tips! Thank you so much!!

[@freethegreat]

What do you mean by "fused from your batteries" ?

[@kirktruman6707]

Hi Meridith hi Paco awesome now I know how to lol. The bus is looking nice and clean

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you so much! Hopefully, we made it make sense!

[@kirktruman6707]

@@GustheStruggleBus lol absolutely I am saving your video for when I do my bus. You are welcome.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

@@kirktruman6707 We can not wait till you start your build!!

[@TriStarTravelers]

www Gus is growing up fast lol... cant wait to see yall out on the road

[@GustheStruggleBus]

He really is! Although we wish a little faster lol! Can't wait!

[@danielfisch655]

Great job so far and I also highly recommend the use of rubber grommets for extra protection, thank you for sharing.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you so much! And we added in those today!

[@danielfisch655]

MEREDITH and PACO 👍🏽👊🏽

[@mr.c6383]

Safety hint: everyplace that you drilled a hole to run your wires.... that space needs a metal protector plate so that a nail/screw does not go into your wiring and cause an electrical fire

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We have received this tip a lot in the last video so we actually added those today! Thank you!

[@arkaidywisniowska4429]

I tried googling protector plates but tons of different things came up. Can you specify what this is? I'm getting ready to wire my bus soon.

[@mr.c6383]

@@arkaidywisniowska4429 www.homedepot.com/p/1-1-2-in-x-2-1-2-in-Nail-Plates-50-Pack-62899/100151742?MERCH=REC-_-searchViewed-_-100375038;100375012;205326040;100375380;204842296;100375335;100234152;203302245;203302244;202092484;203302247;-_-100151742-_-N

[@cycleoflife7331]

Reuse the metal sheets you take out to make protectors

[@johnclamshellsp1969]

Hey, you two, wazzup and hope all is well. You have not heard from me due to our car engine going ping/pang/bang/clank and some other mush growlish sound. The engine blew right in the driveway and first AM start. The old gal had 212,000 miles. Well, all good now, got another car and I,m back to bus work. We had a 2000 Saturn SL2 and bought another 2002 Saturn SL2 and I made two cars into one, in four days.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Oh no! I am so sorry that happened!! At least it happened at home and not on the highway or something! Glad you have recovered ok and are back at it! Can't wait for more updates!!

[@paulm.6437]

My question would be, how would you attach slats on the ceiling, for a final t and g planking, or to attach plywood on a curved ceiling? How could the boards be attached, if your hat trusses are hardened steel?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Hey Paul, If you continue through our conversion seres we add wood and use tongue and grove to do the curve!

[@ianporter303]

Hey my partner and I are big fans! We are doing a build right now and have a question about the dc system. The question is about the grounding to the chassis. The bus still has its original dc tail and head lights grounded to the chassis. I was wondering if we did the same to our dc system(grounding it to the chassis) would if affect either or both systems when they had current going through it? or no affect at all?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

I do not believe they will be affected

[@meganhampton4668]

I absolutely love your guys' videos! You guys really help explain things in terms I can understand. My partner and I are converting a bus, but I'm doing most of the work myself since he works a full time job. Plus, his area of expertise is the land and garden. Lol. So thank you for making these videos to help me in the process of learning all of the things! I have a question though; for the ground wire, do you not hook it up to the fuse box? It just gets screwed into the metal beam?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Well, first of all, congratulations to you and your partner for taking the dive to convert a bus lol. KZbin University is going to be your biggest friend. At first we had some reservations around doing this as well, we asked a couple of different people and some told us yes and some told us known. We trusted our gut feeling and decided to do anyways, plus it saved us a lot of wire. We later tested it and it seemed to work as long as you ground your negative and your batteries everything should be working fine. We have tried it a couple different times now with a car battery and even a drill battery and both times has worked. this should only work with your DC system not your AC system. Hope this helps and answers your questions if you have any other questions at all please feel free to leave a comment or DM us on Instagram. I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to answer it correctly but I will definitely try 😁

[@meganhampton4668]

Thank you so much, I appreciate it(:

[@isaiahbangura4421]

@@meganhampton4668 Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5rYl3mDgNSfprs

[@hadleaeubanks4208]

Hey Meredith and Paco, Been using y’all’s videos to help guide my build. Y’all are so helpful! I’m working on my 12V wiring now and am a bit confused, so wanted to ask some questions. I originally had all of my LED lights “branching” back to one main positive line that goes back to the fuse box. After watching your video, I’m thinking that I need to wire my sections of lights (living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc.) individually to the fuse box. Is that right? With how my wiring is right now, I have seven lines running back to the fuse box: interior lights, shower fan, toilet fan, stove fan, living room USB outlets, bedroom USB outlets, and water pump. Curious how many lines y’all’ve got going back to your fuse box and what they’re associated with. Looking forward to hearing back from you and continuing to build with y’all! Cannot wait to see Gus completed and on the road!

[@GustheStruggleBus]

That's a great question! And the answer is it depends on your preference. For us we wanted to have different light switches for different sections of the bus.(living room, hallway, bedroom, bathroom, under cabinet) so on this case we have on line running to the fuse box for each of theses. Each with its own fuse. We have around 10 lines going to the fuse box. Fan, water pump, bathroom exhaust fan, plus each set of lights. I hope this answers your question.

[@hadleaeubanks4208]

Ah, makes sense! Thank you!!

[@wasabifetish2972]

I can't believe I found you on Facebook

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Right! It is so exciting! So much easier to talk on there too!!

[@jaypeople7210]

If your run more then I fixture for your DC on 1 load you should use a relay so a hot to the switch then the switch powers the relay which powers your lights

[@GustheStruggleBus]

I have heard this before, could you explain exactly what the relay does? and in which situation we should do this?

[@NotTylerO]

@@GustheStruggleBus Yea, I'm also curious as to why this is needed?

[@pamcolechadwell1302]

I hope by the time you get your floor and ceiling up you have some headroom, Paco.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We will have as much as we need!

[@elisabethbracken631]

Okay I'm about to start running DC wire after finishing most of the AC done but am a bit confused still. So does it matter if the DC and AC wires are run through the same holes? I've read many things saying they shouldn't be because they are different currents or something like that but all the videos I've watched iy seems like everyone just uses the same holes when necessary/convenient. Is it because the wires aren't encased in a conduit that it's okay to have them near eachother?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

It is just best not to crowd the wires or have the rubbing against each other

[@mckinlayjulie66]

You should run electrical up to your deck. maybe run fairy lights.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

OOOO now that is a great idea!

[@paulm.6437]

Just saw a deck on a short school bus by Destination Nowhere, and he put in 6 puk lites in his new roof deck., along with a short protective steel square-tubed metal fence around it.

[@Thewokecult]

Awesome info. How many feet of the 12/2 did you use?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you so much!! Oh my gosh I am not sure, maybe 700?

[@pamcolechadwell1302]

I don't know what your perfection is now Paco but you could be an Electrician then travel around the US with your job If you liked working with Wire. My Dad and my 4 older brothers were Electricians. Big money and travel when they were young before they started having kids.Or Meredith you could do it also.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Hey! Now that is a great idea! I feel I would need a lot more practice and research. We will see how well out system turns out and go from there lol!

[@Ryan-hr9hw]

For no electrical background, you talk with confidence and sound like you have it down. How long were you researching 12v before you shot the video?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you, we did a ridiculous amount of research and are still doing more as we go! One big learning process!!

[@TchauRod]

Did y run 1 single black(ground) wire per light to chassi OR daisy chain lights with 1 black to chassi? I mean like 1 ground per circuit connected to chassi

[@GustheStruggleBus]

That is what we were suggested and we wanted to get to each one easily

[@TchauRod]

Makes sense! Thanks a lot Also, Thanks for showing the T-tap connector...I didn't know there were such things. Very handy!!

[@TchauRod]

Makes sense! Thanks a lot Also, Thanks for showing the T-tap connector...I didn't know there were such things. Very handy!!

[@terrybotkin4318]

I've seem several of your videos. One thing I don't see you taking in account for is future additions or trouble shooting and replacement..... meaning your not running anything in conduit. Yes it would be more expense but it can protect the wire and you can remove or replace a wire if it develops an issue. I would imagine your going to spray foam so if any of those wires have issues you get to tear our all your ceiling and parts of your foam to run another wire.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

you live and you learn, a great things for others to see and learn from!

[@BEAdventurePartners]

Awesome insight y'all! Good move on getting stranded wire for 12V. Although upcycling the wire from the bus sounds like a good idea, there could be possible longterm negative implications (like stuff not working all of the sudden because of old wires - then trying to chase that down would be tough). We have a question... We may have just not watched a video where you explained it... BUT... Why did you name your Skoolie "Gus The Struggle Bus"? It doesn't seem like y'all are struggling because you're rocking your conversion! Also, love the bloopers on this one! Paco, if you know how to explain something in Spanish, switch gears! That would be hilarious to see you say "I'm not sure how to say this in English, but totally know in Spanish... So here we go...." We loved traveling to Spanish speaking countries to practice! Keep being awesome, y'all! - Brian + Erin

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thank you guys so much! We can always count on you to be super encouraging!! We named him that because he reminded meredith of the fat mouse from cinderella and we are literally always struggling in life, trust us lol! We have been riding the struggle bus since day one haha. Maybe we will just do an entire video in spanish!

[@BEAdventurePartners]

MEREDITH and PACO ahh! We remember Gus the little fat mouse!😊 Well... y’all seem to be doing pretty awesome! Your filmography is fun! Your video editing is awesome! And your YT channel is growing exponentially! Keep on doing it! If you do an episode all in Spanish, be sure to burn-in English captions so you don’t lose watch time from your English speaking audience (maybe do just a short segment 😉) We have used Rev to do captions in the past. - Brian + Erin

[@meganhampton4668]

How did you guys connect the positive wire for the lights together into the wire for the switch?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

all of the lights branch of to one single strand which than is connected to the switch.

[@wasabifetish2972]

Quick question are y'all going to do a fireplace or a wood stove???

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Yes! We will have a wood burning stove!!

[@vaughn6371]

I heard several times that insurance companies don't like the idea of wood stoves. I'm thinking I might have to add mine after I take pictures of everything along with receipts to give to insurance company to try and get full coverage.

[@RehdClouhd]

How did you wire the system from the beginning (exterior power source) to the fuse/breaker box?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Hey Cody, we actually haven't done that yet. In this videos we're just showing how to run the wire. But we will actually be getting to hooking up the whole system here soon hopefully within the next month 😁

[@rdwhite65]

Did yall get the wire locally or Amazon?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We got the wire at home depot actually!

[@rdwhite65]

Thank You 👍

[@vaughn6371]

Stay away from copper coated aluminum wires. Connections break down due to both metals flex at different temperatures. Just like solar, electrical is nit an area to cut costs.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

That i a good tip thank you!

[@vaughn6371]

@@GustheStruggleBus im just repeating advice from explorist life channel 😃. I've seen all your videos to date and know you're doing great work. 👍

[@chellekim5486]

i watched your 110-120v wiring and didnt quite get it, but can you explain again why you can run series of appliances on 110v wiring? doesn't it already draw more watt, so running them in one circuit could draw too much from the inverter or am i making things up?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

so I'm not sure if I am understanding you correctly but I'm going to try to answer it to the best of my ability. with the 110-120v system, we ran mostly everything in a series but there are certain things that we ran specifically to an appliance. appliances require more amperage so it is recommended that (depending on the appliance) it has its own breaker. for example the AC and Fridge. everything else that we hooked up was wall plugs that could go to anything. regardless of how many things you have on one circuit, you are right, it could still draw too much from the inverter. for example: if I try to use my saw at the same time as I'm making coffee (weird example lol) it will overload my inverter because I am using more than 3000 watts. I hope this answers your question 😀

[@chellekim5486]

@@GustheStruggleBus thanks for taking the time to answer! it helped me understand better

[@chellekim5486]

@@GustheStruggleBus one more question, what wire size did ya'll use?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

We used 12/2 Romex for our AC and 14 gauge for our DC. It is recommended that you use stranded wire for anything in your skoolie. We fortunately did not learn this until after we installed The solid Romex.

[@chellekim5486]

@@GustheStruggleBus oof that's a bummer. yea 've been reading the vibrations for mobile homes aren't good for solid strand. I'm assuming your 14AWG is 2 strand as well? Also I appreciate y'all so much for taking time to answer my questions. Your videos are very helpful and I enjoy watching y'all!

[@danielleal298]

Do you guys have a email I can contact you with skoolie questions?

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Of course! [e-mail] We look forward to hearing from you!

[@coopdawg01]

Hey, guys! Nice work. DISCLAIMER: We are by ZERO means pros at this stuff... we are DIYers just like y'all, so take this comment for what it's worth...LOL.....BUT, one thing we learned in the research process, if you want to be able to track battery health and usage, you'll want to install a shunt between the battery and all 12v negatives. The way we understand it, the shunt "magically" (ie, we have no clue how it works) measures the negative draw, and you install a gauge that shows you percentage of battery remaining, voltage, amp hour usage, etc....However..... to use a shunt (the way we understand it) you have to run ALL negatives through the fuse block (which is then connected to the shunt). How many times can we say, "shunt??" :-) We originally ran our 12v system very similarly to yours (ie, grounding all the lines to the frame/chassis with a self tapping screw), but after reading up on the shunt, we realized that those circuits wouldn't be accounted for in the shunt's measurement. For this reason, we changed our circuits so that they all go back to the negative bar on the fuse block. There are tons of videos out there discussing this, so don't take our word for it... :-) Just our two cents. Your wiring really looks nice and clean! Y'all are doing a great job!

[@Ryan-hr9hw]

A shunt is just a resistor for high current but that will only give you current. Do you have some type of controller that tracks the kilowatts used vs battery capacity? Thanks for the informative post

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Wow thank you for the tip and taking your time to write this!! We will have to look into this a bit more.

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Would the charge controller give you this info as well? Or would we have to have a specific device that checks on the health and draw of the battery?

[@coopdawg01]

Ryan we use this with our shunt: Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor www.amazon.com/dp/B075RTSTKS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_2D7LMkhcpW1gq

[@coopdawg01]

MEREDITH and PACO Its interesting. The charge controller gives some information, but it doesn't seem to be as accurate as the victron battery monitor. The primary thing we see is that the charge controller shows the batteries draining at a MUCH faster pace than the battery monitor does. For instance, we can turn our lights on (led puck lights), and the charge controller will immediately show the batteries down to under 90%, while the monitor shows a seriously slower drain. I can't explain the difference, but I trust the monitor more than the controller. Maybe someone else with more knowledge can chime in.

[@edwinsaragih]

That is too complicated for me... hope things work ok... cheers

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Hhaaha it is still too complicated for us ahah! Thank you!

[@peevedpatriot3217]

The thing you got wrong is you don't use solid wire Romex in an RV for the same reason you don't use it in boats, it needs to be stranded wire because of movement ---- But go ahead and bash me ...I only do things right ... js And the 12 v wiring should be the Jacketed type not single thhn type ... Fail on both counts

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Thanks

[@MP-mj3rj]

I’m very picky before I’ll hit that subscribe button lol doesn’t mean I’m not following along lol don’t worry I’m not getting out yet 😂

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Well, hopefully we pass the test! The next few videos might not be the most exciting and will be all electrical. But soon we will do insulation and then the real fun will begin!

[@ladooke]

Hi, Do not cut your wires, use one off these : www.amazon.com/dp/B00YO8RIXQ Why cutting your wires. You can go straight from the battery to the switch and then from the switch to the lamp or something els.The less connection the better. Nice Viedo's. Grtz, From Belgium

[@GustheStruggleBus]

Ok! We will look into that! Thank you so much!