Newmar Wiring and Adding/Revising Wiring

[DaveW-NBS]

As some may have seen, I’m a new member to the forum, and currently navigating the process ordering of a 2021 Bay Star 3124.

I'm pretty knowledgeable at wiring (110v, 12v, cat6, coax, etc) – really struggling at what to ask for in the way of “specials” since I haven’t experienced the MH – how difficult is it to do post-delivery wiring? How easy is it to pull wires through walls and the ceiling, add outlets, etc. How accessible is the fuse panel and how easy is it to add/expand circuits?

I'm looking forward to the upcoming opportunities, especially seeing all of the amazing things posted here. But I'm also overwhelmed by the opportunities and all the amazing/intimidating things posted here .... lol

Thanks for your input!
Dave

 

[Neal]

Hi Dave,

I suggest getting as much done by Newmar as you can. I've added quite a bit of electrical in mine such as LED lighting having to learn paths from the basements up into the house. I add 120V outlets as well as 12V outlets in the basement, not hard to do.

This thread may help:

Newmar Owners - Post your SPECIALS

It is a great resource of ideas on what to customize on a Newmar Motorhome. When its your turn to shop for something new and order your dream Newmar coach this list can be a gold mine for what to consider and how much people paid for the special. Post your ideas, what's approved, declined, and...

rvforums.com

 

[DaveW-NBS]

Hi Dave,

I suggest getting as much done by Newmar as you can. I've added quite a bit of electrical in mine such as LED lighting having to learn paths from the basements up into the house. I add 120V outlets as well as 12V outlets in the basement, not hard to do.

This thread may help:

Newmar Owners - Post your SPECIALS

It is a great resource of ideas on what to customize on a Newmar Motorhome. When its your turn to shop for something new and order your dream Newmar coach this list can be a gold mine for what to consider and how much people paid for the special. Post your ideas, what's approved, declined, and...

rvforums.com

Thanks Neal - I have a slew of "specials" in for quote - a lot of them I picked up from the thread you suggested - I would have never thought of some of them without having that list.

How easy is it to access the ceiling area? I'm thinking I may have a need to run several cat6 and coax cables, but until I get some time in the unit I can't be sure......

 

[Neal]

The ceiling has cross braces and would make it difficult. Easier to run below.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

The ceiling has cross braces and would make it difficult. Easier to run below.

Hey @Neal I always assumed the walls were solid, no air space, is that true?

 

[Neal]

Newmars are like a house. Aluminum studs insulation fiberglass wall. Best to look at build photos some share of their coaches on the line.

Get Newmar to run all cables even if In excess. Otherwise basement runs is your option IMHO. I never figured a good way from half bath electrical down to basement.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Yes! Have them string runs of Cat6 cable to every point imaginable! Think of wherever you’ll possible need AV, (HDMI), switching (wet bay), WiFi (mid bath/OHC/roof) , monitors, etc. Also, think about a hitch to dash run for something like @Dutch Star Don did for his hard-wired brake indicator light.

Also, Newmar’s solar prep is not adequate, in terms of higher capacity systems. So, we had them run DUAL runs of the largest gauge they could fit. We never built out solar, but it was nice to have the wire capacity to support a system large enough for an all electric 43’ Coach.

It’s gonna be expensive, but you’ll be thanking yourself in the future.

 

[flyboy013]

When we had our S&B home built we had a 2" pipe run from the basement to the attic. I also had a pipe run from one end of my basement to the other. I have used these pipes to run Ethernet POE cables for security camera, POE WiFi access points, etc.. I've also run drain tube from a AC condensation pump to a basement sink.

I think I would ask for pipes (or worse case strings) to be run between various areas, to include:

• Cabinet above driver (and/or entrance door) to roof
• Bathroom(s) to basement
• Basement to roof
• Any electrical cabinet to either roof or basement

Having them run strings may work, but I would trust them such that they string isn't stuck on something in the wall. Plus, if you're running you have more flexibility as t what type f cable you need (12V, 120V, coax, Ethernet, fiber, etc).

 

[DaveW-NBS]

These are all exactly what I was thinking - run cat6 everywhere in the MH (I can even sacrifice the cat6 as a pull-wire and pull another cat6 along if need be). Especially from the cabinet over the door, since that seems to be the primary "information and control" point. And I'm thinking six wires from the rear-most closet to the front-most overhead cabinet.

Anyone have any experience with asking for / getting a conduit from the fuse/breaker box to the basement? This seems like a huge issue if you want to do any expansion with circuits.