International Uhaul truck mod question

[mr_ed]

Hope this is the right forum...it's not an expedition rig by any stretch, but it does move me, all my crap, and my rig cross country when needed. And I have slept in it, so I guess that counts :sombrero:

It's a 1988 Uhaul 26 foot moving van that I bought a few years back. Anyhoo, it's a wiring question. This truck is kind of my garage (I'm active duty Coast Guard and move every 4-5 years, and finding a rental house that lets me park the truck there is easier and cheaper than finding a house with a garage) and I'm looking to wire it for lights, outlets, and so on. Right now, I just have a couple flourecent....floorescent...whatever light fixtures and a 4 outlet powerstrip, but as I get the inside of the truck organized proper, I'll be doing alot more work back there and I don't want to overload the extension cord I have coming from the house.

There's tons of stuff on the internets about wiring a cargo trailer RV-style for plugging into the RV-style hookups at the racetrack, but I don't have the heavier-amp outlet at the house...just your average household outlet by the back door in the laundry room. And being a rental house, the landlord isn't going to let me jack into his electrical box and do one up (I don't blame him...I barely know ******te about electrical).

Would you guys have any suggestions as to the best way to skin this cat? Here are the options I'm considering:

1. Run it the way I have it, and be mega-aware of how much electricity I'm trying to use at any one time/power requirements of the tool I'm using,

2. Run the extension cord from the house to the truck, but have an actual electrical box setup with breakers...this would allow me to have outlets at convenient locations throughout the truck, and also allow me to run lights and outlets on separate circuits (still be cognizant of my power consumption),

3. I have a mega-heavy-duty extension cord for the 230v dryer outlet that I use for my 230v mig welder...I was thinking about running this to a step-down box in the truck, then have the electrical box breakering out my 110v lights and outlets. I like this idea because it means I have the 230v there ready as well for welding as well as having the power coming in on something I know can handle higher amp loads, but I've never dealt with one of these step-down boxes so I don't know if this idea is realistic...

Sorry for the long post...I hope I've provided enough info...

Also, if any electricians are reading this and going :yikes:, I apologize. I have borderline basic understanding of household electrical, and that's it. :Wow1:

 

[dlh62c]

If the house outlet has a ground, I'd run a 12/3 extension cord from the outlet to the truck using something like a Smart Plug to get power into the van's body. Once inside you can add a single 4" x4" utility outlet box attached to the van's wall via plywood. Then plug and unplug what you need to use, being cognizant of your power consumption.

 

[mr_ed]

So if I'm understanding correctly, I could run the 240v into a box in the truck, splitting the two power wires to separate busses, and then have a 240v outlet for the welder running off a breaker that pulls from both busses, and the 120v light and outlet circuits running from breakers that only pull from 1 bus?

I'm assuming the ground would get run to the truck chassis, same as RVs?

I'm at work right now, but I'll have to double check when I get home. I think my dryer outlet is only a 3 prong (old house) so I may not be able to proceed without some updating...


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[fog cutter]

if it's not at a permanent location, would you be better off with a generator? then wherever you go, there you are. you could still use an extension cord for a basic light or two.

 

[LoupGarou]

If the house outlet has a ground, I'd run a 12/3 extension cord from the outlet to the truck using something like a Smart Plug to get power into the van's body. Once inside you can add a single 4" x4" utility outlet box attached to the van's wall via plywood. Then plug and unplug what you need to use, being cognizant of your power consumption.

This is the route I'd go.

If your intent on running a welder out of the truck, I wouldn't connect the AC ground to the vehicle's chassis ground.

 

[mr_ed]

The welder is not attached to the truck...I have a herky extension cord that my late electrian dad made for me that I plug into the dryer outlet, and then plug directly into the welder. This way I can weld anywhere within about 60 feet of the dryer outlet.

I thought about a generator, but as much as i'm out there, I don't want to be listening to it, and I never go out in "the rough" where I don't have electricity. It just sits next to the house.

My main line of thinking on the 240v to the truck wasn't really about being able to plug the welder into the truck; rather it's me trying to figure out how to get higher-amp 120v service out there so I'm not creating a big mobile daisy-chained power strip-on-wheels that's running off one 15 amp household outlet.

I suppose another, simpler option would be to just run 2 separate, heavy gauge extension cords to the truck from 2 completely separate, different outlets in the house, and have one dedicated to lights, and one desicated to power tools...

Thank you all so much for all the help and ideas, an for being patient with me as I try to wrap my head around this stuff!!


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[fog cutter]

i dunno. i have to practically sit on the Honda 2000 in order to determine if it's running or not.

 

[low277]

Good advise from Verkstad! Im just a visiting electrician!