Running wires through the rear cap

[ALLOY]

One more idea....I'll use a cable clam to run multiple wire but they work for 1 wire also.


https://www.bluesea.com/products/cat...23/Cable_Clams

[tuffr2]

How do the factory wires for the license plate come thru the fiberglass? Do your new wire the same as the factory did.

Also my thought is there are 1,000's of grommets. Surely you can find one that would work. Protecting wire is not a new problem.

Also I would think about drilling the new hole at an angle so any water would run outside and not inside the wall.

[mobilemike]

Originally Posted by RussOnTheRoad

It may also be difficult to keep the wires centered in the hole while the silicone seal sets--I wouldn't want them in contact the the fiberglass for fear of eventually chafing.

Russ, Man. You are way over thinking this.

Drill your hole and feed the wire through. Goop some 3M5200 in the hole. Install the clam shell. with screws sealed with 5200. Hold the wire so it is not touching the sides of the hole. Usually I push up on the wire slightly from below the hole and then tape it with some blue painters tape. The 5200 which is actually an adhesive will glue the wire in place. It will not move. It will not chafe.

If 3 feet of water swirling around a depth finder wire will not chafe it then wind from driving will not either.

I have literally done this install thousands of times in 32 years and never had one chafe or leak.

[rgvtexan]

JB Weld.

[charliez]

Russ, Man. You are way over thinking this.




This X-1,000,000,000

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by ALLOY

One more idea....I'll use a cable clam to run multiple wire but they work for 1 wire also.


https://www.bluesea.com/products/cat...23/Cable_Clams

Thanks for the tip.

Those cable clams look like a possibility, the side entry models in particular. I hadn't seen those before. I will look into them some more. I have an inch or less surface area in which to mount somehing and they don't specify the outside diameter of the cable clams on their web site so I will have to inquire.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by ALLOY

I always use a black NPT (National Pipe Taper) strain reliefs when running wire through the front/back/ sides. The thread and wire is sealed with black urethane (not silicone) caulking.

To do this will require the correct size of drill and NPT tap.

https://www.sealconusa.com/products/...ittings/nylon/

Thanks for the tip and the link. I used fittings similar those you suggested when running wires from the four solar panels on my RV roof into the combiner box where all the wires joined together. This kind of fitting requires that you have access to both sides of the material to which they will be attached because they are held in place with nuts on both sides, clamping the subtrate between them. I only have access to one side so I cannot use fittings like this for in this application.

[grindstone01]

I'm curious why wire chafing is a concern? If the wire run is just a short distance from the hole to the plate light, wire chafing should not be a problem. Now if it is to achieve a professional look, that I understand, although a grommet may make the hole stand out more so.
I still content it's best to hide the wire hole behind the plate and seal it with a dap of silicone.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by grindstone01

I'm curious why wire chafing is a concern? If the wire run is just a short distance from the hole to the plate light, wire chafing should not be a problem. Now if it is to achieve a professional look, that I understand, although a grommet may make the hole stand out more so.
I still content it's best to hide the wire hole behind the plate and seal it with a dap of silicone.

The potential for chafing exists where the wires will pass through the rear cap. The length of the wires would have something to do with it as longer wires would place more weight on them where they pass through the rear cap. These will be less than 12 externally but a few feet on the hidden side of the rear cap. It's just that where wires pass through the rear cap they would rub against it as the RV bounces down the road unless something was done to prevent that from happening. So, some plan to eliminate this possibility would seem well advised. A little dab of sealant, as you and some others have suggested may be all that is required. I'd prefer something a little more elegant, or as you put it, something with more of a professional look.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

How do the factory wires for the license plate come thru the fiberglass? Do your new wire the same as the factory did.

Also my thought is there are 1,000's of grommets. Surely you can find one that would work. Protecting wire is not a new problem.

Also I would think about drilling the new hole at an angle so any water would run outside and not inside the wall.

I'm not sure I understand your question about how the factory wires come through the fiberglass. If you mean to ask what the factory did about preventing water intrusion, then the answer is that they didn't do anything. Not in terms of sealing the hole, but, the location of the factory wiring is protected from weather.

Your suggestion about grommets is one I have been looking into and I may have found a grommet that would work. As you suggest, protecting a wire is not a new problem, but it is new to me, at least as far as this application is concerned.

That's an interesting thought about drilling the hole at an angle. I would still need to waterproof the hole as water will drip down from above the hole and some would intrude unless it is sealed. Capillary action may bring a small amount of water up from the underside of the wire, as well.

[RussOnTheRoad]

Originally Posted by to-camp

If you do a search for marine, or boat, waterproof, bulkhead, wire pass through, you will get all kinds of results that should work better than just throwing some tape over the wires. You should also look up drill free solar mounting. There are newer products on the market for running the solar wires into a coach that are waterproof and are also no drill. I have no drill solar mounts on my camper and haven't had a single problem for over 2 years. I've been driving up and down I-25 in some crazy winds over the years and the bedding sealant I used on the solar mounts has been fantastic. You may find a solution poking around the web searching for that. I hope you find a solution.

I think the no-drill solution for mounting of which you wrote is most likely 3M VHB double-sided foam tape. I'm uncertain as to how you see that as being a potential solution regarding routing the wires through my rear cap. It's great for holding things down, but that's not what I'm trying to do here.

You're right about searching for "marine, or boat, waterproof, bulkhead, wire pass through". The problem I have found so far, however, is finding something less than an inch in diameter which is all the space I have.