Yesterday I wired up the forward bank of lights on the same circuit, but on its own dimmer switch.
They look like a pod of electric jellyfish. Our mail carrier stopped by and said, “Wow, it looks like some kind of party bus.” I told her, “Well yeah, you know, it’s always happy hour somewhere!”
I also got word that my cabinets will be finished today, but they need to sit in the shop a while in order to “off-gas.” So I’ll pick them up from Sundeleaf Painting on Monday. Eric promises to send photos.
Today I plan to remove the rest of the ceiling panels and work on the wiring near the helm, and maybe test-fit some insulation. I’ll need to remove the motorized TV mount too, then figure out where all the wall mounted accessories will go. That includes the light switch, the Rover solar charger/controller, the TV jack, the power strip, the Apple TV and the Apple Airport Extreme.
To make this safe and tidy, I ordered a couple of cable pass-throughs for panel P1. This one will go right below the Rover to channel its red and black solar and battery cables, which are 8 AWG (thick).
And this is a black 12-inch grommet made for a mail slot. That will go in the lower section of panel P1 to feed about a dozen cables between the wall cavity and the helm. The helm might get one of these as well. Right now I’m using about ten 3/4″ holes drilled through the plastic, which are hidden from view.
Yesterday it rained pretty hard and I notice the ceiling was wet. This may explain the RETROvan’s insidious “leaks.” But it looks like it’s just condensation, collecting on the roof and finding a place to drip, thereby impersonating a leak. This makes sense when the relative humidity tops 80% or 90%. It turns out this is a common problem with RVs here in the Pacific Northwest.
After some research, I’m going to try running my PuraFlame LED space heater 24/7 on low heat to dry out the air. Just enough to keep the interior above the dew point. That may do the trick. We’ll have more thunderstorms today, so I’ll keep an eye on it.
I also ordered a $35 dehumidifier, made by Ivation. I don’t have high expectations for this but it’s stylish and small. If it works, I’ll drill a hole and fit a drainage tube to its collection tray so I don’t have to empty it every two days. That way it can run 24/7 and drip below the RETROvan.
Once I’m sure the roof is leak-free, I can start buttoning up the insulation, lighting and ceiling panels.