Enclosed Trailers: Tips and tricks? Outfitting?

[21incher]

I use a Renogy panel and 2 of their 100ah AGM batteries  with a cheap 15 dollar Renogy controller for the lights in my pole barn. Everything was less then $400 on prime day. Was using a modified sine wave garage sale inverter for several years now.  Just picked up a 1200 wat pure sine wave inverter for sensitive electronics during blackouts we are seeing.
 
Had free lighting for 5 years now compliments of 
If it wasn't below freezing out there at times,  I would go with Lithium batteries.  The new inverter will also handle power tools. Fun to play with stuff like this that is always on when needed.
 Getting ready to convert my wife's golf cart to Lithium with solar panels. Will save $7 a month on the electric bill for the lead acid battery charger plus $3 a month on distilled water.

[Resonator]

Speaking of spending other peoples money...
It is interesting to see what they have available now for "solar generators". They are pricey and do require enough battery backup, but never need fuel or engine maintenance and are supposed to last for many years. The only real requirement is clean solar panels facing the sun (even on cloudy days it is able to get at least some charging).
One of the Youtube channels I follow put one in a boat, hooked up the solar panels, and ran an electric trolling motor off it. Said if he wanted he could go as long as he wanted, and never have to stop.

[peakbagger]

At many shows I have visited, gas generators have been banned or limited to one area. Solar is not.  The all in one generators are just batteries integrated with inverters that allow solar panels to be plugged into them. They are good rigs but pricey if someone just wants to charge a cell phone.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well yes, you guys have fallen into the 'spend other peoples money' habit pretty quick. Some of you seem to think I have a bunch of bucks sitting around I need to get rid of before they get too old. Some of you think inexpensive is anything under $500..
I am cheap frugal and I think in terms of ROI. This is a trailer that gets used for shows, and on rare occasions, maybe some other thing. It's also my inventory storage. I do not have plans for running a mobile entertainment center or anything along that line. I need the lights to work in the trailer and possibly charge a phone or two. Maybe plug in a tablet or something. I also may put an electric jack on the front, but just because I have it on hand. The generator would not be used for shows, they don't want them and neither do I want to listen to it all day. But it's an option I will keep open for other uses.

So my basic plan is a deep cycle battery which should easily handle 2 days at a show whiteout needing charging. I am thinking one with 1000 MCA (Marine Cranking Amps) is more than enough. That should handle the jack and run the lights for a very long time. Now, since I have a 110v port on the trailer. I can put a small battery maintainer in there for when it is parked at home and not really being used. I MIGHT also add a solar panel to charge it when 110v is not available, But I can do that later. I was just trying to understand it and figure out what that would require. If I have that large battery in there, it should handle the load just fine and over time, the solar panel should help keep it up. Sound reasonable?
So with today's gloriously miserable weather I decided to work in the trailer for a bit. I finished closing up the passenger side wall with insulation and the plywood. Then I moved everything out of the way and pulled off the front wall panels. That's when I hit the 'all stop' button. Apparently this trailer had taken a hit on the front right corner and two of the center right beams (from top to bottom) were caved in about an inch. They did a good job of putting new panels on the outside and making it look good, the plywood inside sort of covered up any deformity, but they did nothing to straighten out the ribs, which would have been a LOT easier with the skin removed. It's not too bad, and I just might leave it as is, to fix it right means removing the outer skin again, making straightening jigs up and probably reweld a bit of it. Not something I have time to get into, but now I know why those sheet metal screws are all loose on the outside in that corner, That, I will have to fix, but not on a dark and stormy day. But wait! There's more! So the spare tire is held on the front of the trailer with a big eyebolt that goes clear through that wall. In looking at it, I had thought that of course there would be something substantial inside the wall taking the load from that bolt. Nobody would be foolish enough to just drill a 1/2" hole all the way through the wall and skin with no structural support would they?! Apparently, they would and they did. Not only did they do that, they did it TWICE! The second eyebolt (both have the eyes on the inside of the trailer) is on the same centerline of the trailer and about 5.5' off the trailer deck. These two eyebolts were point out to me as a great place to attach a come-a-long to drag heavy stuff into the trailer. If you did that, you would pull the nose of the trailer inside out. Who does that?! Plus, nothing was sealed and I can see the water stains. I also found that where the wiring harness comes in under the front wall is a huge hole. At highway speeds I can easily see how water will come in through that hole. Then there is the wiring. Between the plug and the inside of the trailer there are 3 different wires patch together and it is a flat 4 pin plug. The safety chains go from chain, to coil cables, and back to chains again. ARRRGGGHHH! SO all that has to be cut out and redone properly. In short, that front wall is going to be opened up for a while whilst I fix all this stuff. I don't want it perfect, but I do want it safe and right. Also, I don't want to do it again. As the wall is open now, now is the time to do it and be done. Oh, and lastly, I found a roof leak in a back corner.
With all the trips I made back and forth to the shop cutting and fitting insulation, grabbing tools, etc. I got pretty soaked. I am on my second jacket of the day and my socks are wet. My new boots were supposed to arrive today but apparently not.
It still beats the heck out of sitting in a conference room arguing about chart colors.

[doc henderson]

yes, plug it in at home, but also can run a hot from the truck and to the battery in case you go from show to show.  sounds like you will be doing wiring anyway, so go with a 7-pin plug, and wish you lived close, I have about 4 of those new.  they go to a plastic box for connections.  does it have the little brake battery?  in case of disconnect?  

[SawyerTed]

On "house" batteries, those used for lighting etc in boats and rvs, Reserve capacity is important versus cranking amps.  High cranking amps don't always equal reserve capacity. So look for the reserve capacity rating when shopping for a battery.

If you find one battery doesn't last through a show, you can always add a second one in parallel.

Those little NOCO onboard battery chargers (auto type not marine) are $40 ish.

[doc henderson]

remember you could have a mount for a screen or tv to show the videos at the shows.

[TroyC]

A deep cycle 12 v battery from Costco ( little over 100) and a small 120V inverter inside your trailer should do fine. I use the HF 12V trickle chargers (sale price about 7.00) on batteries at home and they work great for maintaining batteries at rest. Another thought is a portable jump start box (anywhere from 80-400) with USB outlets for charging phones/tablets. I recently got one from Sams's club for 80.00 and it not only jumps vehicles but it has usb ports for charging stuff.

I'm frugal (not cheap) also. The battery, HF trickle charger, and jump box could be done for about 200.00. Spend more on the jump box and you can get one with a 120V inverter built in. Some of the jump boxes will charge from your vehicle as you drive. That would certainly last a few days for a show without breaking the bank.

[Old Greenhorn]

Ted, thanks for the tip on that reserve capacity thing. I am seeing a difference between batteries with the same  marine cranking amps. I still don't understand the difference between marine cranking amps and cold cranking amps. Now I have no idea what RC even is. What does that number represent?

 I don't ever recall saying I was thinking about an inverter for this unit but OK. I MAY add one down the line if I can think of something to use it for. My plan was for a battery (inside), running to a terminal strip so I can just add stuff as it comes later. Also a trickle charger/maintainer. What I can't figure is how long that battery would last running an inverter, but it's a back burner thing for now. Gotta fix and close in the wall and run the basic wiring and close up leaks.
 Hampered today by heavy rain and back pain, but I made some progress.

[TroyC]

The RC (reserve capacity) rating tells you how long you can use X amps (slow discharge) before depleting the battery. The cranking amps tells you how much current the battery can provide for short cranking burst. Starting batteries and deep cycle batteries are designed differently on the insides. For your trailer a deep cycle battery (higher RC rating) would be better than high cranking (starting or normal car battery) amps. On an RV (or any other application) that uses 4 6V (or 12 V deep cycle) batteries, it is not a good idea to drain the batteries very low. Can't remember, but seems like 40% is the low end of discharge to prevent lead/acid battery damage. Just replaced my 4 RV batteries, they were 7 years old.

An idea for some cheap bling- the 12V LED stick-on strips use very little juice. A strip down the center of your ceiling would light the whole trailer insides. You could get fancy and creative, many of those cheap (15.00 or so) strips have a remote that will change the light color, flash the lights, etc. You could enhance your exhibits with the lights. I use the green strips for making underwater shrimp lights. I can run 4 strip lights (homemade) for 4-5 hours and the car battery I use is still over 80% when I get home.

[doc henderson]

I would definitely use led lighting.  you spoke of 110 volts but must have only been wondering about input to maintain the battery.  marine batteries are better for continuous use like a trolling motor or lights ect.  CCA is more for a lot of energy needed to turn over a motor for a short period of time.  Many of the little electronic things can be used for things other than your show and this trailer. 

[SawyerTed]

RC is a measure of time the battery can operate at 25 amps before dropping to 10.5 volts.   

Here's an article about RC.   I just bought two with 210 RC meaning 210 minutes at 25 amps before one reaches 10.5 volts.  By adding two batteries in parallel, I should have 420 minutes at 25 amps.  That's a lot of continuous draw.  

https://www.relionbattery.com/knowledge/what-is-battery-reserve-capacity#:~:text=Commonly%20referred%20to%20as%20RC,before%20dropping%20to%2010.5V.

[Log-it-up]

old Greenhorn
If you have a welder, weld a bead of weld all the way around the inside of the old races usually they fall right out, soak a rag with water and put in side the hub to keep the splatter out, throw the new ones in the freezer the night before easier installation 

[TroyC]

I use this chart in the camper so as to know when to charge the batteries. Depleting them below 40% will shorten their lifespan. I think the battery monitor applies a small load when checking voltage.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/401414/calculate-battery-state-of-charge-percentage&ved=2ahUKEwjkpcWuhIyFAxUzkIkEHTbHB_MQFnoECD4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3cXMAW1R-yFk7YZrmyGojY

[Old Greenhorn]

See now this is why it pays to ask questions you think you already know the answers to. You (I) learn a lot that I never thought of. Thank you, this is all good stuff.
 Working backwards through posts here:
Troy, thanks very much for that I will add a little voltmeter to the power panel (as yet undefined) and I already printed out that chart to post next to it. Very helpful. I once bought a Die Hard deep cycle batery as the 2nd battery on a truck I had. After that truck died, I used it when I took my HF ham radio out portable or mobile. It was great fun tooling along the interstate and chatting with a guy in England of New Zealand. But I just put it on a charger once a week, never really checking. That radio (100 watt output) would draw a full 20 amps on transmit, but only 2 or 3 on receive. I got a lot of years out of that battery.

 Also thanks to you and Ted for the math on this RC thing. I like numbers and formulas that can tell me clearly where i stand. This is a big help.

 Log-it-up, I have never had much difficulty doing these little bearings and I don't have a welder I would trust myself to do that with.  But if I ever get one that's stuck, I can run down the road and do just that. Handy tip although it does tend to render the race as scrap and you couldn't use it as an emergency backup, which I sometimes do when I change them out a bit early.

 Doc fortunately I already have plenty of lighting in there. I have four 12" long led strips, one in each corner that run off the house power and two smaller dome types that are in the ceiling along the center line and run off the truck power. Working out there yesterday in the driving rain with the door closed I had no problems seeing what I was doing. It's actually pretty nice. I have no plans for improvement on that score.

 As for the overall wiring plan, I am still working that out. The actual trailer wires are all inside the walls and I will leave them there, but for the stuff I add, whatever it is, I may go for surface mount so it's easy to modify and a little 'load center type box mounted on the wall so it is easy to add wiring and switches, volt meter, etc. I still have time to thing on that whilst I figure out the front wall work. I have a new 7 blade plug harness in my shopping cart along with a terminal box so I can re-do that whole connection mess from the truck to the trailer. I have held off placing the order in case I find something else I need (like a volt meter).

 Thanks guys.

[gspren]

Have you considered a fold down bunk on one side in case you need an emergency nap? You're not getting younger.

[TroyC]

Might want to get a regular '12 volt battery capacity meter' instead of a voltmeter for inside the trailer. The voltmeter is great for troubleshooting.

The meter has a pushbutton for checking status. Something like this, Amazoo, about 9.00.

DC 12V 24V 36V 48V 60V 72V 84V Golf Cart Battery Meter with Alarm, Front Setting and Switch Key, Battery Capacity Voltage Indicator Battery Gauge Acid and Lithium ion Battery Indicator (Green)

[doc henderson]

maybe a food truck opening so your staff can offer you a cup a coffee.
I like the push button, so you are not draining the battery when not needing a reading.
How bout a spotlight that can project an image of a two-man whip saw into the sky, to attract customers to the night shows you may do?             now there, we are bordering on ridiculous.  it would be cool. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Gspern, I have thought about it but that would interfere with ' the primary mission ' . I have a couple of those military style fold up cots which will work just fine if the need arises. So I am good there.

Troy, I didn't know those exist! I had already ordered a volt an amp panel meter. So too late. But no, I went and found one on fleabay and ordered that also. You can never have too many gages. I just can't let myself buy anything from amazoo, There are just so many reasons against it. But yes, it is a great place to find stuff. Then I look for it elsewhere and often it is a lot cheaper, sometimes not though. I just realized that I ddn't look to see if the ne I bought had a push button or was always on. Dang.

Doc yes, you are well over the top here, but an interesting idea none the less. I don't have any plans to do night shows though, and I don't have a staff, just a one man show.

EDIT: ARRGGHH! No button. Guess I should ut a switch in the circuit.

[doc henderson]

you can always wire a switch on and off and do the same, as you well know.

[21incher]

Another thing that I use for remote lighting are my Dewalt and Milwaukee batteries.  I get adapters on Amazon and the cheap off road flood lights that are rated for 12 to 36 volts. Just pop in a tool battery and you get good light for a couple, hours. No need to buy batteries,  just use what you have. Adapters are made for just about  any brand.  I even put one on my granddaughters power wheel cart and boy did that speed it up 

[doc henderson]

21 what is the paper/chart in the background.  and speaking of numbers, where does you handle come from.

[21incher]

21 what is the paper/chart in the background.  and speaking of numbers, where does you handle come from.

here's a really old video showing the cover 

It's my magnetic table saw cover.  When I joined the only thing I could think of quickly was the size if my saw. It's a 21incher. HFE 21  .

[doc henderson]

cool, thanks!

[Old Greenhorn]

Well I spent most of the day on the trailer today. I fixed a separation in one of the front panels, fished off the front wall insulation, cut off that mess or a wiring harness, put the new plug and cable in. Installed the front wall paneling, them the break out box and wired in the cable and reconnected it to the trailer wiring. Then I realized I forgot to run a wire from the hitch to the inside for the electric jack. Dang! Oh well, I figure that out when I get to it. I looked at finishing the inside curved corners. They used 8" wide flashing before. I thought it was too narrow. So I ran up to home despot and got some along with screws for it and some other stuff. When I came back, I backed up to the trailer so I could test the lights. Well, they ain't working right at all.  I am sure I missed something switching form a 4 pin flat cable to a 7 spade round plug. I was too tired at that point to start messing around with it. I hate these things. It's like trying to find the bad bulb in a Christmas light string. At least that break out box will make it easier to swap wires.
 The new bearings arrived today, no rush on that. I can put in a couple of hours on it tomorrow, then I have to move onto other stuff.
 It always something, but I am making progress.