I've read a few posts about others having a Marinco weatherproof connector for 50A connection installed on their Vista for an exterior connection to shore power. I finally got time to install mine, after sitting
the kit on my bench for about a year. It's wasn't a hard as I thought, it took about 90min.
With the stock 2018 Vista 32YE cord setup, I had to put the heavy duty 25' shoreline cord in the same compartment as the dump hose. This was a huge problem, as the cord and the dump hose is really tough to fit in the small compartment (although doable with patience). I prefer to keep the dump hose connected to the dump pipe, like I have done on my previous Fleetwood Pace Arrow for 20 yrs. It's just too convenient to give up that luxury. With the right dump method, it works great, and makes the dump process fast and clean. The problem is having enough room to keep the hose connected, it's just too cramped.
First I had to select the spot to mount the Marinco connector, which was about 3" to the right of the gas filler. Selecting the spot was easy enough, but drilling the hole was emotionally draining. It's gotta be right, so I bought
the right hole saw for the connector after thinking through the install process.
I confirmed the existing shore-line cable was adequate for weather and ozone rot to use to connect the Marinco to the electrical box behind the RV body, so I simply whacked off the cord (hacksaw), leaving about 7' of cable. To feed the cable through the plastic wall of the dump compartment, I found a "CHASE NIPPLE" at Home Depot, 1.25" ID to mitigate any sharp edges to the cable (1.0625 diameter) when going through the plastic wall. The threaded end of this metal "chase nipple" got a plastic collar end screwed on it for interior "edge stress relief". That piece of the puzzle, learning the name of the fitting to install for the "feed-through" was something a relative helped advise, as he's an electrician.
After I decided on all the specific details of the install, and gathered all of the parts and tools, it was a quick install, after taking a deep breath as I drilled the hole in my pride a joy. Whew, the hole drill was a piece of cake, no surprises.
Then, drilling the hole in the dump compartment wall was a bit easier, matching the chase nipple thread diameter.
The Marinco connector was a no brainer for the connections. The 4 wires in the cable are color coded, red, white, green and black. Each connector has the same colors on each terminal connection, so it's impossible to get it wrong.
I took the remaining 18' of cable that I whacked off the cord and installed the female end of the kit, which took about 15min, simple stuff, but the wires are huge conductors when the installation is stripped. It can be a bit difficult to manipulate the bare wires into each terminal clamp, but doable with an appropriate set of needle nose pliers.
I'm really happy with the outcome. Being able to unplug my cord from the RV is a luxury, especially at home where I usually keep it plugged up for battery topping. If I need to take the RV somewhere local for gas or propane, etc. I just unplug the RV at the Marinco connector and leave it laying on the slab, ready to re-plug when I return. I no longer have to roll up that stiff cord into a small compartment that's too small, just to get gas.
Maybe this story will help others do theirs DIY.
Here's some photos.