How difficult to install 12 volt receptacle

[Glesamiz]

New owner of 2015 Minnie Winnie 31K. How common is it to wire a motor home for 12 volt. I use CPAP and 12 volt would be nice when not hooked to 110 volt. I have portable power unit, but wondering about wiring for 12 volt receptacle.

[BobC]

You'll be able to get the info you need from these two links:

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...et-139084.html

https://www.cheapcpapsupplies.com/bl...s%20of%20sleep.

Note that the nightly amp hours can pretty much deplete a typical 100Ah house battery since they can only be safely discharged to about 50% capacity. Therefore you may need to add to your battery bank.

[powercat_ras]

There 2 or 3 spare fuse spots in the 12 volt fusebox that is integrated into your AC circuit breaker panel. Chances are it's right under the bed where you need the power unless it's a folding bed in a slideout then maybe not. You can run 14 gauge wires to the outlet from there if you fuse with 15 amps. If you need 20 amps use 12 gauge wire. Standard for Winnebagos is yellow for positive and white for negative. Chances are your portable power unit uses much less than 15 amps.

Your RV is pretty new, so it may have a USB plate to charge phones by the bed, if so it's wired with 12 volts 14 gauge and is on a 15 amp fuse so you could tee into those wires and put a 12 volt outlet that could deliver up to 15 amps off that.

To connect negative look for where all the white wires get connect on the fuse box and use that spot. There is a separate connector point for each indivdual 12 volt fuse, some of the spare spots may actually have a yellow wire on them running somewhere for an option your RV did not have, some won't have any yellow wire.

[Glesamiz]

Thank you to all! For the short term, I will go with a portable power source which will give me 3 or 4 nights of CPAP. Eventually I will hardwire 12 volt near the bed, but for know my only needs are For CPAP and maybe, cell phone. the portable power works well and can be recharged easily.

[al1florida]

If you have a 12V light with an on/off switch at the head of your bed, you can attach a 12V outlet to the wires which go to the light. Just pull off the light fixture and attach the outlet to the plus & minus wires and run the wires out a short ways from the light fixture. The wiring is only good for about 5-7 amps of 12V DC.

Note that if you leave the CPAP humidifier and/or heated tubing off, the CPAP will probably only pull less than 1 amp (8 amp hours in a nights sleep).

My wife's CPAP pulls less than 1 amp on 12V with the humidifier heater turned off. Also if the CPAP is not being used (fan off) it only pulls about 0.1amp so I just leave it plugged in when not in use.

BTW, did you check to be sure your CPAP is a 12V machine? The newer ones seem to be 24V. There is a plate on the bottom of the CPAP which should list the voltage.

[Glesamiz]

Thanks to all who have commented. I will, ultimately, wire a separate 12 volt circuit, either to house batteries or, possibly a separate deep cycle battery. Mostly for CPAP and a mini fan for hot nights. At this time a have a Ausney (spelling ?) battery pack that will run the CPAP without humidifier for about 4 nights, which is adequate for now. I am curious why Winnebago has not provided 12 volt receptacles?

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Glesamiz

I am curious why Winnebago has not provided 12 volt receptacles?

I guess this is a model/year thing. My 2002 Suncruiser has a few.

[feiter]

See posts on the topic on thread "for all intents and purposes". At least two of us have done it...I assume you want a 12 volt inverter controlled to 110 outlet.