Help with 1982 15’ TT

[C-Stack]

Hello! I just got a 15-1/2 ft 1982 sunline. She is in amazing shape. Her interior is all original and most is like brand new.

I just don’t know about mechanical systems because I can’t plug her in without a battery. There are no obvious battery hookups. There’s a white wire that is grounded to the A- frame where the battery would be, and there is a thin blue wire and thicker black wire just kind of hanging out. From perusing the forums, it seems the blue wire is related to the braking and the black wire should connect to the positive terminal. Should there be a connector terminal as with a car battery? Is there no negative connection, or am I missing a wire? I guess I’m hoping that someone can show me what it should look like.

There appears to be only one tank underneath and that seems to be for grey water. From what I’m seeing, the toilet connects only to the waste pipe and it looks like it must be connected to a hook-up to use as there doesn’t seem to be any black water tank. Does that sound right?


I will (try to) attach some pics to show what I’m talking about. If you need more to see what I’m saying, please let me know.

 

[JohnGB]

Welcome C-Stack!

We can try and help you sort out your wiring situation.

The wires, h'mm at this point, a prior owner changed something from the original setup.

In this picture of yours (you get an A+ for posting pictures!), there is a black plastic corrugated wire loom. What is on the end of that?

And, in this pic, there is a black-looking wire wrapped around the A-frame rail, we need a better pic to see what looks maybe like a few black wires doing something.

I have an instinctive feeling your prior owner may have converted the camper to a four-wire flat connector to get the body and tail lifts to work and abandoned the electric braking system. But I do not want to jump to that conclusion until we see more.

What does the plug that plugs into the truck look like? Pics help here, too.

Now to the battery, yes, there was supposed to be a battery in the angle iron battery tray on the A-frame. The battery type is a 12-volt deep cycle battery, not a car starter battery. They look the same but are made different inside. If and when the time comes, you can get what they call a Group size 24, 12 VDC deep cycle battery at Walmart or some auto parts of farm stores. And a battery case to go with it. The battery they sell may be called a deep-cycle marine battery, a combo battery used in boats, a deep cycle part to run the trolling motor, and enough oomph to start the boat engine. If you want to get into super serious off-grid camping, there are other types of batteries and sizes, but the group 24 deep cycle was intended to go on the camper from day 1.

Before you buy the battery, though, we and you must determine what remains of the 12 VDC electrical system. A previous owner changed something, and we must determine what they changed. At this point, we cannot trust wire colors until we know where they go.

You mentioned this:

Hello! There’s a white wire that is grounded to the A- frame where the battery would be, and there is a thin blue wire and thicker black wire just kind of hanging out. From perusing the forums, it seems the blue wire is related to the braking and the black wire should connect to the positive terminal. Should there be a connector terminal as with a car battery? Is there no negative connection, or am I missing a wire? .

The white wired ground to the frame. Well, that may be a ground wire, and it needs a ground wire, which is usually white, but we are back to, did the prior owner guts the braking system? Originally, the truck needed a ground wire also to allow the trailer body and tail lights to work, so we are back to, what does the truck plug looks like? And where do those wires terminate on the camper? See if you can follow the black wire loom wire cover into the camper and see where it junctions. Take a pic of that wire junction showing the wires etc. That junction may be in a wood-covered box inside the camper in an upfront cabinet on the front wall at the floor. Or a junction box under the camper.

For a camper with electric brakes, an emergency breakaway switch for the brakes, an onboard 12 VDC battery, all the required DOT lights (clearance lights, stop/turn lights, etc.), a seven-wire truck plug, and a power converter charger that plugs into shore power, we know how it is all supposed to work and can help you get back to it. However, we need to see what still exists in what you have.

The thicker black wire you find, backtrace it and see where it goes in the camper. Do the same with the blue wire and report back. Take many pictures so we can see what you are up against.

I hope this helps,

John

 

[JohnGB]

To help with the pics,

There are 3 ways to add pics.

1. Upload pics to a specific post attaching them at the end of the post. This is what you did on your first post. You can only include 6 pics per reply, but you can do multiple replies to get 6 more pics each time.

2. Linking them in from a public viewable web photo hosting service you have.

See here for 1 and 2 https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f105/forums-101-posting-accounts-basics-11235.html#post86041

3. You can upload pics to the forum in your own personal photo album. This allows, lots more pics and keeps them in your album for future use. Then link them to anywhere in the text of a post. See here on how to create an album. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f105/forums-101-posting-accounts-basics-11235-2.html#post87945

If you still get stuck, let us know. Pic's go a long way in helping show things you are working on, and we really like seeing Sunline pics!

Hope this helps

John

 

[C-Stack]

Welcome C-Stack!

We can try and help you sort out your wiring situation.

Hi, John! Thank you so much. Sorry it took so long to get back here. It's been a crazy work week (3rd grade teacher here).


In this picture of yours (you get an A+ for posting pictures!), there is a black plastic corrugated wire loom. What is on the end of that?


Thank you for the A+, but let's hold off and see if I can actually do it again. I created an album, but can't figure out how to sync my pics from my iPhone to my MacBook, So I may have to return to my phone to add the pics. It's been a while since I've used a forum, lol.

Th corrugated wire loom contains the wires for the vehicle connector. It is actually the 7 pole, so at the very least, he didn't convert it to the flat 4.



And, in this pic, there is a black-looking wire wrapped around the A-frame rail, we need a better pic to see what looks maybe like a few black wires doing something.

So, the "wire" that is wrapped/tied around the A frame is actually paracord. It is being used to hold the propane connectors to the t pole so they wouldn't flap around. at least that is my assumption. the black wire that crosses over the other wires is the loose end of the black wire. you can see the blue wire coming out of the top of the photo and the black wire parallel to it (this pigtails with one side being the thicker wire, and another the thinner wire that runs to the tongue as best I can tell). about mid frame at the bottom, there's a thinner black wire that's not connected, but seems to run to a black box on the tongue (a transformer maybe?).

What does the plug that plugs into the truck look like? Pics help here, too.

As mentioned, it is a 7 pole. It might be the original from the way it looks . I can get a picture to add tomorrow.

Now to the battery, yes, there was supposed to be a battery in the angle iron battery tray on the A-frame. The battery type is a 12-volt deep cycle battery, not a car starter battery.

I did know I needed a deep cycle battery. I was looking at one at Tractor Supply that says it's a marine/RV battery which I figured would get the job done. The camper will most likely spend most of her time on our property, which will hopefully have electrical service soon, or in the yard of my house, though I do want the option to boondock on occasion. I wanted to try to get the wiring sorted out before I went and bought the battery. I was just going to plug the camper into shore power to check the systems, but then I read that there should be a battery installed before connecting to shore power to avoid damaging the inverter and systems. is this true?

The white wired ground to the frame. Well, that may be a ground wire, and it needs a ground wire, which is usually white, but we are back to, did the prior owner guts the braking system?...And where do those wires terminate on the camper? See if you can follow the black wire loom wire cover into the camper and see where it junctions. Take a pic of that wire junction showing the wires etc. That junction may be in a wood-covered box inside the camper in an upfront cabinet on the front wall at the floor. Or a junction box under the camper.

The wire loom as well as the black, white, and blue wires travel through the front frame and go back a couple of feet at which point they enter the camper through an opening in the floor. there's also a red wire here that goes in the opposite direction, from the wire opening toward the back of the camper maybe a foot, at which point it goes back into the camper where the bathroom wall would be adjacent to the dinette.

There is a fuse panel under the removable wood cover for what the brochure floor plan calls the "hamper". The wire connectors that are attached to the fuses are labeled left turn (red), right turn (black), and clearance (green). There are also two white wires that just connect to 3 flat-head turn screws. I have pictures that I will try to link as soon as I can add them to the album.

I don't think there was anything electrical under the dinette benches, but I will check tomorrow. There is a 15 amp breaker box under the "hanging" closet. There is a 110 grounded cord here on the outside of the camper where I would plug in to shore power. There is a power converter under the couch/bed next to the hot water heater.

For a camper with electric brakes, an emergency breakaway switch for the brakes, an onboard 12 VDC battery, all the required DOT lights (clearance lights, stop/turn lights, etc.), a seven-wire truck plug, and a power converter charger that plugs into shore power, we know how it is all supposed to work and can help you get back to it. However, we need to see what still exists in what you have.

The thicker black wire you find, backtrace it and see where it goes in the camper. Do the same with the blue wire and report back. Take many pictures so we can see what you are up against.

I uploaded more images to my album, but I couldn't figure out the trick to adding them here and my old bones are screaming, "for God's sake, woman, go to bed. if you need more, or you need to see a specific example, I'll work taking more tomorrow. I'll also try to figure out how to link them here.

Thanks again for any and all help you can give me.

Carla

 

[C-Stack]

I was not able to edit the original reply to add pics, so here goes (fingers crossed)

In this picture of yours (you get an A+ for posting pictures!), there is a black plastic corrugated wire loom. What is on the end of that?

What does the plug that plugs into the truck look like? Pics help here, too.

The cover encloses the wiring that leads to the truck connector, which is indeed the OG 7 pole connector.

And, in this pic, there is a black-looking wire wrapped around the A-frame rail, we need a better pic to see what looks maybe like a few black wires doing something.

So, the "wire" that is wrapped/tied around the A frame is actually paracord. It is being used to hold the propane connectors to the t pole so they wouldn't flap around. at least that is my assumption. the black wire that crosses over the other wires is the loose end of the black wire. you can see the blue wire coming out of the top of the photo and the black wire parallel to it (this pigtails with one side being the thicker wire, and another the thinner wire that runs to the tongue as best I can tell). about mid frame at the bottom, there's a thinner black wire that's not connected, but seems to run to a black box on the tongue (a transformer maybe?).

For a camper with electric brakes, an emergency breakaway switch for the brakes, an onboard 12 VDC battery, all the required DOT lights (clearance lights, stop/turn lights, etc.), a seven-wire truck plug, and a power converter charger that plugs into shore power, we know how it is all supposed to work and can help you get back to it. However, we need to see what still exists in what you have.

The thicker black wire you find, backtrace it and see where it goes in the camper. Do the same with the blue wire and report back. Take many pictures so we can see what you are up against.

They all run into the floor of the camper at the end of the front outdoor storage access.

They run in, and in some cases, back out near the bathroom wall (front).

There is a fuse panel in the "hamper":

You can see wires connecting about the brake stack in this pic

Hopefully this helps clarify. There are other pics in the album, with notations. If you need anything else, let me know and I'll try to snap some more.

Thanks again,
Carla

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Carla,

I fixed your post reply so the pictures in your photo album will appear. Now that the pictures align with the words, I will review the details later tonight and report back. The dinner bell is calling me now.

I will also be able to explain the mixup with the pictures that were not visible, so that next time, this all works.

Be back later.

John

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Clara,

The picture in your photo album helps greatly. A link to your album so others can see and add to the conversation. https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/members/14387-albums925.html

We still need a few more pics and questions/answers to try to create a complete answer for you on how to hook up the battery and sort out the electrical system.

Yes, you have the 7-wire plug; that is a good start. The plug needs to be cleaned with contact cleaner, and all the dirt is dug out ideally before you use it.

First, a few things to state. This black box is called the "Emergency Breakaway" switch. It is part of a federal law that trailers with brakes must have a device to immediately engage the brakes in case the trailer comes unhooked from the truck. There is supposed to be a cable from the pin on that switch, and when the pin gets pulled out during the decoupling of the trailer, the switch will send power to the brakes to stop the camper. The onboard camper battery supplies the electric power to engage the brakes.

Right now, that switch is bad, meaning it needs to be replaced when you want to tow the camper down the road. From the looks of it, it may be the original from 1982. Those switches are prone to water intrusion, which corrodes the inside of the switch, making it inoperable. They do not cost that much, but inflation now has them ranging from less than $10 to $40. And when you read the instructions, they list they should be replaced every 3 to 5 years. These are a very forgotten safety device. Here are two brands that I have used; both are as good as the other, and they may all come out of the same factory offshore.

Curt brand https://www.amazon.com/CURT-52010-Trailer-Breakaway-Switch/dp/B001GN6QQW/ref=sr_1_6

The Bargmen brand. https://www.ebay.com/itm/235938117550

You can buy those switches in many places. NAPA auto parts stores, RV dealers, or almost any place that sells RV parts.

If you live in a state that has annual required trailer inspections, they will fail the inspection if this switch is not working. While Ohio does not have this inspection law, a trooper will ticket you if they stop you for something if you do not have it. NY and PA, the last I knew, were trailer inspection states. PA was, for sure, 3 years ago; I had to help a friend get theirs inspected.

We need a good top picture looking down from above that shows the entire A-frame from the tow ball coupler to the front of the camper so I can see all the wires in one picture. I can then draw what should go where on your pic after we figure it out. I may have sorted out what they were doing with the wires, but I need to see them all at once to ensure I'm seeing them all correctly.

Next is where the seven wire plug wires go into the camper. This pic shows the black flex wire loom set of wires going up into the camper.

Follow that set of wires inside the camper. There has to be a junction box of sorts connecting those wires. There might be a small wood box with a cover, and they made some connections under the cover. That junction box is likely on the floor inside a cabinet or bunk, etc, straight up from where the hole is on the bottom side of the camper. There might be a fuse or two in that box. We need to see pics of the wire connections clearly and any fuses in that junction box.

This picture is the old way Sunline installed fuses in the body and tail lights of the camper. They stopped doing this as the years went on, but the older campers have it. This all looks normal and intact.

For your power converter, I need you to take a picture to show the wires on the right side in the red circle. It "looks" like a big thick black wire, and a big thick white wire may go into a red outer casing 2 wire cable. See here.

That thicker wire red cover cable may go right to the junction box. You will search for those junctions with the 7-wire truck plug wires. We need to confirm this.

This red cable coming back out from under the camper "might" be the same cable that shows up in the red circle at the power converter. See if you can trace that out and if it is indeed that same cable.

On your power converter, I cannot find anything on the web about that brand Converter Systems from Battle Creek, MI. They may have gone out of business years ago or been bought up by another company. If you have any manual or paperwork, that would be super helpful. It may or may not work. According to the description on the label, that is the older standard charge 13.65 volt DC power converter. It may always put out the standard charge, and it may need a battery to function correctly. Some of the older power converters worked that way. Some were known as battery killers as they never stopped charging and boiled out the battery if you left them plugged in and charging for days to weeks. More on this as we sort out all the wiring.

It looks like you have only one 15-amp circuit breaker. This is common among older campers; I'm not sure if you have any wall outlets. Do you?

I can't see where the wires go from this picture. Please take a picture back a little ways so I can see how many cables run in or out of this box.

I see this pic of yours; I'm not sure where in the camper it is, as we do not know the model number of your camper yet. I see the drain pipe, the hot and cold water line, an older black Romex 120 VAC cable, red single strands wires, and a red cover cable that they used on the 12-volt DC wire back then.

I know you say 1982 15 ft camper, but that is not the model number, and the prior owner may not have known it either. But we can help you sort this out.

In our FILES section, we have copies of the Sunline sales brochures with all the floor plans and model numbers next to them. You can download a copy, see which one lines up with your floor plan, and read the model number. Sunline calls out the camper length as the distance from the tow ball hitch to back bumper.

Have a look, and then tell us your model number. Maybe I can sort out that pic better.

I hope all this helps.

John

 

[JohnGB]

In case you have not yet found our FILES section, there is a lot of excellent resource info in there, including most of the sale brochures from way back when, owner manuals, appliance manuals, and other good stuff.

The sales brochure contains a lot of helpful information about your model camper that is hard to find in one organized spot. You can download a copy by scrolling to your year. The same goes for the owner's manuals.

To get to the FILES section, you have to be logged in. Look up top along the forum for the words "FILES." That is a tab; click it. Then select the area you want to go to and can read on for hours, days, maybe weeks...

A heads up: RV camper owners' manuals are unlike automobile owners' manuals, which give exact instructions on almost everything in your auto. The camper owner's manual generally talks about things to help you along the way. Owner manuals for the actual appliances have very detailed information from the manufacturer. We have many of those in the files section, too. If your model is not there, could you give us the appliance's make and model no.? We can help search for it, too, then add it to our files section for future help to others.

Let us know if you need help sorting out your model number once you get the 1982 sales brochure.

John

 

[JohnGB]

I found the issue with you linking pictures to a post reply not working right. The problem was how to copy the correct pic address from your photo album. You did insert them correctly into the post reply, but you copied the wrong photo address from the photo album.

It looks like you copied the HTML address as you copied the thumbnail on the main album page showing lots of pictures. The software needs the singel photo ending in .jpeg or .jpg and not HTML.

Do this, when you want to link a picture to a post, click into the picture itself, then only one picture is showing. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and you will see a "Picture URL" and a "Picture BB code" box.

Both of those addresses end in .jpeg. There are 3 ways to do this, your choice on how to do it. I do most of this on a PC or MacBook but I use a mouse where I can right click and copy and paste. You can do this off a phone or tablet, just use the copy and paste commands of the devices you are using.

Option 1. Copy and paste the URL address of the pic into the postage stamp icon in your post message. You need two windows open to do this.

Go into the picture you want to link. Here is one of mine showing what you are looking for

At the bottom of the picture, look for the Picture URL address, use your mouse to select all of the URL address box. Here I am selected it and coping it.

Then I flip to the window in my post reply where I want to paste that picture. I start with the postage stamp icon at the exact place I want to insert the picture. When the postage stamp icon comes up, paste the photo URL in that text box.

When press OK, it will insert the IMG commands before and after with your picture URL in between them. And the URL ends in .jpeg or .jpg

Then you can "preview" your reply before posting and see how it will show on the screen.

Option 2, Use the BB code address. This is the same as above, but copy the BB Code box.

The BB code box has all the right commands and you do not need to use the postage stamp icon, just paste the BB code where you want the pic to show up.

Option 3, Copy image address. Here you use your mouse on photo in your album. When the mouse is over the pic, right click and do a "copy image address" from your mouse menu. Then flip to your reply, use the postage stamp icon and paste in the URL and hit OK

If you want to type in the IMG commands, you paste the URL in the reply by itself, and then manually type in the start IMG command in brackets at the start of the URL and the end /IMG commands at the end if the URL. This for those of us who type most all this stuff then use the icons. Option 1 and 2 are what many use as any space out of order and the picture will not post. The software is picky and only works on the right characters it is looking for.

Hope this helps

John

 

[C-Stack]

Hi John. Thank you again! I will get the pictures you ask for tomorrow. I’ll do my best to trace the wires, but I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to do that. There’s not much clearance under that camper and I’m an ample clearance needin kind of gal. I will squeeze in as far as I can.

What I can answer. My camper lines up with the 1982 15-1/2 SB. The picture with the black pipe and wires is located under the left side dinette bench/inside the left front outside storage compartment (same thing as the bench top opens to the compartment. This is where the front bathroom wall meets the dinette (I think the pipe is a vent for the bathroom plumbing, but I could be wrong). The wires come up into a little storage compartment that is inside the back of that dinette bench. In the brochure it is labeled “hamper”. That’s were the old style fuse box is for the outboard lights/signals.

I do have electrical outlets. From memory, one on the front wall between the window and table, one on the kitchen wall, and one on the side of the hanging closet. There may be more, but those are the only ones I can recall off the top of my head.

I had no idea what it was, but I knew that breakaway switch was looking rough. Thanks for recommendations on replacements.

On cleaning the gunk out of the truck connector - what do you recommend I dig it out with? I don’t want to jamsimething in there that will damage the contacts. Would it be better to just replace it with new?

I will take the needed pictures after work tomorrow. My dog has training tomorrow, so I may not get to sit down to post until late tomorrow evening, or possibly Wednesday.

Thank you,
Carla

 

[C-Stack]

OK, I think I have all you asked for, except I didn't get under the trailer yet.

Here is the top down pic of the A frame.

Junction box - there is no visible junction box that I can find (I opened everything). the pic with the vent pipe in is located in the outside storage compartment/under dinette seat, and the second pic is from above that location in the "hamper", under the "old style" fuse box.

I know the second picture is harder to see. I didn't have a lot of light. the vent pipe is at the back and the wires are to the front. The photo is sideways, the wood to the right is actually the bottom of the "hamper". The left is that fuse panel.

Better pictures of the converter and surrounding wiring.

Left side

the side you were asking about

Yes there are 3 wall outlets. here is a picture taken further back of the circuit box. The black wire is the 100 cord to plug into shore power. that's mentioned in the owner's manual.

The model from the brochure is a 1982 15-1/2 SB. Everything lines up and is consistent with the brochure and owner's manual as far as I can see.

If you need anything else, please let me know.

 

[C-Stack]

I don’t know what happened. I copied and posted multiple different pictures. I ended up with multiple of the same picture. When I’m done at the vet, I’ll edit the post. Assuming it will let me, as I have issues with that as well.

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Carla,

I see the pictures you added to your album. They are helpful; it will just take me some time to put them in the right spots in your words and then figure things out.

For security reasons, you can only edit a post/reply for a few minutes after posting it, and then it gets locked. Any of the moderators can adjust something if needed; you need to PM them what you need.

But, in your case, you can hit the "quote" button and get the entire reply in a new reply, allowing you to edit all of it as it is like a new reply. You can change the pictures as needed, preview the post to see it, then submit and it will shows as a new reply.

The software will create a Quote start command at the beginning and a Quote end command you can see. If you delete those text/commands, since it is yours, it will show as a standard reply and not a quoted reply.

Heads up, so you know. The forum is shutting down on early Friday. 4/4 for a software update. And will not be back in line until Monday. See here for details in case you did not see this. I just wanted to let you know so that you do not think the site went down, it will. but it will come back up Monday https://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f105/forum-downtime-software-update-4-4-7-2025-a-20931.html

John

 

[JohnGB]

Junction box - there is no visible junction box that I can find (I opened everything). the pic with the vent pipe in is located in the outside storage compartment/under dinette seat, and the second pic is from above that location in the "hamper", under the "old style" fuse box.

Hi Carla,

H'mm something is not adding up.

These wires go up into the camper from the bottom and get spliced into other cables somehow. This is usually done in some form of junction arrangement.

If you cannot find anything that looks like it is where these wires from under the camper go up inside, then try and take some pics inside the camper with a tape mark, etc., on the floor where the wire's location would be under the camper coming up from the bottom. Use a tape measure, etc., to try to mark the spot on the floor. And post some inside pics. Somewhere, those wires in that black 7-wire cord wire loom black plastic cover is also joined to the red cable on the bottom. How that is down is a mystery at the moment.

I hope you'll be able to find something to shed some light on this mystery.

You are doing great with getting us some info to help you.

Thanks

John

 

[Sunline Fan]

Hi Carla,

I'm not sure if John covered about your black tank question (I don't see it but maybe I missed). Many of the older Sunlines had small black tanks above the floor of the trailer. The black tank is installed on top of the floor and a box/false floor is built around and on top of it. Then the toilet mounts to that and the tank drain goes out the bottom. My 12-1/2' MC is built exactly this way, and lucky for all of us, Icon Technologies makes a tank that is almost a drop in replacement at least for what I had in that trailer.

So if your toilet appears to be sitting on a raised floor, that's why.

Here's like a cross section view of the '79 my dad and I have been rebuilding, with the toilet reinstalled on the new holding tank. This is before the front lower wall of the trailer went on, so it shows the side view of how it's all set up. Although a lot of the pieces seen here are new, it replicates the original build style 100%. This particular trailer has the gray tank under the floor, just below and left of this view.

 

[C-Stack]

Hi Carla,

H'mm something is not adding up.

These wires go up into the camper from the bottom and get spliced into other cables somehow. This is usually done in some form of junction arrangement.

If you cannot find anything that looks like it is where these wires from under the camper go up inside, then try and take some pics inside the camper with a tape mark, etc., on the floor where the wire's location would be under the camper coming up from the bottom. Use a tape measure, etc., to try to mark the spot on the floor. And post some inside pics. Somewhere, those wires in that black 7-wire cord wire loom black plastic cover is also joined to the red cable on the bottom. How that is down is a mystery at the moment.

I hope you'll be able to find something to shed some light on this mystery.

You are doing great with getting us some info to help you.

Thanks

John

Hey John. sorry it took so long to get back here. I tried to edit Thursday, only to realize that you can only edit posts for 60 minutes. My 11-year-old American Staffy started having some medical issues last week and passed away on Tuesday, so it's been a rough week. I see they switched some things up, so hopefully I can figure this out.

First to answer this, then I'll add the other info from my post and match them up to my photos.



This photo is taken from the outside of the camper through the storage compartment door. It's hard to see because the thick black wire is hiding it, but the arrow is pointing to the point where the wires come through the floor into the camper from underneath. The next picture shows this better.



This picture is taken from inside the camper (this is located under the driver's side dinette) and shows the other side of the last photo. The red, green, and black wires are shown coming through the floor (circle). These are the wires that are in the wire coil. The white wire that goes behind the grey line is the white wire that is bolted to the angle iron on the a-frame as best I can tell. I believe the black wire that crosses in front of the very thick black line is the black wire that comes out at the a-frame and splits to a thin wire to the breakaway switch and slightly thicker wire with the bare end. The red wire running next to that black wire (not the super thick one at the bottom) is, I believe, the red wire that comes back out of the hole and runs to the back of the camper (weather here hasn't been conducive to completely establishing that, though).



I lightened this up a bit to maybe help see the trace. this is above the previous photos. It's the "floor" of the storage space above the outdoor/under dinette storage and shows how the wires come up through the space into that "hamper" compartment and runs to the fuse panel that is at the top of the compartment, right under the lid/cover.

I have a few things to do, but I will try to post the rest of the pics (and the text that goes with) once I get home for the evening. Hopefully the pics worked for this post. If not, I'll go back to the drawing board completely when I get home.

Thanks again for your answers and your patience!
Carla

 

[C-Stack]

OK, I think I have all you asked for, except I didn't get under the trailer yet.

Here is the top down pic of the A frame.



Junction box - I think I got everything covered in my other reply.

Better pictures of the converter and surrounding wiring.

Left side



the side (right when facing the converter)you were asking about



Yes there are 3 wall outlets. here is a picture taken further back of the circuit box. The black wire is the 110 cord to plug into shore power. that's mentioned in the owner's manual.



The model from the brochure is a 1982 15-1/2 SB. Everything lines up and is consistent with the brochure and owner's manual as far as I can see.

If you need anything else, please let me know.

 

[C-Stack]

Hi Carla,

I'm not sure if John covered about your black tank question (I don't see it but maybe I missed). Many of the older Sunlines had small black tanks above the floor of the trailer. The black tank is installed on top of the floor and a box/false floor is built around and on top of it. Then the toilet mounts to that and the tank drain goes out the bottom. My 12-1/2' MC is built exactly this way, and lucky for all of us, Icon Technologies makes a tank that is almost a drop in replacement at least for what I had in that trailer.

So if your toilet appears to be sitting on a raised floor, that's why.

Here's like a cross section view of the '79 my dad and I have been rebuilding, with the toilet reinstalled on the new holding tank. This is before the front lower wall of the trailer went on, so it shows the side view of how it's all set up. Although a lot of the pieces seen here are new, it replicates the original build style 100%. This particular trailer has the gray tank under the floor, just below and left of this view.

Hello and thank you for chiming in! John had not gotten to the black tank, so I appreciate this. My toilet is currently not attached as the owner before the owner I got her from removed the toilet and covered the hole with duct tape. I haven't gotten a chance to delve into bathroom much yet. I have the toilet to clean up and re-seat, though.

The toilet is raised. I had assumed that it was raised because the bathroom is the one with the shower option and the shower pan is just the floor in front of the toilet. The toilet backs to the refrigerator cabinet and water lines are on that shared wall where the raised floor meets the bottom of the wall. I will get some pictures when I get home from work.

For now, here's the picture I took of the bathroom when I first saw the camper. you can see the raised portion where the toilet sits a little bit, so a small tank under the toilet makes sense.

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Carla,

So sorry to hear about your pet. I know these situations are rough when your good friend passes away. We do get very attached to our furry friends; they are family.

Just a quick note. I see your added detail, pics, etc.; it is GREAT!

I need to take your pictures and draw captions to help explain what I have "connected the dots" on regarding the trailer hitch wiring and other things.

I will be back later; it will take some time, and I have other things I need to do.

Thanks

John

 

[C-Stack]

Hi Carla,

I'm not sure if John covered about your black tank question (I don't see it but maybe I missed). Many of the older Sunlines had small black tanks above the floor of the trailer. The black tank is installed on top of the floor and a box/false floor is built around and on top of it. Then the toilet mounts to that and the tank drain goes out the bottom. My 12-1/2' MC is built exactly this way, and lucky for all of us, Icon Technologies makes a tank that is almost a drop in replacement at least for what I had in that trailer.

So if your toilet appears to be sitting on a raised floor, that's why.

Here's like a cross section view of the '79 my dad and I have been rebuilding, with the toilet reinstalled on the new holding tank. This is before the front lower wall of the trailer went on, so it shows the side view of how it's all set up. Although a lot of the pieces seen here are new, it replicates the original build style 100%. This particular trailer has the gray tank under the floor, just below and left of this view.

Here's a better picture of the toilet area. Ignore the mess, I've been focused on the wiring and didn't get into there yet.



Once I get a little better weather and some more courage, I will peel back that duct tape and see what I'm working with. Any tips for re-seating the toilet? I've installed lots of toilets, but never one in a camper.