There are a couple small electrical tasks to go along with this remodel. One is to put a light over the table, because nobody wants to eat dinner in the dark. The other is to install a 12v port by the bed so we can plug in our phones to charge them. Oh, and I will need a power source for the fan for the composting toilet. Oh, have I not mentioned the composting toilet. Oh yeah, we’re going to be doing that too.

I really got lucky with the light, because the Airstream has these nice square ceiling lights. I have three original ones, which I converted to LED a few years ago. Also a couple years ago, back before the pandemic, a friend with a 68 Airstream was cleaning out some extra stuff and gave me an extra light fixture. I didn’t needed, but she insisted, so it’s been kicking around my garage for a couple years. Well, well, it is exactly what I need now!

I contacted Dan at https://led4rv.com/catalog/index.php and ordered another LED set for the light – but he was out! Supply issues, you know? But when I told him I had hoped I could get it to match my other three lights, he scraped up the parts and put one together just for me! How awesome is that?!

I also had to order a couple 3 way switches, because this fixture didn’t have one and the one in the bathroom light had been acting a little funky for a while, so I got those from https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/ because of course they are hard to find since they have a non-standard extra long post to fit this fixture.

It was handy to have the bathroom light out for switch replacement anyway, because then I could look at it to figure out what to do with the LED setup.

Out to the trailer we go, ready to run some new wires.

Oh, I hated to do this, but it had to be done. It will be hidden under the new fixture. I ran the wires through the upper cabinets back to the closet, where I planned to steal some power from the reading lamp. But then I realized the reading lamp wires were not long enough to splice into, and what I really needed was a junction box. This way I could take the power from the trailer, and split off the table light, reading light, and future composting toilet fan. It’s not as chaotic as it looks. I might tape those wires in place though. I don’t want anything in the closet to get tangled in a wire and pull it loose. Getting those crimp connectors on all those wires to extend them to the new junction box definitely was a challenge though. The closet is only a foot wide!

Functional light over the table!

For the 12v Power by the bed, I started out by making this super complicated little box. Then while waiting for it to dry it suddenly became clear what I should do, and I just drilled a hole in the original piece of woodwork at the head of the bed and put it there. The wires drop straight down to the front junction block, where there was an open slot just waiting for it. This is going to be hidden under the shelf of the dinette seatback.

I don’t know why I try to do things the hardest possible way sometimes.