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I had originally posted this elsewhere, but keep seeing question asked about what to do here. First - what did I do this? Both my wife and myself use a CPAP at night, When camping we usually visit campgrounds without power at the site. So to run our CPAP I needed 12V power point plugs in the bed room. I first looked at taping into the light power at the nights stand, GD runs 14 gauge wiring to the lights. However after checking my CPAP's power requirements and seeing what GD had on that circuit, there was not enough power available, especially for 2 units. I also looked into having the plugs on the nights stand wall, but running wiring back to the front compartment was not possible without taking everything apart.
So I settled on coming up inside the bed frame.
For my install GD was kind enough to get me a diagram of my bed room floor framing. Most 5th wheel units will be the same. However you don't really need a framing diagram. By looking forward from the front storage compartment you should be able to see the framing. Measure everything out from both side walls and a known point in you bedroom layout forward. In my case it was the cross beam step. My bed was screwed down along the sides into two of these forward running members. There is also a big steel cross header in my unit where there is a step down in front of the bed.
So with the measurements in hand I went into the bedroom and put tape on the floor where I thought everything was. I then drilled small pilot holes down where I was going to bring my power cables up. I used some bailing wire to poke down and then find the wire by looking forward from the front compartment, Adding colored tape to the wire helps. Ultimately I cam up just inside the bed frame close to the side wall near the foot of the bed - missing the cross beam.
First - no matter what brand of CPAP unit you have your manufacturer should have a 12v power cord adapter available. My Dream station came with one. They will look something like this.
The adapter converts 12v to the operating 24v most CPAP units run on. Your normal 110 power cord converts the 110v AC house power to 24v DC for the unit power.
Parts you will need
I used this marine grade wiring. It has its own covering over the wires. It's probably overkill but I had some long runs. You might get away with 12 gauge or even 14 gauge if the runs are short. Somewhere on this site folks have posted wiring charts.
Power point plug. There are many brands and colors. Here is one source https://www.etrailer.com/12V-Power-A...ion/F12VR.html
Note is has a barrel and backing nut.
For my install in the bed frame I drilled a smaller hole on the outside and larger in the inside to fit the locking nut. Tip - use a thin long drill bit that is smaller than your pilot bit is on your hole saw and drill through both sides. Then you will be centered for drilling the second different hole sizes.
What it looks like on the other side.
So I settled on coming up inside the bed frame.
For my install GD was kind enough to get me a diagram of my bed room floor framing. Most 5th wheel units will be the same. However you don't really need a framing diagram. By looking forward from the front storage compartment you should be able to see the framing. Measure everything out from both side walls and a known point in you bedroom layout forward. In my case it was the cross beam step. My bed was screwed down along the sides into two of these forward running members. There is also a big steel cross header in my unit where there is a step down in front of the bed.
So with the measurements in hand I went into the bedroom and put tape on the floor where I thought everything was. I then drilled small pilot holes down where I was going to bring my power cables up. I used some bailing wire to poke down and then find the wire by looking forward from the front compartment, Adding colored tape to the wire helps. Ultimately I cam up just inside the bed frame close to the side wall near the foot of the bed - missing the cross beam.
First - no matter what brand of CPAP unit you have your manufacturer should have a 12v power cord adapter available. My Dream station came with one. They will look something like this.
Parts you will need
I used this marine grade wiring. It has its own covering over the wires. It's probably overkill but I had some long runs. You might get away with 12 gauge or even 14 gauge if the runs are short. Somewhere on this site folks have posted wiring charts.
Power point plug. There are many brands and colors. Here is one source https://www.etrailer.com/12V-Power-A...ion/F12VR.html
Note is has a barrel and backing nut.
For my install in the bed frame I drilled a smaller hole on the outside and larger in the inside to fit the locking nut. Tip - use a thin long drill bit that is smaller than your pilot bit is on your hole saw and drill through both sides. Then you will be centered for drilling the second different hole sizes.
What it looks like on the other side.
and had fun tracking down spares. They are good in tight spaces where you cant come straight out like under the cover box I used in this project. They do come in handy. I noticed NAPA carry's them recently.
But if you seriously have any concerns or questions, take a picture of the juncture and post it here. We really do have no-kidding electricians and electrical engineers on the forum who will point out (in a friendly manner) if something needs tweaking.
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