A cautionary tale regarding fancy purty builds...

[rruff]

Because often having plumbing and electrical buried behind walls and floors can lead to disaster. In this woman's case it was specifically plumbing in junction with a wood floor. But even if the floor had been a non-wood material, but wasn't loose (like a rug, or... ?) it would have been a moldy mess that would need to be ripped up to fix. Or if something happened to your wiring, you may need to rip out a row of cabinets to find the issue.

Keep it simple and easy to take apart. Modular is good. Cheap too...

 

[eDJ_]

Some time ago I sent off and purchased a plans set from Glen-L Marine. They do boats & many types of RV's.

When I received them I noticed they were suggesting running the electrical in the various components (all of which was external to the Van itself) Thus each component could plug into the other(s) in a modular sense. So if something had to be serviced, that component could be removed from the Van and serviced more easily. Similarly with plumbing....where it could join with other components under the Van for drainage. (only requiring a hole with rubber grommet and plastic PVC pipe rising up far enough to connect to a flexible connection that would be easily disconnected when a component were pulled back a bit for access.

I can understand more permanent items such as a water tank being bolted to the frame under the Van with an access port mounted to the body of the rig. The electric water pump and wiring for that could be run thru conduit or panduit (snap together conduit) cable raceway housings. This would make under side service simpler for building or maintaining.

Glen-L Plans for a Rig

Wiring Organization & Management types

As an example, if you wanted to have a kitchenette that you could move outdoors while in camp, if it were wired for an overhead work light, and power receptacles built into it....then you would only need a short extension cord to connect it to the interior connection it normally uses. If every component were removed from the interior they may only be a few service connections for power, water, and waste water.

 

[tx2sturgis]

In all three of my DIY builds I have not installed ANY plumbing of any type. Anything that's water related happens 'outside' the camper. (Self-contained portable water jugs with a spout are not 'plumbing')

There are only two kinds of plumbing: Plumbing which HAS leaked, and plumbing which WILL leak.

Of course the commercially made RVs and campers usually have plumbing installed, and yep...eventually it will cause a problem. Sooner or later it will leak and need repairs.

So, in the case of DIY builds that DO include plumbing, its wise to install it so that all of it is visible and accesible for inspection and repairs. Hiding it behind a cabinet is ok, but behind wall panels or within layers of the floor is not a good idea.

Thanks rruff and edj for the articles.