# Doing own electric hookup for trailer house...



## prairie hill

Putting in a mobile home on our property and having fits getting an electrician to come out here. Thinking they don't want to do such a "small" job. Multiple calls haven't gotten returned (and this AFTER the guy said he'd be out a certain day and didn't show.) Another electrician is weeks overdue. 

Here's our deal: the rural electric company came and installed the pole and hooked up the electric to the existing line. What's in the breaker box on the pole AND on the house side is as follows: 2 black wires, 1 white wire, and one bare ground. 

Is it as simple as it looks? Will use, of course, the same size wire and it'll all go thru conduit and buried to proper depth, but aside from that, is this as straightforward as it looks - simply match wires? 

Now, if I was wiring a light fixture I'd not even ask the Q, but this is bigger. And... a bit more intimidating.

Thanks for the assistance.


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## fishhead

What are you trying to do?

Run a line from the power company line through your meter and on to a load center?

What existing line?


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## prairie hill

The meter is there, on the pole (new install). The "existing line" I mentioned is what the power company came off of to the new pole and meter. We are just looking to connect to the house from the meter (I was calling it the pole - sorry). They said they no longer do it, to hire our own electrician, and let them know when it is done.


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## Cyngbaeld

I can't get the url to load correctly. Google "connecting meter loop to mobile home SCE&G " . It is a PDF file.

Scroll down to page 55 and 56.


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## Snowfan

Several questions. Is this a new MH or an older unit? How big (amps) is the service you're bringing in and how big is the panel in the MH? Do you already have the proper or approved ground (or earth) rod(s) or grounding method in place? Has a licensed electrician looked at it and walked away or has no one actually looked at it?


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## Evons hubby

Most of the power companies I have dealt with will be happy to hand you a little guide book that covers the code requirements for this type residential work. Go by their book, once you have the work completed, they will come out and inspect it, if it passes they green tag it and hang the meter... power on! If not, the inspector will tell you what needs to be corrected, then reinspect. There is a fee for inspections in my area, but they arent too bad. 50 bucks I think.


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## farmgal

I did my pole service and the line to the house, all by looking at others that have been done recently and just copying. All passed inspection. I ran mine underground 400ft, was much cheaper than above ground. Put the underground wire in a sleeve to keep rocks from ever nicking it. 4 inch corrugated plastic drain pipe is cheap and works fine, use the perforated one to keep from making a water way to your house. I tied a small cup to a string and the other end to the wire. Took a shop vac and blew the cup down the 100 ft sections of corrugated then pulled the wire through with the string. Worked like a charm and I felt like mc gyver...lol


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## fishhead

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Most of the power companies I have dealt with will be happy to hand you a little guide book that covers the code requirements for this type residential work. Go by their book, once you have the work completed, they will come out and inspect it, if it passes they green tag it and hang the meter... power on! If not, the inspector will tell you what needs to be corrected, then reinspect. There is a fee for inspections in my area, but they arent too bad. 50 bucks I think.


That sounds like a good plan. There are little parts like bonding bushings (?) that a person could overlook if they didn't have the code to follow.

When I did my house a friend drew the diagram and I just bought and assembled the parts. It wasn't a big deal and I ended up doing 2 more load centers at the farm. They all passed the state inspection.


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## farmgal

Each electric company has a system they want you to use. Find this out then go from there.


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## ErinP

Yes prairie hill, it is as easy as it looks. We hooked up our trailer to the pole when we brought it in, too. 

I know Nebraska requires inspection for actual construction, but do they for this? Nonetheless, a code pamphlet would be handy just for easing your mind. Call you local NPPD and see what they have...


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## baldylocks

Agree with the others...it's pretty easy although intimidating. I got a book from my power company and just followed the rules. I talked some to the power co engineer in charge of the design (which was just me telling him what I wanted to do...not anything fancy) and he told me a few things. My installation was also underground and I too used a shop-vac to run the pull-cord. Anyhow, the inspector came out, torqued the lugs and slapped his sticker on my meter-base. I did get a lot of advice from the local electrical supply place too...they were super helpful


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## swinters

I did one we set up on our place for my mother-in-law. I got a permit and then just looked at a couple nearby that were recently done, sketched the setup, bought the stuff and installed it just like the other ones were and then called the inspector. Only glitch was that I didn't have a breaker labeled (I also fed a yard light and an outlet off the MH panel on the pole). The inspector let me fix that while he was there and posted a completed inspection sticker on it.


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## motdaugrnds

That can also be quite dangerous!

We set up our own electrical from pole to trailer. First off, you need to know the size of the line coming down from electrical into your meter/breaker box on that pole. Then you need to know what size wire the breaker box inside your trailer needs. (Our trailer needed a 100 amp, yet we had a 200 amp coming into the box on the pole.)

[David literally had to run the 200 amp wire from the top of that pole, down that pole and into the breaker box making sure the breaker there would accept that size amps. (You can call the store where you purchase breakers and talk with them about the size breakers that go with what.)]

You MUST bury a copper grounding rod! We had to push an 8 ft long copper rod into the ground a short distance from the utility pole and run that grounding wire underground over to it. (Ask your electrical company for some information about your area.)

Our electrical company would not even turn our electricity on until its service man had come out and inspected what was done and saw it was done right.

The wire you run from breaker box on pole needs to be inside a conduit and buried in the ground about a foot deep. (We buried ours 2 ft deep.) Do not just run the wire without placing it inside a conduit. Should anything ever go wrong, you will be glad for that conduit. Take that conduit (with your wire inside) all the way up into your house so mice/rats cannot chew on it. Then connect it to the breaker box inside your trailer. 

*Now remember anytime you work on electricity to make sure...double check...the power is OFF!*


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