Cable run route camper

[Gera]

Hi, I have searched the forum and whilst there are many cable run threads I can’t see one for this.

I want to add some LED lights in the tailgate of an already converted camper with a pop top. The leisure battery is on the offside and there is a fuse box in the upper part of the “wardrobe” on the offside. Running cables from the tailgate through the connecting rubber tube on the near side upper part of the van would seem relatively straightforward. But with the interior of the van carpeted it’s difficult to see what options there are to run a cable from the near side to the offside of the van preferably through an existing void.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Is there a panel above the tailgate at the back of the pop top (the last 20-25 cm of the roof at the rear)?
This is where I have various cables routed across the van from passenger side to drivers side. The panel is attached by screws that can be removed to gain access.

 

[Gera]

All carpeted so difficult to tell. Sounds like a magnet job to try and find carpeted over screws.

 

[DaveCrampton]

I can't advise on inside the cabin, other than to suggest cutting away a section of carper, and recarpeting with the same colour and material type, once the job is complete, BUT:
I ran a power and ground cable through the rubber to the tailgate. I pulled the rubber off the cabin and tailgate side and taped the two cables to a rod to pull it through. It was tight and I did have to take care not to puncture the rubber.
The tailgate was tricky to guide the cabling through. Again I used a length of cable rod for the purpose. I pushed the rod from the passenger side tailgate forward (with the tailgate open) to the opening, then taped the cables to the rod to pull them through.

 

[drinfinity]

You can see the factory harness going over the back where @Grim Reaper suggests, along with my sketch I used to get the holes in the right place on tailgate.

 

[drinfinity]

I picked up an earth lead from pin 1 of the wiper motor connector, so only one lead down the bellows. As advised on this forum, a bamboo skewer lubricated with fairy liquid did the job with the the bellows.

 

[Gera]

Thank you, that’s very helpful, especially the pic of the interior, got some idea of how to go about it now.

 

[rod_vw]

If you can find the two holes that give access to the rear lid hinges don't worry about cutting the carpet as VW do proper plastic inserts for them. I suspect the problem will be finding a route around the top corners of the bodywork as there are a number of metal sections joining there.