Club 80-90 Forums

Hi All

I have decide to have a complete overhaul of my interior and so have a number of questions related to it.

First of all is electric hook up.

We have decided that we would like to install electric hook up for longer camping trips but have a few questions as to what kit to get and how it should be connected.
We already have a leisure battery setup and have been looking at just kampers for hooks ups.

What is the difference between these two? and which should I go for?
http://www.justkampers.com/shop/type_25 ... 11915.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
or
http://www.justkampers.com/shop/type_25 ... 11916.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also how to a go about linking this up with the existing leisure battery? is this a simple job?

We have also bought a 3 way fridge to go in the van. How many vents do I need to cut in the side when I install this? I have seen some vans with one at the bottom and one at the top and others with just one? The fridge was one of a caravan I think and already has one small vent which came with it

What is the best method for installing the vents to prevent the body work rusting? I resprayed the van last summer so dont want it rusting within a year.

Also how do I connect it up to the gas? Can i simply use a t piece to split the gas , one going to the cooker and another to the fridge

I'm sure there were loads of other things I wanted to ask but I can remember now, will post again later if I do

Thanks in advance

Matt

Matt,
don't bother with either solution from just campers as they have the usual premium price added to markup for camper parts online.
you need a outdoor extension lead ( blue socket) with upto 3 indoor 230V 3 pin connections, with an integrated circuit breaker.
if i were you i would buy the standard extension lead and fit an outdoor blue plug for a fraction of the money.

to connect to your leisure battery you'd need a battery charger, i wouldn't bother with this i'd just use the leisure battery until it ran out or use mains if available (either or)
but if you can find a cheap one install by all means

the typical fridges need an exhaust vent on side of the van and one in the floor for condensate. cut using a jigsaw, sand down edge and primer applied after. you could throw in a splash of waxoil to prevent any corrosion. great stuff to get into the habit of putting on chassis anyways.

i don't know anything bout gas but make sure you have done a good job making connections as you don't want any leaks.

thanks for the reply

Might pop down to the local place and ask them about there hook up options, they seemed very helpful when I bought my leisure battery

Are you saying that I should not bother linking the mains hook up to the leisure battery setup. Thought the idea was that you could use the power from the mains hookup to power everything(lights, fridge, tv) and then if you don't have hook up just use the battery for lights and gas for the fridge

Sorry if these seems stupid questions but I don't have a clue when it comes to this sort of stuff

My lights work on 12v all the time. I did fit some 12v christmas tree lights around the high top are for when I was on hookup

My leisuredrive system is basically a blue hook up socket on the outside of the van which is then connected to a small 2 way consumer/trip unit. Then from there to a two way 3 pin plug socket for general use and a 1 way socket for the fridge

Your probably better with a hookup socket unless you want to have an extenion lead through an open window all the time

You can mount your hookup socket behind the rear flap thus negating the need to cut the panel. Do a search to find information on that.

Our gas supply comes from the bottle to a splitter which has a stop valve for the fridge supply. The copper gas pipes then go to the fridge and the cooker.

you have a 12v leisure system within your van and in order to use mains to power these you have to convert 230V AC to 12V DC the easiest way is to use a battery charger powered by mains, any motor factor would have these. or see link below

you have a 12v leisure system within your van (sink water pump,lights) the leisure battery is charged up when running by the alternator this charging is turned on and off by a relay to seperate the 2 circuits so that you don't discharge your main battery and not be able to start.

the electrical connection to the fridge will usually only work when the van is running (this is a seperate circuit and not linked to leisure battery) and there is a relay taking upto 20-30 amps direct off your alternator. this is probably not connected to your leisure battery as it would empty it fairly quickly.

if you do not want to use gas to drive the fridge when in a campsite with electricity you could make up a plug off the main supply to the fridge and connect the output from the battery charger to this, i'm not sure if there would be too high a draw off the mains powered charger
but a beast of a charger as listed below would be a solution;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-BATTERY-CHARG ... 762wt_1165" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

hope this helps

shane

collins_sh wrote:Matt,
don't bother with either solution from just campers as they have the usual premium price added to markup for camper parts online.
you need a outdoor extension lead ( blue socket) with upto 3 indoor 230V 3 pin connections, with an integrated circuit breaker.
if i were you i would buy the standard extension lead and fit an outdoor blue plug for a fraction of the money.

That way is more wrong than wrong, just about ok in a tent but not in a camper! If you are going to do it do it properly loads of hook up kits from loads of electrical/camping motor home people, You want a consumer unit (like in your house then you can fit plug sockets were you want them, You need a twin pole rcd, then smaller rcd's out to the sockets etc. fit a proper hook up point on your van, then have a lead that plugs into that and the hook up point on the camp site. Passing a lead though a door is asking for trouble!

alright i was a little off on the first thread i posted, but by all means buy the package from an online shop. i just have an aversion to companies repackaging standard electrical fittings as a camper kit and charging through the nose for them.

i never asked anyone to run a cable out a door, you can do a tasty job of it using any holes may be in floor under sink etc depends on layout etc...