Euro to UK

[Stinkypants]

Hi All

Apologies if this is a stupid question (I have tried searching here for any previous posts).

We have just bought our very first VW Camper (1985 T25 Westfalia Joker) and are pretty much all set to hit the road. It was however imported from Europe (Luxembourg I believe) and so the internal electric sockets are still Euro based.

No great shakes in the short term, as we can just use travel adapters but longer term we'd prefer to just plug our stuff into UK style plugs.

I'm guessing I can't simply just replace the fascias, so was wondering if folks could advise us on what we would have to do/look out for when doing this.

Cheers!

[82JEW75]

I'm guessing I can't simply just replace the fascias

Don't see why not. Going Euro to UK is far less of an issue than the other way around. Just go over the wiring and make sure everything was done correctly in the first place, then swap the sockets for UK ones.

Can't see any major issues cropping up, we're only talking a couple of sockets max and most UK vans are wired to Euro standards anyway these days.

[Stinkypants]

Thanks for getting back to me.

It just seemed to easy hence I thought I'd better check. But what do you know, sounds like some things in life can be simple!

I will give this a go and report back for those who are interested.

[California Dreamin]

Replacing the Westy Euro socket for a UK 3 pin like this:



As you can see it's pretty tight and one side is up against the hinge whilst the other goes partly behind the R&R bed moulding, looks simple but alot more work than you would think.
I used a slim line socket with indicator (great for telling you when or if the power trips) the wiring is a simple swap over.(live/nuetral/earth)

Martin

[Stinkypants]

Having now picked up the van and had a proper appraisal I realised it was going to be tight, but your picture is worth a thousand words so many thanks for taking the time.

So in summary (for anyone else who chances across this topic) the electrics side is relatively simple and you're not going to blow up your van, but squeezing in a UK fascia will take some effort.

Thank you again to 82JEW75 and California Dreamin for taking the time to reply.

[Ian Hulley]

There's always the C-Line or CBE style, made specifically for c*****ns and campers ...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CBE-240V-3-PIN-SO ... 20ba26fca7

Ian.

[California Dreamin]

To be honest, most Westy owners don't bother and just fit a cheap adapter like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-Euro-Adap ... 241&sr=8-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just liked the idea of a power indicator as I have been caught out a couple of times with a defrosting fridge as a result of the power supply tripping (not internally, externally)

Martin