caravan wiring

[zacc]

what size wire should i use running from my batterie to my 7 pin plug to run my fridge in the caravan.cheers

[Rusko]

I would used a 8 B&S cable to run the length of your vehicle, as this will
help to stop voltage drop to your fridge. The fridge will get a good 12 volt supply to run.

[zacc]

thanks for that but what is an 8 b&s wire . excuse my ignorance

[Rusko]

Can get 8 B&S wire from any auto electrican, it's the size of the wire you
need to use.

[Yonnee]

You won't get much bigger than 6mm cable into the plug's screw terminals in your 7 pin plug.

[John McFarlane]

If at all possibel, you should fit a separate connector for the fridge wiring including an earth return as well..

This way, a lot of the load is removed from the standard trailer plug, particularly from the earth wire returning to the car. With a lot of load in the caravan, the earth wire needs to drain it back to the car earth, and that is where voltage drop can also occur.

[Sandgroper]

As John said, much better to run a separate supply. You can use an Anderson plug mounted near your trailer socket on you car and run 8 B&S from your battery to it. Then the other half of the Anderson is run from the front of your trailer to where ever you want in your caravan using 8 B&S cable.
The plug on the front of your caravan has about the same length as your normal plug so it won't pull tight when going around corners.
Hope this helps,
Sandgroper.

[zacc]

can i use a standard 30 amp relay ( like used on spotties ) to suply power to my fridge in the van . this way when car is running power will be supplied . or do i have to use a bigger relay or solenoid? cheers

[Sandgroper]

I would have thought that you would want power to your van when parked as well. If so connect straight to your battery, then through a fuse and to the Anderson plug at the rear of your car.
If you only want power to your van when your car is running a relay will be fine.
Sandgroper.

[zacc]

yeh just to run thr fridge when i am on the move which draws 12 amps, so when i stop the batterie will not be draind. if i am going to stop for a while i will switch to gas.

[The Last Streetfighter]

12 Amps. Holy cow. If that is the case, and you are running 12V then that's 144watts. You'd want a second battery under the bonnet and a redarc isolator. Then it's up to your leisure when you switch the fridge to gas.

[zacc]

can i just use a red arc solinoid and run power from my batterie used in the car ? so when the car is off the power to the fridge is off.

[Futsal1st]

Caravan Wiring

Its actually more like 14.5 amps (175 watts). If your worried about battery drain with the car off, I would use one of those small driving light relays (rated at 30 amps) and connect it to isolate the van fridge circuit when the car is turned off. Fairly economical fix and would be reliable (based on the life of these relays I've had to date at 20 -30 years).

Enjoy your traveling.

[zacc]

Its actually more like 14.5 amps (175 watts). If your worried about battery drain with the car off, I would use one of those small driving light relays (rated at 30 amps) and connect it to isolate the van fridge circuit when the car is turned off. Fairly economical fix and would be reliable (based on the life of these relays I've had to date at 20 -30 years).



great reply . thats what i was after thanks so much for that.

[Pathy]

Thats what I have done for mine. No problem, that way the fridge is on while we are travelling, and doesn't flatten my battery while we are having lunch etc. I didn't want to come back to the car and find a flat battery. I don't need a duel battery setup.