Removable Electrics.

[boik]

Hi guys. Just found this site which looks perfect for us.

We have a Toyota Previa T3 which we want to use for camping, but need to be able to use as a full 7-seater as well. Seats are quick and easy to remove/replace (and floor is completely flat) and I am well able to build a removable kitchen unit and bed/storage using the existing seat mounting for quick attach/release. I just have a quick question re the electrics. The car has a 7S socket so my initial idea was to put the electrics (leisure battery, fusebox, Waeco fridge, water pump and lighting) into the kitchen unit and have a lead with a plug that just plugs into the 7S pins 2 and 3 to charge the battery, and then connect everything else straight to the battery (via suitable fuses). Would this be acceptable for short breaks, or would everyone advise using a habitation relay and wire the fridge to pins 6 and 7?

Any thoughts/suggestions gratefully received.

 

[Neckender]

Welcome to the forum boik, I can't help you but perhaps someone else will be along who can.

John,

 

[boik]

Welcome to the forum boik, I can't help you but perhaps someone else will be along who can.

John,

Cheers John. I've going to check this w/e that the current sockets are wired correctly and then maybe just knock up a test rig and see how it works out.

Just wondered how simple I copuld keep the setup, and I'm sure there's more experienced people than me on here.

Boik

 

[st3v3]

Sounds fine mate. Forgive me if stating the obvious, but fuse your fly lead that plugs into towing socket near the leisure battery as well - often overlooked.

 

[boik]

Sounds fine mate. Forgive me if stating the obvious, but fuse your fly lead that plugs into towing socket near the leisure battery as well - often overlooked.

Excellent - that keeps it all nice and simple. Yep, fuse will be included.

Thanks for your help. Will post some pics once I get properly underway. Looking forward to next year already!

Boik

 

[boik]

Right, well tested the socket and I'm a bit confused now. All pins are as expected, but the pin that I expected to come live when the relay clicked in (Pin 2 I think) just hovers around 115mV. I've no experience of this, so after how long would people expect it to click over. As far as I know the car battery is fully charged, or am I misunderstanding this? Left the engine running for about 5 mins and tried revving hard, but no 12-14V on that pin.

 

[Tow Itch]

Even though there are 7 pins the plug is called 12S as opposed to 12N the trailer vehicle lights.
Now even if the socket is wired correctly there is more than one standard as to how to wire the 12S socket depending on the age of the caravan it was wired to tow. Two friends and myself spent an age working through the options then found this guide from The Caravan Club that is far more concise than I could ever be. http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/1022790/towbar-wiring-mo.pdf

 

[shortcircuit]

Depending on what your uses are you may need to increase the size of the cable feeding the car socket. Remember the fuse size needs to be less than the current carrying capacity of the cable and not related to the load.