A 13 pin socket on the car is the current standard, so if necessary, adapt the caravan to the car, either by using an adapter, or better, replace black and grey cables on the van with a 13 pin cable that will have the latest wiring colours. The fewer connections, the better for any later trouble shooting.
Note a fully wired 13 pin socket does not have pin 12 in use - nothing wrong, its just not allocated a use.
Car factory supplied sockets may not have the fridge power supply nor its ground wire fitted, so be prepared to have to do this for your fridge to work whilst travelling, and leisure battery to be charged.
Perhaps a timely word of warning for 13-pin plugs/sockets would not be amiss. When unhitching the caravan from the car, DO NOT move the car or the van before disconnecting the 13-pin plug.
Where the old 7-pin plugs usually just pulled out in the event of this error, the 13-pin plug/socket is a twist-and-lock situation, and forgetting to disconnect simply rips the system apart. This results in a rewiring job, probably new plug and/or socket, which can be both expensive and very inconvenient.
Bertie.
Hi dont worry about the fridge when travelling it rarely gets cool enough anyway. Easier to set up caravan and then nip to shop to get groceries, and put in fridge then. We have been caravanning 11 yrs now and never had the fridge working whilst travelling. Not worth the expense of having electrics fitted. Cheaper to buy a electric cool box and plug into car.
Where practicable, many people hook up to the mains at home before setting off to cool down the fridge. SWMBO may well wish to take perishable foodstuffs from home too.
It is not expensive to complete the necessary wiring - a length of 13 core from a towbar fitter is about £10.
Thermoelectic coolboxes are ok in the car but useless on site. They can't handle high ambient temperatures, the fan will keep you awake at night, the transformer for 12v gets warm and attract ants and they fill with condensation.
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Topic: double tow hitch sockets
