help
i am new to caravanning and was looking today at a hobby van. The dealer told me it only comes with 240v mains hook up no 12v is it possible to retro fit a 12v circuit or is it just to much work ????
thanks in advance for any answers
Paul
Is it that it hasn't got any 12v or is it that it hasn't got a battery or charger? A lot of foreign caravans have 12v but run from a 240/12v transformer.
It should have 12v transformer for water pump & interior lights but might have mains lights as well. Yes you can fit leisure battery & charger, an electrician can wire it up in 3 hours, cost prob £400 with parts/labour. A cheaper alternative would be to fit leisure battery with no charger & just rewire so you have 12s cable or replace 12n with 13 core to allow battery charging while driving.
If you are on ehu you don't actually need a leisure battery & without ehu you have no way of charging it until you are towing so cheaper method will do the job if you want to use caravan on non ehu sites, otherwise use as is.
Saxo and Tentz are correct - there is a 12v circuit for pumps and some lights - powered via transformers.
At least once a year I stay on a site where there is no EHU, so I fitted a leisure battery. I wired it through a switch so that the 12v circuit(s) are powered either by the transformers OR from the battery. When on the battery, I lose some of the lights (240v) and the water heater, but it's no problem to heat a kettle on the gas ring. So the cost was only for the battery, a switch and a couple of metres of wire (and a couple of hours work!).
When I installed a mover on the 'van, I also fitted an intelligent charger.
My first van was a Thompson no 12v and no 240v it had gas lights and a foot water pump,I went to towsure and they had some 12v and 240v kits which I bought along with some lights and a water pump.I just followed the instructions which were suplied and it was quite easy to follow in no time I had full electrics I think the kit was about £120 but that was in the early 1980s hope this helps.Ian
Thanks for all your help
i phoned the dealer today and he has quoted £500 to do the job and also recomends changing the hot water tank aswell as you will only get one quick shower out of the standard tank . reminds me of buying a bmw or mercedes x price but if you want wheels and an engine thats all extra they do it so well the Germans .
dillemma is now with the extras and a motor mover we are getting into a very very nice 5th wheel money with air con 12v large bathroom all as standard
Paul
I agree about the shower - the hot water tank is not very big, but I very rarely use the shower anyway, and havn't in any 'van I've owned. It's my view that by the time you have replenished the water and emptied the waste after a shower, on a hot day you need another shower anyway. Easier to use the on-site facilities.
I think £500 to install a battery is very OTT - you can get a battery for £60-70, an intelligent charger for £50 (I actually bought a c-tek for IIRC £70) and a few quid for a switch and cable. But it is the same for everything - if you need a dealer to fit everything from a tow-hitch to a mover, you will pay through the nose.
Its sounds as if the caravan is new so presumably quote is for 110amp/hr battery & power distribution unit etc. For the shower it might be better to have water connector fitted to outside of caravan to enable use of Aquaroll or supply on serviced pitch.
we were looking to buy from ambergate but after viewing the american fifth wheel it looks like we are going that route better space equipment and cheaper its a shame because ive allways admired hobbys on all the sites weve been on but the 5th wheel just is in a different class
but thanks for all the realy great helpfull answers and advice
Paul
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Topic: hobby no 12v
