Caravan electrics.

It will be old. No idea as yet what I will be rewiring.

Might interior and exterior photos be help the planning?

Or essential if you are expected to sleep in it ;)

It's not what cables to use that bothers me. It's more what advances are there in making it more user friendly. I had never even considered that all the lighting should be 12V.

I have never towed one, never slept in on and never rewired one. The closest I have come to working on one was the PAT testing of South Yorkshire Police mobile CCTV vehicle. Unfortunately that set on fire when I switched on the vans 230V supply.

Hmm, there is a whole debate there.

Most modern ones have a 'smart' box which controls various things, including a user control panel. Just how much of functionality is required is open to debate. You could implement most things with just switchers and simple sensors (for water level, voltage sensing etc). No need for LCD displays and menus. Perhaps a simple voltmeter.

If you look on YouTube, there are videos where people have done their own conversions and wired up simple but adequate electrical systems without using a commercial controller.

I might be overestimating what she wants.

Well that's the key thing. If it needs a rewire is it an older caravan? Does she just want basically what she has now.

Her caravan will be plated as NCC approved.

Can I suggest that you call in at a caravan dealership and have a look at a few new caravans so you will see the sort of things which are current on the electrical side.

Then go back to your client and establish just what she wants. If it's a major upgrade then I would be inclined to advise you as a professional to decline.

Bert, you know I said it was a woman in my local pub asking about rewiring her sister's caravan in Bristol. Well she was in the pub again last night and had had a few too many. It turns out it's her caravan (although it is in Bristol and officially her sister owns it) she has just not told her husband yet.

It's a 1960's caravan and is f***ed.

Probably just needs a few new gas mantles and the chemical toilet emptying then. ;-)

Tim

I am trying to get some photos of it.

And at some point towing up to Barnsley. It has been mentioned that my car is equipped for towing..........

Towing, yes; dragging, no.

Owain

Is it insured for fire? It would probably be a kindness. ;-)

Seriously, unless it has *huge* sentimental value or is a rare or ?prestige? marque, rewiring it sounds like a fools errand.

Tim

On 16/08/2019 20:21, Tim+ wrote: <snip>

I wonder if the "re" is accurate.

Chances are it's rotten. Suggest she gets it damp tested first.

Start off as a caravan probably end up as a flatbed trailer :-) tell me when and I'll remember to stay off the M5.

You might be surprised.

There is a lot of interest in ?vintage? caravans. Alarmingly, ?vintage? is all relative and some of us clearly remember when ?vintage? things were the latest things. Even my eldest ( not yet 29) has experienced this!

Caravan wiring is far simpler than motorhome wiring. The latter really requires more interaction with the base vehicle, at least in the larger ones. A caravan is more independent. Assuming you?ve got the basic towing electrics (lights) you could limit the vehicle interface to an ?earth?, 12V (ideally switched) and include a voltage sensing ?relay? (probably solid state these days) in the caravan.

Actual wiring for interior lights etc (12v), perhaps some 12v sockets etc, a charger for the leisure battery, pump, a bit of mains is trivial for a DIYer. The worst bit is probably access - wires need to be hid etc .

It could be he just needs to change the bulbs / fittings for LED ones. Our first MH, while new, came with quartz halogen bulbs in the interior lights. While they gave good light, replacing them with LEDs reduced the current required by approx 90%. When you are relying on your leisure battery, that is significant.

Good luck working on that. Remove anything from an old caravan and you'll have problems replacing it. Everything rusted or rotten. And you'll have to do lots of dismantling for a re-wire.

I have a feeling that it is going to get gutted.

Even that may not be as simple as you might think. Caravans of that era were effectively assembled by screwing into the various items of furniture through the sidewalls, which were then insulated (a little), any pipes and wiring run, and the aluminium skin added.

Chris