21 Friday Jul 2017
OK… so that title was a bit dramatic! However here’s the thing… I don’t think everything is peachy with Euro 6 engines and charging leisure batteries.
If you are a regular reader, you know I have recently installed one of Sterling Power’s Wildside units (and so far I’m super happy with it!) but I did get an email from someone who had read all my postings about it and asked me if it might cure his problem. Here’s the gist of his email….
02 Sunday Jul 2017
Posted in Accessories, Caravan Electrics, Electrical, Off Grid, Product Review, Projects, Reviews, Technical, Towing, VW Amarok
We had originally intended to spend a week down at Glastonbury which would have meant the 5 hour drive down would have been an excellent test for the Sterling Power Wildside unit’s first outing. However we had to cancel the trip literally the day before we were due to set off. In the few days between installing the Wildside unit and our planned trip to Glastonbury I had been exchanging emails and phone calls with Charles Sterling talking about some of the aspects of the Wildside unit and the direction that caravan electrics was heading in.
30 Tuesday May 2017
Tags
Caravan Electrics, Leisure Battery, Leisure Battery Charging, Maintenance, Sterling Power, Sterling Power Wildside, Technical
There has been a bit of a delay since Part 1 and Part 2 due to Sue having a fall and breaking her arm in three places. This required over three hours of surgery to install enough metalwork and screws to keep a blacksmith happy followed up by a lot of trips back and forth to the hospital. However, on with the install of the Sterling Power Wildside unit. I think that this will be the first ever install of a unit in a caravan. Continue reading
28 Tuesday Feb 2017
Posted in Caravan Electrics, Electrical, General, Maintenance, Modifications, Technical, tow vehicle, VW Amarok
Tags
13 Pin Plug, Caravan Electrics, Caravanning, Caravans, Maintenance, Modifications, Sterling Power, Travel Trailer, Travel Trailers
This is really a follow-up to my previous post – Smart Alternators: how they affect Caravans and Motorhomes….
While at the NEC show one of my big tasks was to get a number of technical questions answered by the industry players. One of my first stops was to Westfalia and to meet up with Rick Sykes and his colleague on the Westfalia stand. Rick is the national training manager for Westfalia and I was able to get answers to a number of questions that you have asked me and I’d not been able to answer fully. Continue reading
04 Sunday Dec 2016
Posted in Accessories, Caravan Electrics, Electrical, Maintenance, Modifications, Technical
One of the little things that has been on my “must do something about that” list for a while is to address the problem we have with not enough places to plug things in and charge them. When we are in the caravan in the evening the front looks like a tech gadget table top sale… Macbook Pro, WiFi router/MiFi device, two iPhones, camera battery chargers, Fitbit charger and all these needed plugging in. The 4 way surge protected power strip I put there just wasn’t cutting it any more.
21 Thursday Jan 2016
I receive a lot of emails asking where people can buy some of the tools – especially some of the crimp tools and terminations I use in my posts and articles. In the past I have just emailed people back with the details and maybe links. However my last post about cable termination brought on a rather large amount of requests. So I have decided that I will include links to the products on Amazon. So from now on you will see a section at the bottom of any posts called….
Caravan Chronicles Shopping...
Any specific items used will be listed, and by clicking on the link to the item you will be taken to the Amazon store page. If you do decide to purchase anything, it will be from Amazon (or their associates) and delivered by them. It’s just like buying from Amazon directly.
The price you pay is exactly the same as it would be by going directly to Amazon. All I receive is a few pennies from each sale that will help towards keeping the wheels of Caravan Chronicles turning.
I have also created a shopping page that lists the products under a link to the original article. There aren’t any photos, just descriptions to keep the page neat and quick to load. If you want to go back to the article, just click on its title.
I hope you don’t mind me doing this, but it will save you having to email me asking where to get things from and save me a bit of time in replying to everyone.
Cheers
Simon
PS… I will be going back to some of the older posts adding links over the next few weeks.
03 Sunday Jan 2016
As it’s now the ‘off season’ for a lot of caravaners and thoughts turn to sorting out those problems that we put up with on the last couple off trips, I thought I’d look at cable terminations. One of the problems that I’m asked about revolves around cable termination in trailer sockets and plugs. Like most things there is a right way and a wrong way of doing it and there is also the compromise. Continue reading
06 Saturday Jun 2015
Posted in Caravan Electrics, Electrical, Help Guides, Maintenance, Modifications, Technical
One of Caravan Chronicles long time readers and supporters, Colin “Snowy” Snowden, has sent me an excellent article he has written covering all aspects of upgrading pre September 1998 UK caravans to the 13 pin Euro Plug.
It’s very comprehensive article and goes into detail about the various problems and colour codes that were used and cover some of the changes that are required, habitation relays and details the steps required to actually do the upgrade with steps on fault finding.
If you have a pre September 1998 caravan and are thinking of replacing the original 12N/12S wiring with a 13 Pin plug, it’s an essential read.
The document can be downloaded and viewed here: Upgrading to 13 Pin
Colin has included contact details in the article, but if you have any questions that the answers might be helpful to others as well, you could also post them in the comments section below and Colin will be able to answer them.
20 Wednesday Aug 2014
Tags
13 Pin Plug, Caravan, Caravan Electrics, earth fault, Maintenance, rear lights, Road Lights, side lights, Travel Trailer
That is one of the most common questions that I am asked about road light problems with caravan’s and trailers. Others are::
“Why do my side lights come on when I brake?”
“When I turn my side lights on why do the indicators glow dimly?”
“When I put my side lights on why do my reversing lights come on?”
“When I brake why do all my rear lights come on?”
The answer is fairly simple, and a lot of people will tell you “It’s an earth fault” So often said simply because they have heard someone else say it but really they don’t understand how it can be an earth fault. Trying to find a fault even if you know what it is can be frustrating if you don’t know a bit of theory behind it, but I’ll try to give you an insight into what’s going on. Lets have a look at a basic wiring diagram for the caravan or trailer road lights and their connections.
