Hi all. We are new to all this stuff so please be patient with me.
We are about to purchase a new van to set up for long term touring. ( not sure which one yet, got it down to 3.) as far as power supply. 1 has an andersen plug, and a 7 pin plug.
another has a 12 pin plug and an andersen plug. the third only has the 12 pin plug. I am getting advice that not having the heavier leads and the andersen plug is detrimental to the operation of the fridge. The tow vehicle is a 2016 Mazda BT50 fitted with a tow bar and a 12 pin plug. What is the best way to fit out the tow vehicle? I realize that this may differ slightly according the the van purchased. Any advice will be gladly accepted.
You will find the wire in the 7/12 pin plugs will not be heavy enough to run things like your fridge. I had that problem and fitted a Anderson plug direct from battery to back of car with 6B&S cable then from front of van direct to 12v side of fridge with just a little ligher cable. Works great now. The main thing to remember is use 'genuine' Anderson plugs not the cheaper version. I just had one with corrosion problems and thought they were 'Anderson' but not so. You will find the 'genuine' will have Anderson on them. I run with a 7 pin plug and still have 1 spare pin not being used in my set up.
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DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
If the van has Alko ESC (Electronic Stability Control) the anderson plug may be the power supply for the ESC and not the fridge. Our van has ESC and has an indicator light on the towbar
We have a 7 pin plug which caters left/right indicator, stop lights, tail lights, clearance, earth, van battery charging
I have a BT50 fitted out for towing. 12 pin plug. Are the fridges three way (gas/240/12v) or 12v only?
Anyway I can give you hints and pics if required, re-how to arrange things in the cab etc.
If these are new vans, and you have the choice, I would recommend the Anderson plugs, and the heavy duty round 7 pin plug. For one thing the Narva 12 pin plug and socket is expensive, and while it may take the current required, it is a poorly designed plug & socket assembly, expensive to replace, and expensive if you decide to change your mind later down the track and go the Anderson plug way. This is the situation I am in, now.
Other points are that the Anderson plug gives you a 12v supply at the back of the tow vehicle and also maybe at the front of the van, handy to plug in a portable compressor etc. if you have one.
Thanks guys. Interesting to hear that about the ESC. Van we have just about decided on has it with a 7 pin plug & Anderson plug hooked up. Might have to ask more questions to find out what each set of cables is doing.Like the idea of aux power at tail of tow, front of van too.Only the 1 fridge at the moment and it will be 3 way. Will decide at a later date if 2nd fridge in tow vehicle is needed.
Ours was set up according to the van manufacturers recommendations i.e. Red Anderson for the ESC, Grey Anderson for running fridge and charging van battery while on the run, 12 pin (resulting in a few spare terminals) for lights etc. Wiring for the 2 Anderson's is much heavier than the 12 pin would provide and are connected direct from the car's battery via a VSR which provides auto cut-out in case the Grey Anderson is accidentally left connected and still running the fridge when parked for any length of time (this preserves enough juice in the car battery to start up). The Red Anderson also ensures your ESC keeps working (if you have one) should something malfunction in the 12 pin for any reason.
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Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
Any van I've bought has a 7 pin for it's lights. Anderson 50a for battery\fridge. Plus. If fridge cable a bit light on. I always take the easy way. and run extra cable. UNDER van. from battery to 12v coupling into fridge. Then solar keeps battery up. battery keeps fridge up. Car tops up both when running. PS. I've used those large round plugs for yrs. BUT. after a cable coming loose inside one. and dropping over van brake cable. I dragged van over 100km with it's brakes on. Heavy wind. hills and light 17ft 6 van behind PAtrol Didn't notice it till We stopped at van park and people pointed out the smoking. paint blisterd rims.
Hmm. Brakes worked well anyway. 1\2 hr with Bast, file. regrease bearings. All good again. Never used one since.
And that was after an Auto leccy place had wired new controller and 7 pin into car. Updating older models.
He'd trimmed the sheathing not far enuff back to get good grip on wire. Vibrations on dirt roads shook it out. Just that one. Nobody infallable.
BUT. It can't happen with the flat ones.
-- Edited by macka17 on Saturday 1st of April 2017 08:15:19 PM
Totally agree with above . Red plug for ESC and grey for Van Fridge.
Yep the pin diameter in the 12 pin connector is too small for the heavy gauge fridge wire, and usually will melt the terminal,that's what happened to mine,the Anderson plug fixed the the problem...
My van also has red Anderson for ESC, grey Anderson for fridge/charging and 12 pin flat for lights. The challenge I face is that my Disco 4 has 7-pin round for lights and a white 7-pin round for aux power. The aux power socket seems to be a non-standard 7-pin round socket (Land Rover special no doubt) and the feed wires are probably not heavy enough for my charging purposes. My plan is to cut off the van 12 pin and convert to 7-pin round to suit the tug, then run heavy cable from the battery to feed an Anderson plug at the rear of the tug. From the posts above I'm reminded that I need to cut off the power feed when ignition is off so that the tug battery is not flattened. Hmmm. More thought needed...
