In article , ARW
writes
On 17/08/2019 11:20, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
ARW wrote:
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 ****ed.
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.


To summarise

Towing it back

Ensure it is roadworthy, brakes tyres road lights.
Check tyres for cracked walls esp if it has been stood for a long time.
Blowouts on caravans can wreck a chunk of bodywork.
Likewise brake mechanism may well be seized up.

Traffic cops esp on holiday routes do take an unhealthy interest in
dodgy looking caravans and you don't want to get pulled over.

Older caravans are much heavier than modern day ones. Check weight is
within your vans towing limits. If you have a full size Trannie van type
then you should be OK. Remember it's plated weight (if you can find a
plate) not actual weight. Watch out for hitch weight as this can affect
stability. If close to limit or close to kerb weight of towing van keep
speed down.

Electric connection to towing vehicle will be old style 12N socket. Open
up male pins slightly with a fine screw driver and spray with WD40.

Unlikely to have mains hook up when manufactured. ( my first (new)
caravan 1982 didn't have it). May of course have been added. I added a
hook up to mine but there was no Part P in those days.

Probably no provision for on board battery. They relied on 12v supply
from towing vehicle. (wiring diagram for 12N socket easily found via
google.)

Very little use of 12v maybe a couple of fluorescents. Maybe electric
water pump controlled through microswitch taps, but more likely foot
pump. These taps notoriously unreliable.

As I have mentioned in an earlier reply advisable to run a damp meter
over it as any rewiring would be wasted if it is beyond reasonable
repair. Resealing is d-i-y able otherwise expensive.

So ultimately what is customer expectation?

To upgrade to anything approaching a modern van is a lot of work.

But it would be relatively easy to upgrade to make it more usable.
As I suggested previously call in at a dealer and have a look round a
modern van and maybe any older 2nd hand ones in stock.
Battery box which includes 240v input socket
Mains control box, rcd, reverse polarity detection circuit breakers
Charger/12vcontrol unit with fuse boxes.
Mains sockets usually one in an under-bed locker for external use.
Mains appliances - heater water heater lighting fridge
12v supplies for control of these units, led lights.
Probably wont need 12s socket as van will not have fog lamps or
reversing lights, but you could install them in which case either add
12s or go to euro plug (depends on proposed towing vehicle also).

HTH
--
bert