Trailer wiring and battery charging

[fridayman]

I now have my agm battery, large inverter, cyrix relay and a battery monitor. So its time to start planning my onboard electricity station.

Can someone please explain what the two trailer wiring plugs are for? I've been told the one is for the trailer lights, and the other is to charge a caravan battery? Is this correct? If I build a camping trailer, what equipment would I need in my trailer to charge a battery off one of these plugs?

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Yep,

The light's bar (normal rear lights i.e. side lights, indicators, reverse, fog etc..) uses a black (12N) socket whereas the 'caravan' electrics are normally powered through a grey (12S) socket... see here for wiring info.

As for what electrics you need to add on your trailer depends what you want to run off it... i.e. will it have its own battery? or do you plan to relocate your additional leisure one?

If you fit a fridge and additional lights say to a camping trailer then it would be wise for it to have its own battery.. (making 4 in total?) If so a 'Caravan Power Control Unit' (only name i've ever known for it - hopefully its correct ) would be the best place to start - these normally take car power and mains electricity and are used as a junction box for the caravan. (Most appliance/kit for caravans have a 12v (batt) and mains (110v?) switch.)

As for model or where to get one - no idea, my father in law used these people when he needed spares - don't know if they'll do mail order etc.. but may be good for advice?

Hope this helps...

 

[Justin_Elliott]

Also - Thought these links might be useful:

Teardrop Trailer Forum
Trailer Wiring Diagrams

 

[Steve Wright]

Yep,

The light's bar (normal rear lights i.e. side lights, indicators, reverse, fog etc..) uses a black (12N) socket whereas the 'caravan' electrics are normally powered through a grey (12S) socket... see here for wiring info.

As for what electrics you need to add on your trailer depends what you want to run off it... i.e. will it have its own battery? or do you plan to relocate your additional leisure one?

If you fit a fridge and additional lights say to a camping trailer then it would be wise for it to have its own battery.. (making 4 in total?) If so a 'Caravan Power Control Unit' (only name i've ever known for it - hopefully its correct ) would be the best place to start - these normally take car power and mains electricity and are used as a junction box for the caravan. (Most appliance/kit for caravans have a 12v (batt) and mains (110v?) switch.)

As for model or where to get one - no idea, my father in law used these people when he needed spares - don't know if they'll do mail order etc.. but may be good for advice?

Hope this helps...

I think you mean 240 Volts, and if you need a charge system to charge a battery, you could use a Smartcom !

http://www.towsure.com/product/1828-Sel ... tion_Relay

 

[Justin_Elliott]

I think you mean 240 Volts

I did it... as I only ever kept/used mine in eurozone... so it never got hooked up to 240!

 

[fridayman]

Thanks.

My plan so far is to replace one of the starter batteries with the AGM unit, and then isolate it with the cyrix relay. This leisure battery will then drive the inverter and 12v sockets in the truck, to power a fridge and other on-board accessories. When we get to Australia I want to pick up an offroad camper trailer, and I was wondering what sort of power I could have in the trailer (mostly for lighting). Ideally I would rig it up to be like a caravan with its own battery that is also charged by the truck. I wonder if I will need a beefier alternator???

 

[Chris]

Last trailer wiring that I did, I used one of these bypass relays. Wow, what a neat thing. No more rubbish trailer lights.

It ties into your existing loom just as before, but gets its own direct power feed straight from the battery. When you use your brakes, indicators etc, the relay simply takes a signal from your loom and fires full power to your trailer lights instead of sharing with all the the vehicle lights. Couple this with LED lights in the trailer instead of traditional bulbs and you get something really smart.

OK, not a new idea I know but not everyone has seen them. I will be putting one in when I build my rear bumper and trailer wiring that's for sure.

Chris