Hi chaps, New here, and I have a towbar related question

[ThomasZA]

Hi all,

As I said, new on the board. Name is Thomas, living in the Netherlands and driving a 2002 Galaxy 2.3.

We use the galaxy to tow our caravan, and we're preparing for our second trip to Sweden and Norway. (Last year we did the trip with a Land Rover with rooftop tent. I loved it, but the wife less so). We'll be towing the caravan and this is the reason for my question. I'd like to have a switched 12V supply on my car's tow bar, and have the 13 pin Jaeger aka EU plug. The caravan's fridge can be powered by the car's 12v supply, but it can drain a battery in a couple of hours, and I know I'll forget to disconnect the caravan's electrics when I stop or reconnect when I drive off again.

Has anyone done this, and if so, would you be so kind as to give me a couple of hints? I'm not afraid of DIY, and have quite a bit of experience of getting my hand dirty working on cars. I have searched the forum, but have not found anything related to my question.

I am considering running two wires from the battery to under my seat, and use an intelligent charging relay to charge a second battery (still unsure as to where to locate it), and power the caravan as well as the 12V socket in the boot from the second battery, but this is a lot of effort, and not exactly cheap.

Cheers,

Thomas

[Chrispb]

Hello Thomas and 

When I towed a van many moons ago (not with a Galaxy) I set up a relay on the car to power the fridge when on the move so as soon as you switch of the engine the supply to the fridge is cut.

[ThomasZA]

When I towed a van many moons ago (not with a Galaxy) I set up a relay on the car to power the fridge when on the move so as soon as you switch of the engine the supply to the fridge is cut.

Hi Chris,

Also had that idea, can you recall where you picked up the signal to switch the relay?

Cheers,

Thomas

[Chrispb]

The back of the ignition switch will be an ideal place

[bestfc01]

Depending out the output you require, you could relay this from the car stereo.

I cant remember the exact wire off the top of my head but i'm pretty positive its the brown and red.

I've done this for my in car DVR as the ford cig lighters do not switch off with the ignition.
I've simply wired the mains to the ignition wire on the stereo loom and the neutral to the cig lighters neutral. This is using a new cig light mounted in the glove box.
However, i have a 15 amp inline fuse to ensure the circuit brake at the fuse near the new cig lighter before getting to the stereo.

I would note that the in car dvr is 12v's, but has very little draw. Not sure what the draw would be on the fridge / converter, but as Chrispb said if you create a relay, you can use this wire as the ignition switch.
Looping off its extremely simple and i've use the below to do this.

[attachimg=1]

[johnnyroper]

whilst scotch locks are quick and easy I would not advise on using them as they have very little contact area with the copper core,they also allow moisture etc to cause corrosion. Ideally you should solder and heat shrink wiring for a permanent job.

[bestfc01]

Hi Johnnyroper

Good point. I never thought of it like that.

Might have to re-do my cig ligher and my trailer electrics.

Any recommendations on soldering and heat shrink? My soldering skills are pritty poor.

[johnnyroper]

It's well worth the doing with solder when you get chance.

just take your time have the heat shrink over the wire ready. Tin the wires first basically that is apply solder to each wire and then join them up,this ensures a nice strong solder.

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Sounds like a lot of effort, just to keep a fridge running while youââ,¬â,,¢re on the road for a few hours. Could you just stick a few ice packs in there before you set off instead?