CAMPING THE KIWI WAY

I have been an industrial electrician since the mid-70s, 30 years ago I spent a couple of years re-wiring State houses, so I know how house wiring works. Since I retired about 6 years ago, I have been doing a lot of electrical work on caravans and motorhomes, so have a relatively fair idea on how they work. You do not need to be an electrician to understand the basics of caravan electrics.

We are only going to discuss the mains supply power, the 240Volt stuff, the BIG stuff, the stuff that can kill you if you get it wrong. We will talk about how to use the mains power, not how to work with it, if you need something fixed, get a qualified sparky to have a look, never play with mains power.

Down to basics. Your caravan has mains power outlets, the three pin wall socket just like in your house. That is where the similarity ends. They both supply 240Volt AC for your appliances BUT the supply of power is different. The house is supplied by a 16mm cable from the street that carries heaps of power. Your caravan is supplied by a fancy extension lead, 1.5mm or, more commonly, 2.5mm from a controlled caravan supply. The caravan lead will never carry the same amount of power as the supply to your house. Something to remember.

The power points in the caravan work just like the ones in your house but if you load them all up at the same time you will overload the controlled supply, and it will trip/ turn off. The caravan lead has a 16amp blue plug/socket and is controlled by a 16amp circuit breaker. This gives you about 3.5kWatts, a lot less than your home supply. 

You can still run you 2.5kW kettle, the 2kW fan heater, the hair dryer and the toaster, but not at the same time. 

TIP: Think of the caravan outlets as a single multi box. Don’t overload the supply. Boil the jug on the hob (don’t put the electric kettle on the gas ring, a friend did by mistake, and it was not a good outcome). Cook the toast under the grill or with a good gas toaster (see p33)and leave the hair dryer at home; you are on holiday after all. 🏕️

Wayne Ravelich is the APCNZ President and a retired sparky