Under the bonnet - why cut a hole in a panel??
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- Thread starter Veema
- Start date
No downsides yet, but it makes a noise when you brake as the water moves
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Just a tought, my caravan is white and it has a white cover on the electric hook up so you can get them
Buy Flush-fit Caravan Mains Electric Inlet 240V 16A at Towsure
Buy Flush-fit Caravan Mains Electric Inlet 240V 16A at Towsure
I thought they'd do a white one...but they tend to go yellowy with age...I'll have it underneath.
Don't think the ones on my Bailey have done that, cheap ones might
Well you've just explained my 4 years of horror with my old van/trailer electrics...I feel so stupid! Will be using WD40 from now on.Also good preventive maintenance to spray inside with WD40 to keep the contacts clean and corrosion free just as with trailer electrics connections
T6 Dave's Dad
Member
@Jonny it also helps to do the same with the trailer plug and then put it in a suitably sized plastic bag secured with a piece of garden plant wire and stored so that water doesn't run down the cable and into the bag
. Sorry for the teaching granny etc etc, but the detailed explanation is for newbies to towing electrics and their problems so that lights tend then to be plug, check and go with everything working correctly
. Just based on many years of dealing with trailers and a caravan.
FWIW, our converters (Exploria) place both the water filler and the external power hook-up under the rear bumper. I've queried the location from the muck and accessibility perspectives but they assure me all is good. And, with their experience and reputation, I'm prepared to believe them. This said, there is no doubt that access via panels in the side would be easier - but like the op, I don't like the idea of plastic covers on the side of the van. One other option I've seen (as used by another well regarded converter, Jerba) is to hinge the wee panel at the rear, and put the connections behind it. That's the panel below the rear lights. But every "older" van I've seen with this adaptation has had corrosion where the hinges have been attached.
This!
Fair enough that VW put it on the panel but I'm sure the hole is there before it's painted. Doing it yourself even if you treat it worries me about future rust. Plus the fact it ruins the lines IMO (sorry polzy).
I fitted mine under the bonnet in the space in front of the battery. Ran the cable through a single grommet in the passenger wheel arch area and then ran it hidden to the rear of the van where my fuse box is. Bonnet still closes over the attached cable without squashing it. Don't need to get wet by reaching underneath to connect
Well the next time I easily connect my hookup cable or fill the water tank I shall actually weep at the ruined lines of my box shaped van.
Well the next time I easily connect my hookup cable or fill the water tank I shall actually weep at the ruined lines of my box shaped van.
Love your sense of humour lol
T6 Dave's Dad
Member
Never had that problem with my towed van as the flap was a vertical slider for the electricsI do find ours is very convenient on the side, however, having it underneath would save Mrs Loz from having to jump out at the traffic lights to run back and slap the lid shut every now and then.
. The flap also stayed white for over 10 years 
Problem was the van was silver and the primer was whiteNever had that problem with my towed van as the flap was a vertical slider for the electrics
