converting caravan to 13 pin for towing

[Chad1]

We have a Coachman Vip 530/4 with double 7 pins and would like to convert it to 13 pin the same as our car. We contacted Coachman for advice and they said it was not worth it as it would be a very complicated job and very expensive. Is this possible to do as diy or should I just forget about it and carry on using the converter which was supplied with our car?

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Hi P

I may be talking from the back of my head here but take a look in the Towsure book and you might just find what you need .

I think the leads are about 20quid .

I have to face the same problem in the new season but I think I will just run with the one lead to see how it goes.

I hope this helps you in some way

Sir Roger

 

[Sterlingstuff]

Hi

I did the same thing with my Sterling. You need to buy a Waterproof box from an Electrical wholesalers about 150mmx100mm (about

 

[traficman]

Hi

I have recently purchased a new car and a 13pin socket was fitted with the detachable towbar,I have a 2008 abbey gts so I purchased a 13pin plug and followed the wiring diagram that came with the plug ,it took about 45 mins to complete the job.The hardest part was getting the 2 cables into the the new socket,the plug & socket lock together by turning making a tight fit,its well worth the effort as you only have 1 socket to plug in

 

[Jennifer2]

OH did ours earlier this year, we got the correct cable from Sargents, it was less than

 

[gary]

Three methods of DIY all of which will work, but, if I could make a couple of comments.

First don't coil the excess cable tightly, the current drawn by fridge and battery charging will overheat the cable. Also the coiling and extra length will increase the voltage drop to these two functions. long loops are much better or cut the cable to length.

As for 10A connection blocks, I don't pay attention to stated amperage rating but pick the hole size closest to cable size, 3A and 5A are best, they don't overheat. Or using a bigger size, bare enough wire to pass near enough through the connector, this way you use the connector screws to clamp the wires to each other.

Fitting two cable into a hole designed for one, make sure you seal the inevitable gaps against water ingress.

Don't think for one moment it will only take '30 minutes'...you fall asleep Jen?! lol

 

[Chad1]

Thank you all for your comments and advice, one to ponder over I think.

 

[Icemaker]

We have exactely the same van a 2007 coachman vip 530/4, i carried out this relatively easy modification my self in less than one hour.

i sourced all the parts from my local tow bar suplier and made the new connections inside the van near to the fuses, i did this as i made the assumption that most cars are now being fitted with 13 pin sockets and we part ex our vans at dealers so if a new buyer needed the 2 sockets replacing the dealer could do it by rewiring the van again from the fuses.

we now only have one car in our family that has 12 s and 12n conections the others are all 13 pin.

 

[Chad1]

thanks for that, will let you know what we decide and how we get on. thanks again for replies.

 

[SimonB]

I did mine some while ago but took the 13 core cable into the van and back to the connections in there where the 2 old wires went, this is now like a factory job and saves any joins in wire which could well be trouble in the months to come. I dont see the pint in joining to the old wires when you cna just replace the whole lot.