fitting external socket & tv points

[RichardJ]

Hi all

Has anyone fitted a cavity box to their van, to hold socket or tv points?

I have been considering fitting the same, its always the same, you need to have a socket on the outside of a van, no tv reception, I do not want to put up an external aerial, that would still mean the cables coming in the window.

I have read the guide on this site, I cannot quite follow the actual cutting of the van, do you use a jig saw? if so what type of blade do i need?

Thanks All

 

[Del_374232870]

We have had sockets fitted by the dealer on our last 2 vans. Prior to that I fitted a TV on the underside of our vans feeding the cable through the vents under the seats which meant no cutting or drilling. The external sockets I purchased from electrical shops (like Maplins) and only cost a few pounds. I put a little sealant around the socket before screwing it to the underside and ensured that that the socket was facing to the rear to avoid dirt from the road when towing.

You can then run cable internally to where the TV is to sit

 

[weejock]

Richard there have been various articles in the magzine over the years about cutting caravan walls in order to fit accesories. Why dont you give their back orders people a call and see if you can get one as they generaly have a lot of photo's of the different stages of the job.

 

[RonD]

I have an external aerial cable in my gas box. The cable goes in through a gap under the floor and into the van. I don't have a socket screwed anywhere. My cable simply has a "female" tv socket on the end. My tv aerial comes into the gap in the bottom of the gas box and plugs into this cable. You could fit a plug instead and use a back to back adapter instead. Either way there's no need to drill the van.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Make a cardboard template out of an old box etc and cut it to fit the socket box with a good area outside

Stick that on to the van side where you want the unit to be using masking tape

Drill a hole at each corner and join them together with a pad saw or jigsaw

I find that an 3 core old appliance cable(washing machine etc) is good for the 230V supply as often an adapter can be used from a fridge/microwave/etc supply already in the van

This means that the socket has extra protection from the fuse in the plug and you don't need to cut into the van cabling

Into a wardrobe or behind the fridge is often convenient for siting

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Make a cardboard template out of an old box etc and cut it to fit the socket box with a good area outside

Stick that on to the van side where you want the unit to be using masking tape

Drill a hole at each corner and join them together with a pad saw or jigsaw

I find that an 3 core old appliance cable(washing machine etc) is good for the 230V supply as often an adapter can be used from a fridge/microwave/etc supply already in the van

This means that the socket has extra protection from the fuse in the plug and you don't need to cut into the van cabling

Into a wardrobe or behind the fridge is often convenient for siting

A fine tooth metal blade!