Motor mover isolation switch location

[foggydave]

I have a new van which came with a mover. The isolation switch is in the battery locker.
When I use the mover I have to open the battery box door which swings down nearly touching the ground I then de-isolate the supply. I then have to close the battery box before moving the van to avoid the door being ripped off by a passing lump of ground.
Is there any reason I cannot locate the switch (In law or reason) on the outside of the van ie low down on the front below the front locker door ?

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Your biggest problem will be water proofing.

 

[foggydave]

I was thinking of using a modified flush fitting mains inlet box or similar. The existing switch in the battery box has an adequate rubber cover so could just use that

 

[Sproket]

I moved mine into the cassette compartment, makes it so much easier to get to but there again my battery was only the other side of the wall as it's a central toilet.
open door turn power on & close door

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

The switch HAS to be near the battery to minimise voltage drop. Hence the convenient place in the EHU connection compartment. You only need to open the door to switch on and then close it for use, same as Sprocket's toilet.

 

[RayS]

In my van the battery box is close to the main door. I've fitted the master switch through the end of the bed box, such that it's easily accessible by opening the main door when standing outside the caravan. Only the top of the switch shows neatly covered with the red cap. I've also modified the otherwise too small and useless Hartel waste bin fitted to the door to hold the mover control, lever for applying rollers, master switch key, spare battery for the 12v. drill for winding the steadies and anything else needed when arriving on or leaving a pitch. So far this has worked well and I've not once mislaid any of the parts involved/

 

[JTQ]

Why not put a webbing strap stay on the drop down hatch if concerned how low if drops?
My side under bed locker hatch came like that.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

The switch HAS to be near the battery to minimise voltage drop. Hence the convenient place in the EHU connection compartment. You only need to open the door to switch on and then close it for use, same as Sprocket's toilet.

yeah that is where I put mine, right under the EHU connection,
2 reasons one it is near the battery and being right under the EHU it can only be switched on without the EHU cable plugged in, AND the EHU cannot be plugged in unless the isolator is off and key removed. forgetfull buggers us oldunds.

 

[bertieboy1]

If the only reason for re-citing isolator switch is that you can't be bothered to close the battery box cover before moving then I would leave it where it is.
Is "de isolate" a real word ?

 

[ProfJohnL]

The purpose of the isolator switch is two fold firstly to prevent the mover control circuit draining the battery if accidentally left on or it becomes faulty, and also to prevent the mover from being activated by someone elses mover control, if by some fluke they had got the same activation codes.

For either purpose the isolator switch can be anywhere between the battery and the mover control circuit - it does not have to be near the battery.

It simply convention that you will try to place an isolator as close to the source of whatever its isolating. There is no electrical penalty in having it closer to its appliance, unless you are extending the power cables to do it.

As the switch can also be a safety device to allow you to manually interrupt the mover should it become faulty and continue to operate when no buttons are pressed, you could argue it should be in an easily accessible place on the exterior of the caravan.

 

[pensioner]

When I had mine fitted they wanted to put it in the battery box, which was very inconvenient for reasons I needn't go into,I asked to have it in the front locker and they said no because of the gas in there, then inside to toilet compartment and they said no as it was too far from the mover control box so eventually they agreed to fit it inside, under the front side seat which was above the control box.

 

[foggydave]

Sorry about that, de isolate should have had a semicolon ie de-isolate.
The main reason I want to move the switch is that I need to put the lead to the solar panel in the hook up space as it is attatched to the battery. At the moment this space has the isolation switch in it. Also at one time in my former life I was a time and motion engineer and find the fafing about with the isolation switch, locking and unlocking the battery door a tad frustrating.
"Each to their own" as they say.

 

[JohnM20]

Is there any reason why the isolator switch shouldn't be in an under-bed locker on the battery box side and accessible from inside the caravan? The reason for asking is that I store the caravan at home with the off-side of the caravan right up against a wall. This means that I cannot get at the battery box until the caravan is away from the wall.
My current caravan doesn't have an isolator switch at all but my new one probably will have and so I need to discuss this with the dealer before they fit the mover. My guess is that the mover's control unit will be under the bed in any case, (as per my current caravan), so the switch could be mounted very close to it.

 

[Keefanmaxx]

When I asked about the location of the isolator switch (we had movers fitted to our van by the dealer and I wanted the switch in a position to allow us to get the van as far down the side of the house as possible) I was told that it has to be close to the battery and there is a pre-marked position in the battery compartment, so that's where the isolator is!
I have managed to work out a method of disconnecting the EHU cable and moving the plug to allow the isolator switch to be operated though.

 

[1400ted]

I have my isolator switch inside the van at the very front just behind the cushion on the nearside.

I can't have it in the battery box because I only have an inch or so on either side when getting the van out of the garden between the house and the fence. I leave the front nearside window un-catched. The terminals on the switch are insulated with heat shrink.

In the event of the system shutting down automatically, I can reach into the van and re-switch it. Without this facility it would be mega difficult move the van one way or the other.

Works well for me.

 

[chrisn7]

Why not put a webbing strap stay on the drop down hatch if concerned how low if drops?
My side under bed locker hatch came like that.

Simple solutions are the best!