Charging at a campsite in the UK

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mcelvis

Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2015
Messages
13
Does anybody have any experience and therefore advice on the best way to charge when away at a campsite with electric hookup in the UK? I am interested to here about where you plugged into and what sort of setup you used (cables/adaptors etc.)

Obviously we normally get one hookup that goes straight into the caravan/camper and then everything else runs from the sockets in the caravan/camper. Can you plug into the caravan/camper or is this a complete no no?

Would appreciate some guidance from a more experienced charger on this one please?

Thanks!
 
If I was camping and a powered site was available, I would start recharging the PHEV as soon as I arrived, and before I started to set up the camp. Only other option would be to unplug the van to recharge. Might not be enough power to do both.
 
I have a 2 year old caravan. At Easter I was on a site with a 16amp hook-up. At bedtime I set the heating down to a 4amp max draw (option of 8 or 4amps) with room temperature to 15 degrees for overnight. The fridge was on electric too, and remained on overnight. No other electrics were used. I plugged the granny (standard) charger into one of 2 3-pin 13amp sockets at the front of the van, draping the charge cable through the front caravan window to the car that was parked near my tow hitch. Woke in the morning to a fully charged car, unplugged and reverted the heating to 8amp, before increasing the thermostat. I did that twice during my stay, checking cabling & socket temps by touch. No problems.
 
I have a 3-pin 13amp socket on the outside of the camper, so I was thinking about just charging the car overnight when nothing else is on other than the fridge. I just wanted to double check if others had done something similar and to make sure that no issues were experienced. Sounds like you got on okay Rob. Cheers for that.
 
Static caravan experience : ran cable out window from room nearest car parking space using the standard charger. Socket got a bit warm, but nothing tripped. Probably plan to fit a socket under the caravan to make it easier in the summer, perhaps a switched/fused spur so no-one can take advantage if I'm not there.
 
My husband who is an electrician, installed an external socket on our 2011 Swift van. We plug in overnight and charge up FOC! Makes up for the lower mpg getting to the site with the van behind. Never yet had a problem with tripping the electrics.
 
mcelvis said:
Does anybody have any experience and therefore advice on the best way to charge when away at a campsite with electric hookup in the UK? I am interested to here about where you plugged into and what sort of setup you used (cables/adaptors etc.)

Obviously we normally get one hookup that goes straight into the caravan/camper and then everything else runs from the sockets in the caravan/camper. Can you plug into the caravan/camper or is this a complete no no?

Would appreciate some guidance from a more experienced charger on this one please?

Thanks!

Camping and recharging a Mitsubishi Outlander phev. Having made this short charging cable & positively testing it at local caravan service test centre, it worked without overheating or tripping. I charged the car each night without any problems. All items available on the net. Masterplug Weatherproof Outdoor Trailing 13A Socket IP54 Rated + 16a plug & BLUE 240V MAINS ELECTRIC CABLE 16A + Masterplug In-Line Safety Circuit Breaker RCD. Connect to factory 13a charging lead supplied by Mitsubishi when car was new. Pictures available on facebook post
https://www.facebook.com/parrettstorage/posts/1271286962883521 :D
 
I am on holiday in Holland with a 10 amp supply and charging the car each day by plugging the "13" amp brick into the camping power supply. We unplug everything else whilst charging which has been a bit challenging as it is rather hot here so we try to do it early morning/evening as have to unplug the fridge. ☀️Camping is my new favourite type of holiday as you know there is an electric supply - needs to be 10 amp though unless you make up a lower amp lead and box which is a bit beyond us!
 
I always charge my car through the caravan even at home as I can't park by the garage. No problems at all. However when I first got the car I used to plug into the external socket, but after some torrential rain the granny charger displayed a fault. After a few days though it worked ok - since then I have always had the block on the inside of the van and drop the cable from the window on night latches.

Have just had a successful 2 week trip to France with the car and caravan. Very pleased to say it coped admirably towing the 1500kg van for 9.5hours down to the site. Charged on the french sites without any issues.
 
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