Thread: I want to set up to tow a Van

Probably not what you were thinking but...
set up the van to be self sufficient. ie; it doesnt need anything but turn signals from the car.
A 5 to 3 ratio ( solar panel watts -to- storage battery AH ) works well and make the van totally independent of the car.

Get a good auto electrician on the job. I don't know anyone in Wollongong - sorry.

An Anderson plug on the bumper feeding directly from the alternator to the caravan battery should fix the charging side.
This would have heavier wiring and should have fuses each end, so you can put more power through to the van than if you run it through the 7 pin or a 12 pin, which would have lighter wiring as that is all that is needed to work the lights and brakes on the van.
Mine has 50 Amp fuses each end and puts a steady 8 amps to the Anderson on our camper and then to the twin 120 Ah AGM batteries.
You don't need a DC- DC charger in the vehicle, but you might fit one in the van. Remember that DC-DC chargers have to consume power to generate charge, so your electrical system has to be set up to cope with a heavier load if you fit a charger. Get the auto electricians advice.

More solar is better. We can connect 360 watts for our 240 Ah of batteries, plus we have a Westinghouse 2500 generator to use when needed.

You will need electric brakes. Your auto electrician can do this. Don't muck about with brakes - get it done professionally.
Redarc and Tekonsha seem to be the favoured brands for electric brakes.
Will your van have Stability Assist? Talk to the van manufacturer.

Towball weight, towing limit, Gross Combined Mass and payload of your vehicle are very important issues for happy caravanning. You didn't say what vehicle you have. Study the handbook for whatever vehicle it is and become an expert on the numbers.
Note that Land Rovers are not the same as Toyotas. Your LR payload may have an allowance already included for towball weight, so, for example, you might already be allowed 160kg of towball in your payload. This is hard to explain. Read the handbook.

Don't overload your vehicle or you can come unstuck in a nasty way. Many people overload and get in serious trouble. Be cautious.
For example, my Defender can tow 3500kg, but I wouldn't feel comfortable towing anything near that weight. My preference.

Be fussy about the condition of the brakes on both your vehicle and the caravan, to avoid 'brown undies' moments. You do not want the caravan pushing the vehicle under brakes.
There are threads on here about towball and payload weights. It's not nearly as simple as many people think.
Don't be put off though. It can be done.

Be fussy about the weight balance in the caravan. Some caravans have poor weight balance and do not track well behind the vehicle. Heavy items like water tanks and batteries might ideally be over the axle.

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by Bails

OK getting interested in a Caravan, thinking of a reasonable size 21 ft and weight up to the limit when loaded.

What I don't understand is tow assist and trailer assist , I think tow assist relies on having the camera setup .

Also I am unsure who to seek out for electrical wiring , I am in Wollongong but would travel for the right expert.

I think I would need Anderson plug for the safety brake system and perhaps a second Anderson for a DC charger.

Vehicle has factory 7 pin flat plug which I think I would keep if will do the job.

Any advice and suggestions would be appreciated.

Trailer assist adjusts the vehicle software for the trailer. DSC, gearbox shift points, reversing sensors, towball view and towball line when reversing. Tow assist is an option that makes it easier to reverse a trailer.

Are you sure you have a 7 pin plug? The factory plug is 12 pin.

You do not need anything extra from the 7 pin or 12 pin plug if you just want trailer brakes though you will need a brake controller installed.

If you have the 12 pin plug you can run a 12v caravan fridge from it though I would not recommend this as the current draw is border line.

If you want to charge caravan batteries from the car you will need an Anderson plug to provide the power.

The L494 is one of the easiest vehicles for setting up for a trailer as the brake controller wiring is in place and the battery is at the rear so wiring an Anderson plug is very easy.

If you have any mechanical ability I can give you assistance with doing the work yourself. In my experience most Auto Electricians will have no idea how to do the L494 and this will result in an expensive and overly complicated setup.

Hi Bails, and I might have someone in Wollongong who can d the work or at least help you with what you need.


But before you do any work, we need to know how you intend to use your van.


For example, are you planning on lots of short trips and short stays?


Or short trips with long stays?


Or that round Australia trip, travelling long distances and then long stays between moves?


Based on feedback from thousands of customers over the last 30 years, most people rarely drive more than 2.5 to 4 hours a day when towing a caravan or driving a motor home.


NOTE camper trailer use is somewhat different.


Next, and again based on use, what sort of battery capacity are you looking at, and this will need to be covered before you start any work.


As for finding an auto electrician who knows even the slightest bit about setting up a caravan or even a dual battery system in a vehicles goes. Well best of luck there, as most caravan manufacturers can not do it properly.


I can assure you you will find it hard to get anyone who is really competent with caravan wiring, both 12v and 230vac.


Anyway, can you post up your intended uses and we can start to give you some options.

Originally Posted by Geedublya

Trailer assist adjusts the vehicle software for the trailer. DSC, gearbox shift points, reversing sensors, towball view and towball line when reversing. Tow assist is an option that makes it easier to reverse a trailer.

Are you sure you have a 7 pin plug? The factory plug is 12 pin.

You do not need anything extra from the 7 pin or 12 pin plug if you just want trailer brakes though you will need a brake controller installed.

If you have the 12 pin plug you can run a 12v caravan fridge from it though I would not recommend this as the current draw is border line.

If you want to charge caravan batteries from the car you will need an Anderson plug to provide the power.

The L494 is one of the easiest vehicles for setting up for a trailer as the brake controller wiring is in place and the battery is at the rear so wiring an Anderson plug is very easy.

If you have any mechanical ability I can give you assistance with doing the work yourself. In my experience most Auto Electricians will have no idea how to do the L494 and this will result in an expensive and overly complicated setup.

Fantastic, I counted the pins on the trailer plug , didn't bother with the car. Just checked and you are correct I have a 12 pin plug. One issue solved.

I have been looking at the different Brake controllers and have come across Trailer-Wired Electric Brake Controller ELBC2000 | Elecbrakes Which seems to indicate that setting up for brakes will be easy?

Originally Posted by drivesafe

Hi Bails, and I might have someone in Wollongong who can d the work or at least help you with what you need.


But before you do any work, we need to know how you intend to use your van.


For example, are you planning on lots of short trips and short stays?


Or short trips with long stays?


Or that round Australia trip, travelling long distances and then long stays between moves?


Based on feedback from thousands of customers over the last 30 years, most people rarely drive more than 2.5 to 4 hours a day when towing a caravan or driving a motor home.


NOTE camper trailer use is somewhat different.


Next, and again based on use, what sort of battery capacity are you looking at, and this will need to be covered before you start any work.


As for finding an auto electrician who knows even the slightest bit about setting up a caravan or even a dual battery system in a vehicles goes. Well best of luck there, as most caravan manufacturers can not do it properly.


I can assure you you will find it hard to get anyone who is really competent with caravan wiring, both 12v and 230vac.


Anyway, can you post up your intended uses and we can start to give you some options.

Thanks for your input, My intended use is long trips away and to use the van as a work base. The vans I most like I will need to sell my wife to purchase, so I am looking at used , and trusting that the former owners have done some of the upgrades or the systems are up gradable. Looking for 300 amp Hours of Lithium . 600 watts of Solar , Diesel Heating , air con , toilet shower and the list goes on.

I have been around Australia twice , once riding a bike. Motorbike , and once in my V10 Touareg. No caravan in these instances.

From what I understand, no doubt others will correct if this is wrong, if you go lithium you will definitely need a DC-DC in the caravan as they have to charge at about 14 volts, higher than AGMs.
Will you be staying in one place or moving most days?
If you are moving you might need to drive for at least 4 hours to recharge your batteries.
If stationary you may need at least 400 watts of solar plus a generator to stay charged off the grid, particularly if running lots of hungry appliances.

Originally Posted by Bails

Thanks for your input, My intended use is long trips away and to use the van as a work base. The vans I most like I will need to sell my wife to purchase, so I am looking at used , and trusting that the former owners have done some of the upgrades or the systems are up gradable. Looking for 300 amp Hours of Lithium . 600 watts of Solar , Diesel Heating , air con , toilet shower and the list goes on.

I have been around Australia twice , once riding a bike. Motorbike , and once in my V10 Touareg. No caravan in these instances.

I use my van primarily as a work base for remote sites so this is what I have after 5 years of experience:
-360Ah of Lithium (2x180Ah in parallel)
-600W of solar, 200W sits on the D4
-Anderson on the D4 which feeds an Enerdrive DC2DC in the van charging at 50A.
-A 3KVa Victron Multiplus Inverter/Charger/AC Switch which can charge the batteries at 100A
-A cheapie generator which easily runs the aircon & charges batteries.

The Victron Multiplus offers huge advantages in combining batteries & AC input so that I van comfortably run my inverter aircon for an extended period using a 1KVa generator & the batteries.
Don't forget to specify RVD protection in the van where inverters or generators are used.

Works for me, good luck.