Gravemaurice Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Hi, I'm very new to the forum having only posted a few times but we took ownership of our new motorhome, an Elddis Autoquest 140 earlier this week and have created a Facebook page for our completely, utterly novice experiences and adventures. You know these "Complete Idiot Guide To..." books? Well, if there was one for motorhomes then I'd probably end up with more questions than answers after reading it! For example how do you know your hook up is actually working and the van isn't drawing purely from the leisure battery? For every entry in the Elddis handbook I have a further question. Again, for example when draining down it says to open the water heater valve but doesn't say if you should leave it open or close it once drained. Exactly (but I still don't know the answer to that one). I've launched the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MotorhomeMadness and will catch up on the events of the past week including our first trip (one day into ownership) into the hurricane strewn Borders for a copule of bumpy nights. Not only will the page hopefully be cathartic for us but it may help others who are intending to head down the same path. We are already so glad we did. Thanks for the friendly advice I've received so far on this forum which I will continue to pester. I would like anyone that is of the Facebook ilk to join us at our page and scoff at our ineptness both past and future. You are all most welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FRANKP60 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Plug in your electric kettle or any electrical item with 3 pin plug,if it works you are hooked up to mains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravemaurice Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Ok dokey, I take it that it wouldn't work off the leisure battery then? I thought that everything would work if there was enough juice in the hook up to power that one device. See what I mean? Thanks for that by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Sounds like your hand over went well? :-S................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candapack Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Gravemaurice - 2013-11-24 9:13 PM a copule of bumpy nights. Ah-ha - a new collective noun. Good to see you're enjoying yourselves! :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravemaurice Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 Was a bit brief. No information about the actual base vehicle - oil check, where's the spare tyre, jack etc. As it turned out we were physically hooked up on the first site but not actually "switched on" at the post but didn't realise it. There was a wee switch I didn't spot in the dark and horizontal rain storm which lasted 36 hours. How we laughed (we didn't really). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 We use a three way adapter with a light on it, keep it permanently pluged in, so just swith it on , and if red light shows, you have electric. Electric Kettles are ELECTRIC, not 12v, so therefore will not work, if not plugged in. Also a word of advice, don't' try to run two many things at once on hook up, you don't have the same power as you would have at home, and you will trip the power, and can be a pain to re set, especially late at night, in the dark and rain! If at site's check how much the amps are, usually 6, or 10. Enjoy your van , and always ask on here if you don't know something, some one on here will have an answer PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 There is a motorhome manual I believe..someone will be along soon with the name. A mains tester a good idea as not only does it indicate 230 v it's lights indicates faults such as cross polarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 John Wickershams Manaual has a lot of good information and may save some mistakes !! Best of luck with your new Van. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcaravan-Manual-Choosing-Using-Maintaining/dp/0857331248/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1385370618&sr=8-6&keywords=Wickersham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 That's the one :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Gravemaurice - 2013-11-24 9:13 PM Again, for example when draining down it says to open the water heater valve but doesn't say if you should leave it open or close it once drained. Exactly (but I still don't know the answer to that one). If you have the Truma dump valve it will open itself below around 5c, remember this when filling after a cold spell :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 A copule of bumpy nights is too much information for a lot of people on this forum :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 As a rule of thumb I never run more than 2 items with an heating element at the same time, also if your van is like ours it needs to have the charger switched on when on hook-up !! our last van didn't !! we just switched it on to maintain the batteries. As has already been said your 3 pin plugs don't work off 12v so plug something into the socket to check you have connected up properly. Each time you change a van you have to relearn some things for instance I had no problem using the heater in our old van ! it only ran on gas :-D so I plugged in a fire ! this one runs on both ;-) so I have to ask the boss to switch it on for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravemaurice Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Thanks for the tips. I actually thought the domestic devices would work, albeit slowly, off the leisure battery power too. So for the sake of clarification if it isn't 12v it just won't work at all off the battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Gravemaurice - 2013-11-25 9:22 PM Thanks for the tips. I actually thought the domestic devices would work, albeit slowly, off the leisure battery power too. So for the sake of clarification if it isn't 12v it just won't work at all off the battery? Not without an inverter.................. there's lots to learn ;-)....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Hi Maurice, welcome to your new life! Anything you can plug in at home will only work if you're connected to the mains. 12v & mains are completely different kinds of electricity. The only "crossover" is that a mains hookup will keep your battery charged, allowing 12v kit to run indefinitely. Otherwise there's no cross-fertilisation (even on a bumpy night! :D). Another way to check if your hookup is live is to switch the fridge over to mains and see if the relevant light comes on. If it's a Dometic condenser model ( still the majority) the mains switch will light up green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Re the electric question. I have habitation lights in my van that will only work when plugged into electric (hook up) if they come on I’m on electric, if they don’t I’m not. Welcome to the mad house, the fun is each van is different, as per normal nothing is standard and what works for one person does not work for another, as I am sure you will gather by some of the comments on this forum…!!! I have always found good and helpful advice given, even if I consider it a daft question. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 If not using the van during the winter and not inside a frost free building DO NOT leave water anywhere in the system. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravemaurice Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 Thanks everybody. Got the water system drained down so that's okay. Come join me on Facebook you can follow our progress including how we get on with Elddis and the dealer over a few issues 8-) We will use the van over winter but even so the weather can plummet here at the drop of a hat overnight so playing it safe on the water front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Gravemaurice - 2013-11-27 7:57 PM Come join me on Facebook you can follow our progress including how we get on with Elddis and the dealer over a few issues 8-) Issues 8-)................with a new motorhome :-S...............this is the 21st century *-)................Progress eh? >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Caroline - 2013-11-26 9:30 AM Re the electric question. I have habitation lights in my van that will only work when plugged into electric (hook up) if they come on I’m on electric, if they don’t I’m not. Welcome to the mad house, the fun is each van is different, as per normal nothing is standard and what works for one person does not work for another, as I am sure you will gather by some of the comments on this forum…!!! I have always found good and helpful advice given, even if I consider it a daft question. (lol) Caroline that might confuse the O.P as some of the lights do work on 12v ! usually the small reading and spot lights, the large main lights only run when on hookup :-D :$ I think !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 maggyd - 2013-11-27 9:08 PM Caroline - 2013-11-26 9:30 AM Re the electric question. I have habitation lights in my van that will only work when plugged into electric (hook up) if they come on I’m on electric, if they don’t I’m not. Welcome to the mad house, the fun is each van is different, as per normal nothing is standard and what works for one person does not work for another, as I am sure you will gather by some of the comments on this forum…!!! I have always found good and helpful advice given, even if I consider it a daft question. (lol) Caroline that might confuse the O.P as some of the lights do work on 12v ! usually the small reading and spot lights, the large main lights only run when on hookup :-D :$ I think !!!! All our lights work irrespective of whether we are on hook up or not which means they mustnall be powered from the leisure bateries. The hook up will obviously keep the batteries topped up, but when camping away fromEHU we have all our lights available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Caroline that might confuse the O.P as some of the lights do work on 12v ! usually the small reading and spot lights, the large main lights only run when on hookup :-D :$ I think !!!! All our lights work irrespective of whether we are on hook up or not which means they mustnall be powered from the leisure bateries. The hook up will obviously keep the batteries topped up, but when camping away fromEHU we have all our lights available. Ours also all work on 12v. How else would you be able to use them if not on Hook Up?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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