Hi All,

Took delivery yesterday and after a thorough inspection am happy to report that she is in great condition inside and out.

Quick question - in the front storage area where the gas bottle is there is also room for a battery. (I see the terminals) And under the seat inside is some kind of charging unit.

Can you please explain what the battery is for - do I have to get one?

Cheers,

 PS - wanted to get your feedback regarding the value of the van. Its a'89 Caravette 5. Inside is spotless - all original (fridge & stove), came with all extras (full tent, rally, extra large ground sheet, reflective awning, and then everything including the kitchen sink - axe, shovel, tables, chairs, cutlery etc - I estimate around R10k extras at least, new tyres, spare)

 We paid R27k.

Hi Des.

First and foremost congratulations on your purchase. May you have many happy camps with her.

The purpose of the battery is/was to supply power to the lights/waterpump and maybe the fridge when you are without a power point.

Now you must be carefull as the previous owner may have altered the wiring and fitted 220 volt fittings throughout. I suggest you get the dealer to check it out for you. It can also just be that the battery was never replaced and the fittings are being powered direct from the charger. Not good!!

Hope this helps.

Hi Des,

Judging from the side decals the van might have been resprayed.I agree with Hendrik on the elactrical issue

I bought a 1984 Sprite Swift 3 yaers back and after all the repairs that had to be done mine came to R21k.

The only extras on mine was a 190l three way fridge and a add a room.

To cut it short yours is still a bargain and is a very nice van. It tows like a dream.

May you have many happy trips with it 

Easy to check. pop in your car battery and see if the lights come on. Quicker to check which bulbs are fitted in the light fittings, 12 or 220 volts.

The fridge wont be wired to the 12volt loom, it can only run off the relay if fitted to your car to run whilst travelling. 

Enjoy !

Hi Hendrik,

Thanks for the info - you mention that if the fittings are being powered direct from the charger thats its not good - how so? In a dangerous way?

The fridge has manual settings to choose power source - 12v, 220v or Gas. Will check if I can see the rating on the lights themselves.

Des

Çongrats and wishing you many happy camps Des, 

To check if the lighs are 12v switch on then flip the 12v trip switch to off on the charger under the bunk, whilst the live 220v is plug into the van if the lights go out, then you know it is not from the 220v. and will then be 12v. It may be easier to use jumper cables from the car than popping attery in.

The fridge should not work on 12v unless towing-otherwise it will drain a battery to quickly and eventually damage the battery.

DR DRAKE GP  that's not a Doctor nor a GP

Des, contrats on the purchase I wish you many happy camping years ahead

Congratulations on your purchase Des. It looks in very good condition. Wishing you many years of happy camping.

Des.

It is most probably not dangerous to power directly from the charger. The worst that can happen is blowing lightbulbs or damaging other fittings that use 12 volts due to surges in the voltage. The battery also serves to supply a constant smooth voltage.

The choice is yours.

Hi Des, Congratulations on your purchase. You might think you have it all but soon you will see something that looks usefull and guess what you will be tempted. I am wondering what will be your first add on item.

Regards MArg

Hi Des. Congrats with the van. Hope you have fantastic times and camping trips in it.  Concerning the battery, just pop in a vehicle battery without connecting to 220V. See what works in the van and what not.

I personally think that the vans battery just gave due to it not being used often and that it just needs to be replaced. The chargemaster will be able to run the lights in the van but it is not the best thing to do. Rather install a battery that will supply a constant and smooth 12V to the electrical components.

After connecting the battery and all is well connect the 220V and check if the Chargemaster is charging the battery. This should be a trical charge of about 2-3 Amps.

Hope everything checks out fine.

Hi Des,

Hope to see you soon at the Rallies, you may start at Atlanta then ATKV Eiland Spa.  Remember the wheels are round and are ment to roll.

Congratulations with the Caravette 5. I truly wish you many happy trips and camps with it - as we had with our Caravette 5 many years ago.

Interresting story about the battery. Our van's 12 v lights only work while the 220 cable is used. I do have a battery which I use for the mover, but the lights don't seem to be connected to the battery. Our van's charger is in the cupboard above the double bed (above our heads at the back) while the battery is in the normal place - up front, so I really can't see how the lights are wired. We also find that the charger is noisy in the night, but fortunately I can just reach out en switch it off when we go to bed. It makes a humming sound when switched on. Do you guys who understand more about these things think I should have it fixed to work the normal way?

Des. Remember to isolate the terminals so they do not short if you decide not to replace the battery.

Hope you get things sorted.

Des, have a look at

Thanks everyone for the replies. I will test it with my car battery & jumper cables! (Good plan).

Anton - you know your caravans - I noticed today the outline of the old Gypsey logo so you may be right that it has been sprayed - or at least had the decals changed!

MARG - I am into gadgets and things so I am sure there will be no shortage of items for me to get!!! :)

WILSUR - we are in forAtlanta - have booked our space - just waiting for them to send us confirmation so we can pay - but we are definitely in!!! ANd looking forward to it and to meet some of you who are coming along!

Willie - thanks for the link - wilkl go through the info.

I cant wait to get camping! Was half tempted to camp in my garden over the weekend!!!

Cheers!!

Des

Hi Des, please remember to post detailed results/causes/ outcomes of your vroeteling so others can learn too if they have a similar problem / situation.

May there be light ......

Des

I am also new to the caravan scene, I have a Caravette 4 with the same setup. I connected the 220v AC power to the caravan. My lights work etc, but the terminals in the front compartment made a short and tripped the overload fuse on the charger. (It resets when you press it in again) Please be carefull and insulate the terminals if you did not all ready do so. The locals here say it is preferred to have a battery connected.

Hi Des

Congrats. She looks excellent. have same one only 92 model. I still need to do the exterior. Have done the interior, took out basin and all Gas equipment.

Have the same situation and it seems as a general rule on these Vans. NO BATTERY!. Now it seems as if a lot of Forum Members had one of these vans. There should be a logical reason why people remove the battery. Does anyone know?You paid a good price. When I was searching last year these vans (and the similar Sprite's) sold in Pta between R38 and R 48K. This leave you with a lot of money to spend on "NICE"TOYS"

Grumpy

Des, Pieter, welcome from my side as well, and "geluk" with the 'new" vans!!!

My 2c on the battery saga.

1) Most preferably you must fit a normal "TV Battery" if not needed for use on "caravan mover". The "TV Battery" as it is called is what they normally use in the "informal settlements" for TV, f/lights, etc. It has less but thicker plates thann car battery, and can be drained empty and recharged more often, without damage, and has less "power" to pull car starter, where car battery has more but thinner plates, and should never be allowed to drain fully. Said "TV Batteries" are not that expensive.

2) On all your vans ie early 90's, all models had more or less same "chragepack".

Normally on left hand side of pack is main switch, with trip tester at the top. Then you get a switch with sketch of hbattery underneath. With switch upwards or "on" position, your charger (if in working condition) will triggle charge battery, hence the short and fuse blow as mentioned by someone when connectors touched. Always clipp them onto wooden rack or somewhere far apart (insulate them) if battery is removed, or put switch in "off" position.

Your internal 12 volt lights will work without the battery connected, directly from the chargepack, and battery is actually only needed for parks without 22ov power for the caravan lights and 12v pump. You can check the output of the 12v charging unit, sometimes it is very high, hence the short lifetime of some batteries. It should not give more than 13.8v when charging. I do not use my built-in charging unit on the battery (switch always in "off' position, and when travelling i put it in "on" position to have 12v available on the lights. I have invested about R170.000 for a small automatic triggle charger at Midas, and it is permanently on, giving only .5amps, charging and discharging all the time, have it in the van now for 5 years with same battery, checking the levels in the cells once a month, and topping up say once every six months. If the charching unit gave in, it can be costly to get it fixed, then it would also work if battery is conected, to connect a small 6amp charger to the unit to keep in use for longer tiimes when camping and pump, lights and other 12v appliances are used. There is new tendency to replace all the 12v lights f/tubes with LED strips, I will get to that as the 12v F/lights pack up. The advantage of the LED strips is very, very low consumption. 

3) Next to the "battery"switch is the pump switch, and then the lights switch on right hand side.

4) When I park the caravan after camping trip, I open drain on the geiser and the water tank, put the "pump" switch in off position and the I open all the taps in the van (which will normally switch the pump on when it is in "on" position) and drain all the water properly.

I think you find vans nowadays without the battery because of very bad maintenance, and then the discarding of the battery. Problem normally is with the built-in charger, overcharging the battery, and completely drying out of the cells, etc.

Please note, I am not an electrician nor motor electrician, but had some problems in the past, and read many articles in the Caravan & Outdoor Magazine overt the past 30 odd years.

Altyd egte kampgroete.

Frans

Hi All,

I connected the terminals to my car battery via jumper cables and all the lights work fine. Seems the wiring is OK. The charger does not have a gauge on it so I could not test to see if thats in working condition.

I think I will invest in a "TV Battery" as suggested - seems a good way to go. But in the future I think I will be replacing my tubes with LEDs.

Now while inspecting my undercarriage and checking the wires I noticed 2 small "inputs" on the side of the van in front of the wheel. (Quite close to the water waste pipe.) They seem to be wired in to the power. Any idea what these are for? External 12v power source perhaps?

Cheers!

Des