Tylersm90

I use the seatbelts as you can also make sure the buckles don’t drop behind / under the seat.

All thing being equal go for the ULEZ compliant 07 plate. Many cities are now enforcing ULEZ and it’s one less thing to worry about. The 04 plate may be good value now but will depreciate faster is my guess

I've used Nippon. They were great. For a little over £2,700 (inc VAT) they picked up my car from Swindon, took it to their workshop, installed a used (not reconditioned) engine that had done ~48,000 miles (77,000Km), tested everything and came to pick me up from the train station when I came to pickup the car in Derby. This was September 2023. I asked lots on annoying questions and they were very patient, polite and pleasant. The whole thing took just under 3 weeks. I've used them again since for spares which they post to me.

Swindon Toyota service Alphards yet to try them but they quoted £260~ for a minor service and £360~ for a major service.

Thanks Geralt It’s the previous model to the 14L version pulling 40w at 3.3a. It’s the cigarette lighter that states 35a so I’ve rigged up a solution with just a 5a fuse in place. The cigarette lighter works fine, just need to test the cool box now I have some confidence in the solution! I’ll check out the site you mentioned

Hi. I need help please. I had a Vitrifrigo fridge in my van but it’s takes up too much space for the small amount it will hold. So I’ve removed it and put a toilet and shelf in its place. I have a 12v Halfords cool box which is much smaller than the fridge but has about the same internal capacity. The cool box can be plugged into mains or 12v cigarette lighter socket. So my questions. The fridge is electric only and was wired in with 1.5mm bullet connectors. I’d like to use them to run power to a Halfords 12v cigarette lighter. * Is this a good idea? * What amp rating should the wire be? (the Halfords cigarette lighter instruction state a 35a fuse should be fitted but this seems excessive to me). * And would I need an in line fuse or assume the wiring to the fridge had one already?

Thanks Rojie You have been very generous with your time and advice.

I’m using the battery charger to give the readings. I just bought one of the Avon 8v electronic smart rechargers (AC1280IC). My little volt meter doesn’t have long enough leads to go round the front drivers seat - under which is the battery! I did try checking +ve to earth but that gave a much lower reading 11.7v The battery is dated 2021. And 85Ah but suspect it should be rated 75Ah. According to BBLBatteries where I initially had its voltage checked. I’ve always tested without removing anything so it’s always been under load I guess. The fridge is a Vitrifrigo compressor model F39 I OCN. code F130702FOS 12/24v drawing 2.68/1.29A. I think it’s part of their Ocean-Runner range. I have a control panel that shows roughly the draw on the battery. As it’s a dial with a red zone, an orange zone and a green zone with a pointer indicating the status. The dial has only been in the yellow zone once or twice and I removed the offending device (a tv) from the power as soon as I noticed the status. The status always went back to the green zone after the TV was removed. sorry to go on but thanks for your help so far.

Thanks for coming back to me. Starter battery condition is good was new when I got the van July 2022 as is alternator Leisure battery Has a date of 2021. leusure battery is rated 75ah. Fridge draw unknown. I’ll see if I can find some paperwork on that. Only noticed the issue in the last 2 weeks. I use the van for off grid camping every other week.

I fully charged my leisure battery Thursday / Friday and drove 300km to Liverpool. Stayed one night off grid, fridge on and phone chargers in use. No TV, no computers etc. Drove home 300km with 3 short stops. Plugged in the battery charger this morning and leisure battery read just under 13v. But came up to over 13v very quickly. On charge now as it reached 14.7v on Friday. trip took 4.5 hours should my leisure battery have re-charged in that time? The battery seems to hold its charge if no devices attached.

Should you have to remove the seat to replace the leisure battery if it's installed under the drivers seat in a AH10 (2007)? My van was professionally converted in Southampton but I bought from a dealer in Poole.

You could make a small fortune selling sets of these. Or just outside light sets.

Thanks Roger, I have the Laptop and WiFi in the van so as long as I have working internet I could stream TV. I would only need to buy a DVD player for when there is no internet. It's real pain that modern laptops don't come with one!

I'd like to put a 22" TV with DVD (or projector & tuner) in my van. I used to think Cello was the way to go but looking at reviews and alternatives now I'm not sure! I have a side conversion with pop top and go off grid most of the time, so power needs to come from the 12v cigar lighter. I was looking at Sniper, Ferguson (Cello), Unispectra & Sharp - Avtex are much more expensive! I have a Samsung currently but although it has a 12v cigar lighter adapter it eats juice - probably because it really wants 17v not 12v ! Does any one have any real life recommendations - either to consider or discount?

Has anyone used one of these TV Ariels successfully? Haven’t tried it in the van yet - waiting for the TV power cable to arrive! Spent the day figuring out where best to install TV in the van and fitting it - used the floor of the popup roof to fit a flip down arm which swivels for best viewing angle. The TV is one I had spare in the kitchen and will if required hook up to the head unit so I can watch DVD’s if TV reception is rubbish.