12 pin plugs,

The 7 smaller pins are dedicated to the trailer navigation lights you detailed and the electric brakes. If you have trailers with 7 pin flat plugs they plug straight into the 7 small pins and the protective flap on the tug socket will still mate with the strain relief lugs on the trailer plug. The great unwashed that don't know what size conductors an plug pins are required to supply enough current to an absorption fridge to make it operate efficiently thieve pin 2 on the connectors (the reverse light) for the fridge supply. If the cabling to the fridge is heavy enough and enough current is flowing to the fridge then you will burn out pin 2.

The 5 large pins on the 12 pin connector are large enough to supply things like an absorption fridge and a DC-DC battery charger. They should be used to supply all the 12 V power for the van, some ESC installers use use the pins in the 12 pin connectors, those that are not in tune with these connectors insist in using Anderson plugs.

Peter,
I don't understand your aversion to Anderson Plugs and the seeming attempt to belittle those who want them. Or is it a case that you don't understand the ESC system? There are circumstances where it is appropriate to be able to disarm the ESC but if you supply ALL 12V power to the van via the 12 pin connector then you have to also provide a way to disconnect that power when those circumstances arise. Your comment though doesn't provide for this possibility without adding in a user controlled switch or relay in to the ESC feed. In your simplified version you would have to disconnect everything to the van/trailer to accomplish it, which would be both illegal and unsafe. ALKO themselves advise using something like an Anderson Plug to allow for disconnection for offroad or rough road usage where the ESC may operate when it isn't required. Very soon after we acquired our van we were on a section of bitumen road that was so rough that it operated the ESC system and momentarily locked up the van brakes at a time where speed or other sway inducing issues weren't a problem.
I wired my own car with heavy enough cable from the main battery so that there is very little voltage drop to the Anderson Plug for the ESC and also to the 2nd battery in the tub and then on to the other Anderson Plug for fridge power. Even if I had used any of the larger pins in the 12 pin connector it would have been necessary to quite reduce the conductor size to fit in to the pins. I prefer to oversize cables, not undersize. ALKO state that the wiring and fusing for the ESC be 30A capable and personally I wouldn't regard even the larger of the 12 pins to be satisfactory for that potential. I'd want a much more reliable, solid and large capacity connection for those purposes.

My aversion is not towards Anderson plugs perse, it is more towards those who run the 12 pin plugs down and give the impression that the Anderson plugs are the only way to go. They are quite satisfactory for applications up to 30 A. Above that current Anderson connectors are a good way to go. I like to keep things simple and have less things to do when hitching up.

They are not 12 pins wide, they normal 7 pin on top & 5 pins below, the vans come with them, I would think you don't have much choice.

I have never tried but the 7 plug in fits the 12 base I believe.

It was such a nice concept, 12 wide.

The 7 pin plug will fit into the 12 pin socket and work if wired correctly....but not the other way around.
The large pins in a 12 pin plug are rated at 35 amps max...and the reason that caravan makers are going to them (so I was informed.....??!!) was to make a quicker and simpler hook up for the noobs about the place who get confused over working out which shoe goes on which foot....of which there are plenty apparently.

Cheers Keith

Keith P
That would be Velcro Fastened shoes too I presume. Those laces or Zips are complicated items.

Quote "It would appear that the 12 pin plug/socket may be the "new" pseudo standard."

Nothing new about them. I have been using them on my last 3 vans, or in other words for over 20 years.

What do you mean, Won't give you a choice, You are paying the money for the van, if they won't give what you want don't pay until they do, there is too much of this "You will have what we want to sell you crap around these days". There are no laws saying what you must have, it is your choice.

Petza,

If the Anderson on your tug had heavy cabling, presumably matched in your camper and it all worked ok, it is highly unlikely that any of the cabling in the 12 pin flat in your new van would match that in either cable size or performance.

If you jumpered from the Anderson to the relevant pin in the 12-pin, chances are that the results would be unsatisfactory. Even the large pins on the the 12 pin cannot accept the cable size that an Anderson can accept. Apart from that, the contacts on the 12-pin, even the large ones, are not suited to the kinds of currents required for battery charging. They may work for a short time, but they will quickly fail.

If you want to charge your van battery while driving if I were you I would insist it be via the Anderson and I would insist that the manufacturer install an Anderson on the van with heavy gauge cabling at least matching that in your tug.

If they won't do that, maybe accept the van in standard form then take it to a sparkie who could do the job for way less than the manufacturer's quote of $800.

Good luck

Just to add to the previous two posters and to put not to fine a point on it.

12 pin rectangular plugs and the 7 pin plugs they are related to are just rubbish.

A good quaiity 7 pin round utiliux style plug for lights and brakes and a 50 amp andrson plug for power will be far better and more reliable.

worst comes to worst..make up an adaptor from what you have to the 12 pin till you can get it home and rewire it.

There is no reason why the van can not be fitted with something other than a 12 pin piece of rubbish.

$800 to wire a 12 pin plug is a joke.......but you are buying a caravan right...that means think of a figure and double it.

The caravanning community are paying over the odds every day for just about everything.

cheers

Get rid of the everyday 7 pin toy plugs and get theses...

http://www.narva.com.au/products/browse/heavy-duty-4

It's all we use and recommend unless the customer doesn't want to change.

These plugs lock into the socket and are better quality then the standard plugs used on trailers.

$800 - the cost of a 12 pin plug = Huge profit.

I will contract to fit any and all 12 pin plugs for that sort of money.
Even travel interstate to do the fitting.

I think there may be more to the story.... either petza isn't tell it all or petza and the caravan place have had a misinterpretation/misunderstanding between parties.

For all you know they person at the caravan place may of misquoted and instead of being a cheapish trailer plug change; has quoted on a brake controller, Anderson plug at the back with an isolator........ maybe a towbar and wiring....maybe petza asked for more then he /her has said!

Nobody would be that naive to quote that high for a simply job.

there has to be a wedge for the break away, so it is entirely possible to use a seperate plug for the break away, the 12 pin plug is not the only way to do it.

I am surprised that none of the breakaway system manufacturers has not come up with a breakaway wedge that encorpirates the electrical contacts to charge the break away battery and to return the charge monitoring system.

cheers

That sounds better, the only concern I would have is getting the caravan place to do the work...... most caravans we see all have below standards of workmanship and are not industry acceptable, I call it "getting it done by MONKEYS" and "business owners who don't know what they are doing".

Funny they will not swap plugs, maybe out of their comfort/experience zone or might not have the correct procedures document done for their Australian standards and quality assurance certificate....LOL

Hi Peter, no it's not a Jayco and it is one of the ones that refuse to change from there 12. I'm not concerned about the 12 pin just the cost in installing it. If I don't get time to do it myself I will look around for an Electrian on the sunny coast I'm sure as others have said it is a lot cheaper. It's not to bigger issue but will need to have a adaptor from 12 to 7 for when towing my camper and any other trailers.

I take it your other trailers have round plugs and not 7 pin flat ones. If that is the case it will be much cheaper to mount a 7 pin round socket next to the 12 pin one. The 12 pin flat sockets were engineered to accept a 7 pin flat plug but they don't go the other way around.