dual battery system & Fraser Island

Fraser Island (Great Sandy National Park)

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park/index.cgi?parkid=1

g'day leonora
as far as the double adapter ;super cheap auto's has em' fairly long lead as well,dundaburra me and the boss loved it
cheers toohey.

Giday Leo, you can buy a double adapter thingy from most auto shops . I assume your goin to Fraser for christmas? It will be VERY crowed[hope you've booked]I'm goin in the other direction to Perth, leavin tomorra. Have a safe christmas... Phil

Ok first of all, the batteries isolated or in just joined all the time? (ie does it have a duel battery solinoid or controller of some sort).
I'm sure it probally would, but it's something you need to check first. Secondally, what type of batteries are they? Are the big, small, new, old? That will effect what you can and cannot do with them and for how long.
The jayco, ok I have a limited knowledge of caravan but some have batteries and some dont. Does yours? Or does it just draw off the vehicle through the trailer plug? Because that will also effect how much juice you have to play with.
I imagine if the van has 12v lights you will be able to run them from the vehicle, how long will depend on the above questions being answered. If you have a TV in the van and it is a 12v TV you should be able to run that too, if it is not a 12v TV you will need to buy and inverter to run the TV but it will chew up your battery reserves very quickly doing that for long periods. Yes double adaptors (as mentioned above) are common and cheap. Later on down the track you might like to put more plugs in there, the more the merrier you always find a use for them, I have a 2 pin fridge plug and 3 ciggy plugs in the back, and one under the dash and they all get filled up sometimes!!

Good luck with it all, and have a great time!

Just a word of caution..... I recently purchased a multi socket unit (4 sockets) from K Mart and had it plugged into a rear socket in my Nissan with my 39 litre Engel plugged into it. After about 4 hours I smelt burning in the back and found that the plastic surrounding the multi plug unit had melted and burnt a hole in the rear carpet mat. This and only ONE socket being used drawing only a few amps........ god knows what would happen with 2 - 3 devices in it. I will be taking it back and kicking up a stink. Suggest you get a good unit and ask questions about current capacity.

Can't help with the "electrical" stuff.

Dundubarra. No outdoor cinema nights there now. Better pack/buy the dvd player if you want one. If you access the "epa" site above and start to make a booking, it will actually give you the availability of campsites as part of that process. Remember that it only tells you number of sites, not which sites are available (I have a favourite site up there). If you get there early enough you will get a good site if there is anything available.

Hot showers are there, at $1 for 3 minutes, plus flushing loos, and large area for washing up. Rangers are pretty much on the ball there now and seem to have the odd rowdy backpacker under control, by virtue of "on the spot fines" for noise.

Jack

the wire to the cigarette socket can carry so much power, then you add a double adaptor, now the same small wire (read "SMALL") is carying the power for two items! . this can lead to the wire overheating, melting the insulation, and setting fire to your pride and joy. on the other hand, you can get an auto elec to fit one of the mulit point socket things in the car and have them individualy run with individual fuses. or just with bigger cableing and a larger fuse. this is where it is better to go to an auto elec rather than guess, as he will ask you what sort of elec goods you commonly run and suit the cable and fuse size accordingly.
its up to you ofcourse.......its your car and your hard earned $$$$ that will go up in flames!

just my two cents worth!

Ditto with S & N.
get an auto elec to fit one of the mulit point socket things in the car and have them individualy run with individual fuses.

Cigarette lighters are made for 30sec heating of the lighter. not hrs use @ 3 - 5 amps.
If you ever see the wire that's used you'll understand.
Get a separate set of connections, correctly wired and fused, direct from battery.
Far safer solution.
I went to second hand metal dealer and picked up some really good wire cheap. Best thing I ever did.
Now have a second battery with proper connectors and no probs.
Techie.

There is a very goo dreason why Waeco and Engle fridges don't come standard with a cigarett lighter fitting, the fridges draw too much power for a standard cigarett lighter to run for nay length f time.. hence the overheating that many peple have reported.. Yes you can buy an adaptor for both fridges to run off a cigarette lighter but they recommend that this is inly used for short periods.. As another example of this. if you go to ARB and ask for a dual battery installation so you can run a fridge .. part of the installation wil be to automtacially replace the wiring loom to the rear cigarete lighter or the insalation of a new on/dedicated fridge plug. I highly recommend that you get the dedicated fridge plug, that way you now it;s set up for the fridge and can handle the power, that leaves you ciggy plugs free for your other "bells and whistles" yes the 2/3 and even 4 plug adaptors are great but stil be mindful of th elaod you are putting on the,, this applies in our homes as well.. we've al seen the adds and heard the warnings about pluging double adaptors into each other to tun 4 or 5 devices out of one socket.. They aren't deisgned for it so don't throw away your investment for the sake of a telephone call to an auto electrician to ask for advice.. Cheers

AFAIK, most cigarette lighter sockets are rated to 10 amps which is more than enough to run most fridges. I think you will find that the "standard" Engel cable (at least for the 40 litre fridge) comes with a ciggy style plug on the end which plugs directly into any standard 12 volt vehicle outlet.
Now, this should be OK for the occasional trip with the fridge plugged into the front socket where it is within site of the vehicle's occupants. (Unless you are lugging a monster fridge)
All things equal, the fuse should "blow" if current draw exceeds the capacity of the circuit and before any damage to cabling occurs.

The reason why everyone changes from this type of connection is not because of the current draw, but because the inherent design of this type of connection does not allow the plug to lock into the socket. Therefore it is easily shaken loose.

The "Merit" style plug & socket provides a more positive connection that will not vibrate loose, as does the Anderson connector.

Heavier cable is also included to "wire up" rear sockets to run fridges, etc., not so much to enable higher current draw, but due to the longer cable run, voltage drop becomes an issue.

So, a combination of good quality socket(s), heavy duty cable fuse protected as close to the battery as practical and a quality dual battery controller will give you trouble free operation of your 12 volt accessories.