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Subject Topic: Electric socket knocked getting off ferry Post Reply Post New Topic
PersonGeoff48
27/8/2023 at 11:36am
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Just back after a week in France without the caravan. I heard a hard knock whilst disembarking at Dover and when I returned home found the electric socket on the towbar had been knocked upwards and pushed into the underside of the bumper trapping the cover so it would not open. I have used a hammer to return it to its original position checked the electrics all ok and I've retorqued the fitting. I've been using ferries, many different ports, and never had this issue before. Has anyone else had this experience?


PersonHumberWolf
27/8/2023 at 1:33pm
 Location: North Lincolnshire
 Outfit: Elddis Xplore 495 View HumberWolf's Profile View Profile   Reply to HumberWolf Reply   Quote HumberWolf Quote  
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Did this happen on the ramps getting off the ferry?

At low tides the angle between the ramps can be quite acute and I've witnessed the rear end of vehicles or caravans grounding on a few occasions. It happened to the caravan in front of me when disembarking at Caen this year. It tends to happen to long caravans which sit level or nose up and motorhomes with a long rear overhang. It is best not to be rushed by the ferry crews and drive very slowly over the ramp joints. Some people also remove jockey wheels if the jockey wheel sits low outside the fairing and is likely to ground.


PersonGeoff48
27/8/2023 at 2:00pm
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Yes it was on the ramps getting off the ferry, however I wasn't towing though maybe if I had been I would have driven slower. I was on car deck 5 (DFDS) it was nearly a flat drive off.


PersonDaveS1
via mobile 28/8/2023 at 10:09am
 Location: Hatfield Peverel Essex
 Outfit: Ace Supreme Twinstar Disco 3 View DaveS1's Profile View Profile   Reply to DaveS1 Reply   Quote DaveS1 Quote  
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Sorry to say it but the odds are that you were going too fast.
DaveS1


PersonGeoff48
28/8/2023 at 10:16am
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Your opinion, not mine. Been using ferries for years. No further comment necessary.


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Persontango55
28/8/2023 at 7:56pm
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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I had exactly the same experience last year when visiting a Camping & Caravanning Club site two days before Christmas. The warden told me to go around the perimeter of the site and meet me at the allocated pitch. I seen a short cut through the middle in front of the toilet blocks so decided to take that route instead. Unfortunately there are several dips in the road along with speed bumps and although I was only travelling very slow, the bounce at the rear end caused the towing socket to strike the ground at a high spot causing the socket mounting to swivel up jamming the socket and plugs. I did likewise by using a plastic mallet to re-position the mounting plate but found that the centre core of the socket was damaged. I had to use an adapter from a 13 pin socket to twin 7 plugs on the caravan and found that I couldn't engage the adapter properly. Trying to get a new towing socket fitted by a mechanic was impossible as they were all on holiday over the festive period but I did eventually manage to get the adapter engaged and had to leave it permanently plugged in so we could get home on the day before new year's eve as then it was just a matter of engaging the two caravan towing plugs.
I didn't get the towing socket replaced as I was part exchanging my car for a later model just after the new year anyway but only posting and replying to say that I had an identical experience and can conclude that speeding was not to blame so that can be ruled out disembarking the ferry as well. However, if I was to have kept the vehicle, the only solution to avoid the same experience would have been to have the fixed AL-KO towball removed and opt for a swan neck detachable towball with a swivelling towing socket instead which is in line with the towball and not below it which is the only reason that creates this problem. That's the type of towbar I have fitted now on my latest vehicle as it was a lesson learned hopefully never to repeated again. Every day's a school day as they say!   


PersonGeoff48
28/8/2023 at 8:05pm
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Thank you for this post. Hopefully I'll be changing the car next February and I'll bear your advice in mind regarding the swan neck detachable and swivel. Again thanks.


Persontango55
28/8/2023 at 9:31pm
 Location: Lichfield
 Outfit: Coachman Amara 450 View tango55's Profile View Profile   Reply to tango55 Reply   Quote tango55 Quote  
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The towbar that is fitted to my current vehicle is a 'Westfalia' brand detachable which in the short video link (shown where the towing socket swivels down) you can visually see that the lower point of the towing socket is higher that the base of the towball so any future problems should be eliminated regarding a ground collision and towing socket.
However, there are other brands of towbar to choose from but cannot say if the towing socket location is independent or not but with the 'Westfalia' towbar the towing socket is in a fixed position bolted to the towbar itself.
Please note that the short video is for illustration purposes only.


Link


PersonGeoff48
28/8/2023 at 9:38pm
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Thanks that's really useful.


Persontango55
28/8/2023 at 9:48pm
 Location: Lichfield
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The one issue I will say is that where the towing socket is located on the towbar I cannot use my twin adapter anymore as it fits in sideways and makes contact with the rear bumper so have to use a standard 13 pin plug to twin plug cables instead (2004 caravan with twin plugs). If you have a 13 pin plug on the caravan then it's not an issue as it plugs directly into the vehicle's towing socket. The adapter I am referring to is shown in the link below.


Link


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PersonGeoff48
28/8/2023 at 9:55pm
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Thanks, I changed to 13pin on the caravan sometime during covid. I used to prefer the 2 socket set up but since changing I haven't had any problems with any alignment of bent pins. Regards


PersonHumberWolf
29/8/2023 at 2:15pm
 Location: North Lincolnshire
 Outfit: Elddis Xplore 495 View HumberWolf's Profile View Profile   Reply to HumberWolf Reply   Quote HumberWolf Quote  
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As an aside, in the Westfalia video he states that you should always attach the breakaway cable round the hole on the fixed plate and never around the neck. If you have a breakaway cable with a spring clip this assumes it will fit through the hole to attach it to itself. With my current Witter towbar the hole is too small and so you either have to attach it around the neck or add a carabiner to the hole. My previous TowTrust towbar had no attachment point.

Many caravans are now supplied with breakaway cables with a carabiner clip which can be clipped directly onto the attachment point.


PersonGeoff48
29/8/2023 at 2:26pm
 Location: Bolton
 Outfit: Avondale Dart 510 5 View Geoff48's Profile View Profile   Reply to Geoff48 Reply   Quote Geoff48 Quote  
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Thank you.



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