240V mains power circuits

One of the first things that I had installed in this camper was the external mains connection, which would allow to connect an external 240V AC power into the vehicle. I had use this already for powering a heater fan, when working during the autumn months in the rear of the vehicle.
But for regular use of 240V, for example at campsites, it is important to install proper circuit breakers when connecting to the camp site's power. From eBay I had ordered a while ago a small circuit breaker box, for a maximum current of 16A, which seems sufficient to me. The box is watertight. The power distribution is in a watertight junction box, to which the power plugs are connected. The power plug box itself is currently not of a watertight type, but maybe I will change this later.

I decided to affix these boxes (fuse box, distributor box, power plugs) at the back of the vertical panel, so that they would not take away more valuable space inside the vehicle. There is enough space, as the rear window in the small right barn door leaves a large gap. Below these boxes is a battery charger which can charge the battery once external power is connected.

External Electricity Port

In order to operate electric devices which require 240V, this electric power needs to be led into the vehicle. I had purchased a mains inlet, grey, a "motorhome hook up socket". This has the usual UK motorhome connection with the three round prongs. I do have adaptors for standard UK plugs and also for Central European plugs. Now all I had to do is to cut an opening into the vehicle and affix this mains inlet.

First I drilled a pilot hole from the outside. I had identified the approximate location from looking at the inside, where a side panel had been removed and was showing which area would be best accessible. After the first small pilot hole had been drilled, I used a larger drill to enlarge it. Then I used a jigsaw and started to make the straight cuts. Made lots of noise, but worked very smoothly. I had used masking tape to indicate the exact cutting location. After the rectangular opening had been cut, I used primer to cover the blank metal regions to avoid rusting. Then I used silicon gel to cover the boundary of the inlet box, before pushing it into the opening.

I also added some foam padding to ensure that a tight fit would seal the opening. 4 self-taping screws were used for affixing the box tightly to the vehicle.

This was the very first time that I cut an opening into a vehicle. Feels first as if this means doing damage... but when looking at the completed mains inlet with its flush closing watertight door, then it is clear that I actually added some value to this vehicle.

The next step will be to add the actual power cable. Need to study which of the pins in the socket/plug is to be the Load and which the Neutral.