Tow Bar Wiring in Tupperware Box!! (1 Viewer)

[Hellboy]

http://[URL=http://s218.photobucket.com/user/firel3lade/media/IMG_20161029_125157.jpg.html]Link RemovedWe went to look at a newly new Chausson today which had a Memo type approved tow bar fitted...
I was quite surprised to find they had wired the bypass relay into a Tupperware box and screwed it under the floor...
It didn't look very waterproof so not sure how long before electrical problems would start...

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[MichelleRyall]

I can assure you that if it was a proper Tupperware box, not a poor imitation, it would be waterproof ha ha ha.

 

[Hellboy]

I agree...one big pothole and I guess the lid would be off and the relay would be on the road...

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[mustaphapint]

If that's your only concern, sikaflex the lid on.

 

[hilldweller]

http://[URL=http://s218.photobucket.com/user/firel3lade/media/IMG_20161029_125157.jpg.html]Link RemovedI was quite surprised to find they had wired the bypass relay into a Tupperware box and screwed it under the floor...[/QUOTE]

It just might be adequate but sure ass hell it is far from professional. Demand a proper screw top electrical box with proper glands are fitted.

 

[Hellboy]

If that's your only concern, sikaflex the lid on.

It won't be our problem as we didn't buy the van...

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[tonyidle]

About as good as it gets from the average skilled technician / converter. I had no idea waterproof electrical boxes could be re-purposed as food containers. I'd be tempted to ask the dealer what he thought of it.

 

[Jaws]

While many poopoo such things, over the years I have used the idea many times.. OK, not in an automotive way but for garden light connections they are perfect !

 

[Minxy]

It may not have been the towbar fitters who did it ... if it was on a Ford base then they all (AFAIK) come pre-wired with the electrics/connector, our Chausson certainly did, so all that was needed was the actual tow bar itself fitting, in which case it may be the previous owner who used the 'faux' Tupperware box to give it some protection.

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[Minxy]

While many poopoo such things, over the years I have used the idea many times.. OK, not in an automotive way but for garden light connections they are perfect !

True, I've done the same - in one MH when I installed an inverter I put the in-line fuse in the battery compartment and to protect it (just in case) I used an old clear plastic glasses case which fitted the available space perfectly.

 

[Gorse Hill]

IP67 Adaptor boxs about £4 and correct for the application, why would the dealer not fit one and possible lose a deal for £40k, madness

 

[hilldweller]

http://[URL=http://s218.photobucket.com/user/firel3lade/media/IMG_20161029_125157.jpg.html]Link RemovedI was quite surprised to find they had wired the bypass relay into a Tupperware box and screwed it under the floor..[/QUOTE]

Actually, on second look, the shock of the tupperware box diverted us from the real problem, look to the left, at least two wires that would rub through on the chassis.

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[Jaws]

Just as a demonstration of how worthwhile genuine tupperware boxes are, when my main hobby was amateur radio and 'things electronic', I built an awful lot of projects in to them..
One notable occasion was in an RF amplifier ( from memory a pair of 4CX250B triodes for anyone interested.. ) The anode voltage was ramped up to about 4kV..
No matter what I did, when used in the field ( it was built for VHF competition work ) I would get an occasional arc when things started getting damp around 3 am !! )

In the end I mounted all the transformer, associated components in a tupperware box that was then placed in another tupperware box giving me an air gap sealed insulated barrier..
Worked like a treat !! Mind you, the corona you could see coming off the stretched G2BCX 16 ele antenna in the night was a thing of wonder !
Me ? Running a couple of kW up the stick ?? Nooo.. must have been someone else !!

 

[chaser]

Well to my farmers eyes it looks a proper job, the area looks dry and clean and the thing that's inside was probably meant to just be there without a box , so it's just extra protection, agree about the wires on the chassis though, and it's probably the extra box that's caused that by pushing them across.

 

[hilldweller]

Just as a demonstration of how worthwhile genuine tupperware boxes are,!

I still have an RC boat I built 50 years ago, for the electrics hatch we used a Tupperware lid, stuffed fibreglass cloth into the joint then bonded that to the rest of the fibreglass boat. New let any of us down. And with a 10cc well tuned motor that boat certainly took a hammering.

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[Gizmouk]

At least it has a pretty high IP rating

 

[jockaneezer]

Ah Tupperware, reminds me of a lovesick Eskimo, they both enjoy a tight seal

 

[Gromett]

It might have been fine, or it might not. However if they are willing to bodge that in such a harsh environment what else was bodged and how badly? I would have walked away from that van as well...

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[Peter A Forbes]

Proper industrial sealed boxes are available in painted diecast ali or glassfibre, but let's be honest, caravan dealers don't deal with those kind of parts or suppliers, and as long as something is available fairly cheaply they will use it.

There probably isn't a standard for the job, the Rubbolite junction boxes always seem to leak, so they've probably done the best they can.

Peter

 

[tonyidle]

Proper industrial sealed boxes are available in painted diecast ali or glassfibre, but let's be honest, caravan dealers don't deal with those kind of parts or suppliers, and as long as something is available fairly cheaply they will use it.

There probably isn't a standard for the job, the Rubbolite junction boxes always seem to leak, so they've probably done the best they can.

Peter

If that is their best I'll continue to steer clear. It's a bodge of the worst order. If they aren't familiar with available options they should not take on the work. I don't know what is above or close to that area but a better option would have been to mount everything indoors. On the other hand if the bypass relay and its connections are designed for outdoors then the box is simply a water trap.