How to Set Up Mains Hook-Up in a Campervan: Complete Guide

Adding mains hook-up (also called electric hook-up or EHU) to your campervan means you can plug into a campsite bollard and charge your leisure battery, run 230V appliances, and use a mains battery charger — all through a safe, protected system.

This guide covers the complete shore power installation: from choosing and fitting the inlet socket, through to wiring the consumer unit, RCD, MCBs, and 230V outlets. For the consumer unit wiring detail specifically, see our consumer unit wiring guide. For general 230V socket installation, see our 230V sockets guide.

What You Need

A complete shore power system for a campervan consists of:

1. Shore power inlet: CEE blue socket (IEC 60309, 16A, 3-pin) mounted in the van body
2. Hook-up cable: 16A rated cable with CEE plug and 13A or CEE socket for connection
3. Consumer unit: Houses the RCD and MCBs, distributes and protects 230V circuits
4. RCD (Residual Current Device): Mandatory 30mA protection for shock prevention
5. MCBs (Miniature Circuit Breakers): Individual circuit protection
6. 230V sockets: Standard UK sockets for appliances
7. Battery charger input: If you want mains charging of your leisure battery

Total component cost for a basic system: £150-250.

Choosing and Positioning the Shore Power Inlet

The Right Connector

The standard shore power inlet for UK campervan and motorhome use is a blue CEE 16A, 3-pin, 230V socket (also called a caravan connector or IEC 60309 connector). This is the connector on every UK campsite bollard and is required by BS 7671 Section 721.

Do not use a standard 13A household socket as your shore power inlet. The CEE connector is weatherproof, mechanically keyed to the correct voltage and current rating, and locks when connected.

Buy: A surface-mounted or flush-mounted CEE 16A socket in blue. Many motorhome/caravan suppliers sell these with a flip-down cover for weatherproofing. Cost: £15-35.

Positioning

The inlet position affects how easy it is to connect at different campsite layouts. Common positions:

• Nearside (passenger side) rear lower corner: Most practical — closest to the typical bollard position when reversed onto a pitch. The most popular position on UK conversions.
• Nearside mid-body: Good for drive-forward pitches. Some campsite layouts prefer this.
• Offside (driver's side): Less common, but necessary if your pitch layout puts the bollard on the right.

Mount at a comfortable height — 300-600mm from the ground is typical. Too low and it sits in road spray; too high and the cable hangs awkwardly.

Fitting the Inlet

Drill a hole in the van body sized for your inlet socket (typically 60-70mm diameter). Fit the socket with a rubber seal gasket between socket and van body. Use stainless steel screws and apply butyl tape or automotive sealant around the perimeter for weatherproofing.

Run a 2.5mm² three-core flex (live brown, neutral blue, earth green/yellow) from the inlet to the consumer unit.

Consumer Unit Sizing

For most campervan hook-up systems, a consumer unit with 2-4 ways is sufficient. A typical setup:

• 1 RCD (40A, 30mA, double-pole) as the main switch and shock protection
• 1 MCB (16A Type B) for the 230V socket circuit
• 1 MCB (6A or 10A Type B) for the battery charger circuit
• Optional: 1 MCB for a fixed appliance circuit

This fits in a 4-way consumer unit. Some builders use a 6-way unit to leave room for future additions. A 4-way DIN-rail enclosure with RCD and MCBs costs £50-90 from electrical suppliers.

See our detailed consumer unit wiring guide for RCD specification, MCB types, and full wiring instructions.

Wiring the Shore Power System

Cable Sizing

All 230V cabling in a campervan should be 2.5mm² three-core flex (live, neutral, earth) for socket circuits, and 1.5mm² three-core flex for the battery charger circuit. Use flexible cable rated for installation in vehicles — standard domestic cable is not designed for the temperature and vibration extremes in a van.

From Inlet to Consumer Unit

Run 2.5mm² flex from the shore power inlet to the consumer unit input (the RCD main switch). Keep this run as short as possible. Route through the van body via suitable conduit and grommets.

From Consumer Unit to Sockets

Each 230V socket connects to the socket circuit MCB via 2.5mm² flex. UK 230V sockets are wired in a radial arrangement in campervans — one cable running from the MCB to each socket in series. This is simpler and more fault-tolerant than a ring circuit in a small installation.

Wire each socket:

• Brown (live) to L terminal
• Blue (neutral) to N terminal
• Green/yellow (earth) to E terminal

From Consumer Unit to Battery Charger

If your system includes a mains battery charger (for charging the leisure battery from shore power), run 1.5mm² flex from the dedicated MCB to the charger's mains input terminals.

Popular mains chargers for campervans:

• Victron Blue Smart IP22 12/20 (~£120): Excellent, Bluetooth monitoring, LiFePO4 compatible
• Sterling Power ProCharge Ultra (~£130): Powerful, highly regarded
• Renogy 20A (~£80): Budget option, adequate for most builds

See our Victron Blue Smart IP22 setup guide for configuration.

Hook-Up Cable

Your hook-up cable connects from the site bollard's CEE socket to your van's CEE inlet. The cable needs to be:

• 16A rated minimum (never use a domestic extension lead as a hook-up cable)
• Weather-resistant outer sheath (not domestic orange flex)
• Minimum 10 metres long — campsite bollards are not always close to your pitch
• Fitted with a CEE 16A plug at one end and a CEE 16A socket at the other (or a 13A plug if connecting to a domestic outlet)

A quality 16A hook-up cable costs £15-30 and is an essential piece of kit. Do not economise here — an undersized cable can overheat when drawing sustained current through a battery charger.

Polarity Checker

Before using any campsite hook-up for the first time, check the polarity with a socket tester. Some campsite bollards have incorrect wiring — reversed live and neutral (reverse polarity) is the most common fault.

Reverse polarity on a correctly wired van with a double-pole RCD is safe (the RCD will trip correctly regardless of which conductor is energised). But it is worth knowing, and a socket tester costs £8-15 from any electrical supplier.

Earthing the 230V System

The shore power inlet's earth conductor connects to the consumer unit earth bar and thence to the van's chassis earth — the same point where your 12V system is earthed. This single-point bonding ensures both systems share a common voltage reference.

See our earth bonding guide for full earthing requirements and the critical rule about single-point bonding.

Adding Shore Power to an Existing Off-Grid System

If you already have a working 12V off-grid system and want to add shore power:

1. Add the shore power inlet — mount and seal the CEE socket, run cable into the van
2. Add the consumer unit — mount near the battery area, run earth to chassis earth point
3. Add the battery charger — connect to consumer unit MCB, connect output to leisure battery positive/negative (with inline fuse on positive)
4. Add 230V sockets — run from consumer unit socket circuit MCB

This can be done without disturbing your existing 12V installation. The only overlap point is the earth bonding — ensure the consumer unit PE bar is bonded to your existing chassis earth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size hook-up do UK campsites provide?

Most UK campsites provide 16A hook-up, but some older sites provide only 6A or 10A. At 6A, you can run a battery charger and one or two small 230V appliances simultaneously. At 16A, you have the full 3.68kW available (more than enough for typical van use). Always check the site's stated hook-up amperage if running high-draw appliances.

Do I need an electrician to install shore power in my campervan?

Legally, no — DIY installation is permitted for a self-build. However, having a qualified electrician inspect and test the 230V installation is strongly recommended. An Electrical Installation Certificate costs £50-150 and provides proof that the system is safe for insurance purposes.

Can I connect shore power and an inverter at the same time?

Not without a transfer switch or changeover switch. Running inverter and shore power simultaneously without isolation will damage both the inverter and the shore power supply. Fit a manual changeover switch (£20-40) that selects between the two sources.

What is the difference between a consumer unit and a fuse board?

In a campervan context, they are the same thing — a box containing an RCD and MCBs that distributes and protects 230V circuits. "Consumer unit" is the current UK term; "fuse board" or "fuse box" is older terminology still widely used.