13 pin plug realignment problem

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=%23&ved=0ahUKEwj249L8083aAhWDLMAKHVcWDSEQwqsBCCgwAA&usg=AOvVaw0VTJzWxrN8ZFOD4xbU2nov

The little green gadget is an essential bit of kit which I keep in my boot - just in case.  Only thing I can think that you may not be doing right is completely twisting the connector anti clockwise  before pulling it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=534AbREa-9w

It can't be essential, I don't own one & have never needed one. And yes .... I do have 13 pin plug & socket on my car & caravan.

You are correct, the alignment issue is a result of not disconnecting the plug correctly. What is essential is that the plug is rotated a full 90 deg. before extraction.

Seems a bit much to buy a new caravan and then be told to go and buy a £3 realignment tool. Surely they could have provided one, given the "n" thousand pounds you had just spent. Ours certainly came with one. However, like MM I have never needed it for hitching up. I always make sure I fully rotate the 90 degs and store it in the holder. 

I did utilise it the other day ( first time in four years) when I attached a new 13pin plug, due to contact problems.

MM, no need to be touchy! It would be essential if you found that somehow at 6 am on a small site in France, you the only caravan there, and your connector had become out of alignment.  Happened to me once few years ago and, yes, I do know that you need to fully rotate before disconnecting.  In Italy a couple of years ago I was able to help a Brit whose connector was out of alignment and he did not have the gadget!  Also last week after a mobile engineer had serviced my caravan the next day I needed to reset the connector - so yes, in my opinion, a pretty essential bit of kit.  Agree with you Steve mighty stingy of the dealer not to provide one on purchase.

thanks for all your replies.

My husband tried to turn both anti clock wise and then clock wise when it still would not fit into socket. We are worried that if we twist the correction plug to hard we might snap something. We never had any problems with our other van , we didn't t know  this gadget existed until we got the new van. will we need to do this each time we go to hook the pin up ?.

we had one supplied with our c/van ,as according to our dealer it can happen if care not taken when connecting /disconnecting as some makes of plug are not as well made 

ted We had the same problem and found the greed cap very helpful and now when we disconnect the plug we leave it connect to the plug.