I have fitted a second battery to my van, to act as a leisure battery.
Due to the dedicated space in the van, a metal box directly behind the drivers seat, a normal leisure battery wouldn’t fit, so I bought a normal car battery instead. A friend who has a similar van recommended the battery, an Exide Excel, type 096 1a20d (whatever that means ???)
Now I need to buy some sort of charger, to keep it ready for action.
I think I need a ‘smart charger’ which I can fit underneath the rear seats, in the storage compartment and wire it up permanently to the battery. Then, all I need to do, is to hook up to an electric supply every so often (on a camp site or even at home) and turn the charger on.
If you go on Ebay and look up split charge relay, you will pick up a kit for aroung £18 that will top up your leisure battery whilst driving around, but more importantly it gives charge priority to your cranking battery to ensure you can start the van. If you plan on "wild" camping a split charge system is imperative. It will also run the fridge whilst the engine is running.
I also fitted a combined smart charger / 12v transformer from a caravan and made all my lighting 12v, so when on mains power the power it powers the lights and when on battery they run off the leisure batteries.
The Self Build Motor Caravanners Club (SBMCC) website has some good forums and wiring diagrams for this.
Does the van have split charge relay? If not fit one. If you use the van regularly this will keep your 'leisure' battery charged up while you drive so if you are using the van regularly you won't need a mains charger.
Worth pointing out that as you can only fit a car battery under a T25 seat anyway this will have a short life(couple of yrs)as a leisure battery so possibly not worth buying a smart charger, just use an ordinary cheap trickle charger once a month if you are not using van.
If you want to charge it on site & your van has no ehu, use a separate tent ehu to plug charger into. It would be better to fit a proper ehu & charger unit as normally fitted to motorhomes.
If your van is a factory built Westfalia California it should have all the above fitted as standard.
Keep an eye open for the Aldi/Lidl chargers - usually about £13-£15 and brilliant bits of kit.
If using a normal car battery, it is important that you do not flatten it too often - the plates are thinner and prone to warping, if fast-charged too often.
Ctek is a great piece of kit. I have one on my motorhome and on my motorbike. make a permanent connection and keep it plugged in as you intended, it switches on and off as necessary to keep the battery charged and in peak condition. My Motorhome is connected 24/7 when at home and the Ctek has worked faultlessly for the last 3 years
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Topic: Buying a battery charger for a campervan
