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Years ago (about 20) we had a Bedford CF. The 12v system supplied the interior lights, water pump, radio and couple of fans.
I fitted a 60 amp leisure battery into the long underfloor battery tray alongside the standard vehicle battery. My concern was always having the vehicle battery available for starting and recharging the leisure battery.
Charging relays were available at the time, but I wanted a simpler solution.Something that COULD NOT fail.
This was my solution. Using 2 battery cur off switches I earthed both batteries and inserted the switches into each positive cable to the batteries.
When driving I connected the leisure battery to recharge, and if a long journey disconnected to prevent over charging.
The vehicle battery would be disconnected during each period of camping, thereby isolating it and ensuring it was always available.
The van had only a 16 acr Lucas alternator and it coped without any problems.Not the current recommended way to do it, but it worked for me!
Diagram…Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
Best plan
Hi mateYes, I’ve done this on all the campers I’ve converted for years and it’s the only way to guarantee you will start in the morning… All those ‘charge relays’ they sell on ebog are hilarious, as they lack the ability to switch enough amps and simply burn out..!
I usually just use one simple battery isolation switch to cut off the leisure battery positive feed, as these switches come cheap (the ones with a removable key). I have used a marine double battery rotary switch to handle the batteries in the past too – they’re a bit more expensive and complicated to wire, but look really cool..!
Also, presuming you use wire of the correct thickness, you can use the leisure battery to start up if the starter battery fails. This happened to me on a lonely Spanish mountain just a few months ago – the starter battery had just got too old and died.
Take care
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