Thread: Camper Battery

I have that exact same setup on my CT, a fold out solar panel, a C-Tek DC to DC charger that takes it's power either from the tow vehicle or the solar panel and 2 Optima AGM yellow top batteries (deep cycle), works extremely well, Regards Frank.

One of my 3 is one of these--


My only comment on DC chargers is,
I run 500W of solar.

C Tek, Matson, Projecta, Redarc etc

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Hi Thanks for the info.

I've started looking at C-Tek chargers.

There is this one which I think would be ok :-
D250S DUAL

or this one :-
SMARTPASS

I'm not sure I understand the difference between the two.

Once I've worked this out I'll look for a battery.

For deep cycle, my choice is Lifeline. You will pay for them, but they have capacity for their size, same technology as Optima (except flat plate) and they are very robust and long lasting.

For the large Optima size (75ah), the lifeline will give you 100ah. Same footprint but 70mm taller will give you 150ah.

Most DC-DC chargers operate at 20A to 30A. Above that may exceed the maximum rate at which a particular battery can be charged.
Note that there are solar and non-solar versions of most chargers so check.
Whether you need a DC-DC or not may depend on the location of the battery. If you are using solar to charge the DC'DC may limit the solar input to 10A anyway, just like a solar regulator, so a 20-30A DC-DC may not be any advantage and you could just buy a 10A regulator for the solar for $20-30. So check the DC-DC's specs to see if it boosts the solar by more than 10A. While the current from the vehicle is steady the current from the solar can vary greatly.
However, where a DC-DC is useful is if you want to boost the current coming down the plug from the vehicle to compensate for voltage drop from front to rear of the vehicle and speed up charging of the trailer battery while the attached vehicle engine is running.
Putting a DC-DC in the actual vehicle may be pointless as your alternator should put out at least 80A anyway, much more than the DC-DC can operate at.
So in our case I have a Matson DC-DC in the camper to bump up the current from the vehicle to 20A, but my solar goes directly to the battery. The solar probably only makes a max of about 4A anyway.
I'm no electrician so others may give better advice. Hope that helps.


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Hi all,

I'm looking to be able to properly charge the battery as a multistage home battery charger would, hence the idea of a 12/12v charger.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

One of my 3 is one of these--

Same as I use, but I got only 2 of them - I've never been able to bring them down very far from fully charged, even when I have left a pedestal fan going all night when it's hot.

I think for what I use, I could get away with just one and save myself the extra weight, but I probably won't.

DC - DC chargers are a controversial topic, my take on them is save your money to buy something else. They add weight and slow down the charging of the battery. As Pedro mentioned, solar is all that needs to be said. A solar system will bring your batteries up as far as any DC - DC device and will automatically maintain the batteries as well and keep them trickle charged just like a multi stage charger - all done.

When you're driving along your cars alternator can charge your house batteries much faster if you connect it directly and not put it through a DC DC device.