Thread: Camper Battery

Originally Posted by dickyjoe

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.

While I don't want to sound nasty, they're both a waste of money IMO. Batteries will draw current as needed, they don't need anything like this to pull a charge for something. Too many people get sucked into thinking they need stuff like this when they simply don't.

Connect your solar to the batteries, your cars alternator to the batteries when you plug the camper/caravan in, and you're done.

Doesn't matter what batteries, where they are, what car - it will work best wothout all the electronic guff the snake oil salesmen will try and convince you you need,

If you understand electricity and battery chemistry, you'll realise this simply isn't needed.

Just my 2 cents, I've been running dual, triple and quad battery setups for years without any issue, all different types of cars and alternators. I've never gone short of power or had any issues, my batteries last years.

Just sayin...

Originally Posted by Homestar

While I don't want to sound nasty, they're both a waste of money IMO. Batteries will draw current as needed, they don't need anything like this to pull a charge for something. Too many people get sucked into thinking they need stuff like this when they simply don't.

Connect your solar to the batteries, your cars alternator to the batteries when you plug the camper/caravan in, and you're done.

Doesn't matter what batteries, where they are, what car - it will work best wothout all the electronic guff the snake oil salesmen will try and convince you you need,

If you understand electricity and battery chemistry, you'll realise this simply isn't needed.

Just my 2 cents, I've been running dual, triple and quad battery setups for years without any issue, all different types of cars and alternators. I've never gone short of power or had any issues, my batteries last years.

Just sayin...

Gav is right save your money buy a decent AGM connect a min 120w solar panel for when stopped and charge off the car when traveling .
This is all i do and have done on my camper since 2011 . When my camper has sat for a month or 2 i put my projector smart charger on for a day and night

Originally Posted by dickyjoe

The D250S or the SmartPass

The D250S , Regards Frank.

Dc-Dc chargers still require fat cable to be effective...

So what vehicle are you using as the primary tug/power source?

I would be suggesting:

No Dc-Dc charger; fit decent cable to the rear.
Solar regulator and panel(s)
Decent battery as recommend above..
Then fit a 240v charger on board for those stays with power or maintenance.

I have the Ctek 250s in my camper trailer. Not a lot of use so far but it works just fine. Ctek stuff is generally very good imho. I also use lifeline batteries. They are brilliant. I grabbed an old one off my yacht for the camper. It is past it's pirime as it sat dead flat for a long time and it is probably well over 5 years old. It still works fine for the camper.

I only had a quick look at the smartpass but it seems the only other feature is a low voltage cutoff for non critical loads so that you have some reserve battery power for critical stuff. Unlikey to be of any use in a camper.

Regarding the various comments about the need for a dc/dc charger. There are many different solutions for charging batteries all with pros and cons. To say that dc/dc chargers are unnecessary is true but also a simplification.

I don't have solar panels. I have minimal battery capacity for my usage. Did not want to have really heavy wiring runs and wanted a no fuss option that would ensure my battery was properly charged. I had some things in place already so a dc/dc charger suited my situation well for minimal cost.

Using a good size solar panel and a smart regulator with a simple heavy gauge charging circuit from the cars second battery for some bulk charging would be a good option also. Really just depends on your usage and what gear you have allready.

Where is the cheapest spot to buy a full river battery?

Originally Posted by dickyjoe

Where is the cheapest spot to buy a full river battery?

Not sure what they retail for but I can get you a price from my mate who stocks them so you can compare if you want.

I got mine through him, they are brilliant batteries, but I didn't pay for them, he owed me a favour, so no idea what they should go for.

Hi Richard and while I hate getting involved in these threads, but people are continually misunderstanding the real operating potential or more correctly put, the LACK of any genuine potential of DC/DC devices.

For a starter, you posted to QUOTE " I'm looking to be able to properly charge the battery as a multistage home battery charger would ".

The problem is that while marketed as being able to charge like a multi stage 240vac battery charger, DC/DC device CAN NOT charge like a battery charge for one very simple reason. You will not drive long enough.

The average drive time for anyone towing a camper trailer is 2.5 to 5 hours.

If you have been camping and you have a 100Ah battery that you have discharged down to 20% SoC, using that DC/DC device, you will need at least 5 hours driving time just to get your battery charged to around 95+%, and you will still not get any advantage from the multi stage end of charge, these devices offer.

Whereas, just charging direct from your alternator, and using decent cabling ( 6B&S = 13.5mm2 ), your alternator will have the same battery at around 95+ in about 3 to 3.5 hours of driving.

If after a trip or two, you decide you need more battery capacity, then that 20 amp DC/DC device will now need around 9 hours of constant driving, while your alternator will replace the same amount of used battery capacity in around 4 to 5 hours.

As has already been pointed out by others in this thread, DC/DC devices are a gross wasted of money when used in any Land Rover, including the new RR and RRS with Stop/Start operation.

A far smarter way to charge your battery faster, is to add another battery.

As strange as this may seem, but by using two batteries of the same size as the one you have now, you will recharge them in less than 2/3 of the time it takes your alternator to replace the same amount of battery capacity used in a one battery setup.