With today’s power hungry motorhomes sporting more and more technological gadgets and systems, and the motorhome owners appetite for routes that take them off the beaten track, and therefore to sites without electrical hook ups, the charging and maintenance of the leisure battery is becoming an increasing challenge. Without the luxury of being able to a) power consumables (fridge, lights, TV etc.) whilst parked and b) give the leisure battery a decent over-night charge using mains power, motorhome owners need to ensure that they take a strong approach to battery maintenance to not only ensure continuous power to the battery but also ensure that the life and condition of the battery is protected.

It is a complete myth that charging from the vehicle alternator is the fastest way to charge your battery. Whilst when first turning on the engine the alternator can deliver a charge of up to 90 amps or more, it will very quickly drop off to a low level, effectively delivering a trickle charge that will probably never bring the battery up to 100% capacity.

By not charging the leisure battery up to 100% capacity, the battery will be cycled more often than necessary which will increase stratification, drastically reducing capacity. Even worse, sulphation will occur, reducing capacity event further and shortening battery life significantly.

By using a good quality onboard charging system, such as the CTEK D250S Dual, motorhome owners are able to safely condition and charge their batteries whilst on the move. With the capability to continuously deliver a 20 Amp charge to the motorhome battery, so for example the D250S Dual would take 4.5 hours to recharge a 90 amp hour battery.

When the motorhome is not on the road, the D250S dual can also act as a solar regulator, continuing to provide a charge to the battery even when the vehicle is stationary. When the leisure battery is fully charged it will divert solar power to the starter battery.

When going off the beaten track, the leisure battery becomes an even more important feature of the motorhome. Care and maintenance of the battery won’t only ensure that those vital consumables are working at all times, it will also considerably extend the life of the battery – we think by as much as three times – as well as maximising capacity.