Battery Charger

I take it the aux battery in the Dove will be charged from the tow vehicle when towing?

A 240v battery charger is a good idea and more of a convenience thing, it's good practice to charge batteries with the correct 240v charger every now and again...... and to keep the battery on float when in storage.

Our ultimate camper is on charge when ever it's in storage.... and when travelling of the tow vehicle or solar.

Garytee,

My advise is to make sure you can charge your van battery from the vehicle alternator while travelling.
The best way to do this is to install a dc-dc charger in the van as close to the battery as practical. This will ensure you get maximum charging capability while the engine is running. A heavy duty twin cable is required to be installed from the starting battery to a 50 amp anderson connector at the rear, then the van cable is plugged into the connector. The dc-dc charger will have an in-built isolator to protect the starting battery and fuses at each end to protect against a short circuit.
If not employing a dc charger, at least ensure an isolator is fitted to the circuit, usually in the engine compartment.

Whether you have a 240v/12v charger installed as well, that is up to you. This will enable charging to occur if at a powered camp site where 240v is available.

Another option is to just use a "portable" 240v charger which you can connect to the van's alternator input circuit. This works well on my Ctek dc-dc charger I have installed in my camper. (I do however also have a 240v/12v charger installed in the camper.

The maximum setup is to have a "dual purpose" dc-dc charger where a solar panel input can be also employed. The Dual port dc charger accepts input from either the vehicle alternator or a solar panel and will determine which dc source is the best.

If your going to stay mainly at powered sites and your power usage is small then a AC charger should do fine.

If you intend to camp at un powered sites often then you will need to charge the battery from the vehicle. A simple isolator setup with good quality heavy cable and anderson plugs is a good start and cost effective. I wouldn't bother with a DC DC charger initially as the cost is high and in most instances you don't need one and you can always add one into the system at a later stage if you find it is required.

Cheers
LeighW

Hi Gary

Perhaps this picture will help.



Regards

Derek from ABR