Help with Motorhome laid up for long term
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what's the problem with that, turn on the ignition it should read about 12 volts it would be pointless starting the engine unless of course you need to check your alternator is ok then the voltage would go up to about 13.8 volts. The reason I bought it in the first place was that some members were having problems with their caravan fridges due to smart alternators so while the good lady drives I can monitor all is well we have had it sometime but I've not seen a problem with our present tow car
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'Click & Collect' shopping trip tomorrow, so first time that Tiguan will have been used since 27th March. I've opened the car occasionally to get tools out and wash off the bird droppings, so battery should be OK.
Return trip is around 20 miles and I'll check the oil temperature to ensure that the engine has been thoroughly warmed u[p before switching off. Might take w short detour along a stretch of dual carriageway to open Tig's lungs and assist with warming/charging.
Mileage since return from Spain 7 weeks ago is around 100 in total, including taking caravan to Repair/Service Yard so within spirit of essential travel guidance.
Steve
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What is the best way to use a trickle charger attached to the cab battery of my 2018 Bailey Advance 76-4? I am purchasing a Bosch C3 charger/trickle charger.
I had thought of plugging it into the 240v sockets in the motorhome and connecting it to the cab battery. To do this requires the van to be attached to the electric hook-up and the main control panel switched on. Would this cause any damage to the motorhome electrics?
The alternative is to run an extension cable from the garage and run the charger from this separate independently from the van.
Any thoughts?
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first things first.....doesnt a 2018 Bailey Advance charge the cab battery from its on board charger, ie when you plug in a 230v EHU cable?
similarly, doesnt it have a solar panel? and, if so, doesent this charge the cab battery?
if neither of these things is true, then you will need an external charger like the Bosch....i certainly wouldnt be bothering to plug in an EHU and turn the van electrics on (may not be required).
i would just use an extension from the house/garage to the Bosch.
when all this virus stuff is over, have a look at fitting a Battery Master which wil transfer charge from your leisure battery to your cab battery.
perhaps also a look at a solar panel if the van is residing at home when not in use.
our 100w panel. is geared to charge all batteries and i never need to even think about EHU cables to maintain a healthy charge.
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The Advance/Alliance range don't have an inbuilt facility to charge the cab battery although I understand the Autograph range does.
If you are going to have to buy a charger, rather than having one around the place a better and more permanent solution would be to fit a Battery Master as I mentioned up thread. It is a small device that pushes any excess charge from the leisure battery (whilst being charged via the EHU or Solar Panel) to the cab battery. It is a fit and forget device.
If you are intent on the charger route I think you would need a smart charger so you don't overcook the battery, others might have more precise info on that score?
David
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I was under the impression that my solar panel would be charging both batteries. However, after reading previous posts I checked what was connected. Although the Truma solar panel controller has outlets for 2 batteries only one is in use i.e. the solar panel.
I have read the, less than informative, Bailey Owner’s Manual and I cannot find anything which says that when on electric hook-up the vehicle battery is being charged. Given that Bailey are cheapskates and the Advance is the entry level model I would be surprised if Bailey splashed out on an extra, few inches of, wiring.
Currently the charger, which arrived this afternoon, is connected via an extension lead to a socket in the garage. The charging light is flashing which suggests the charge in the battery was less than full. Once fully charged the charger is supposed to go into trickle charge mode.
The wife’s cousin who has an elderly Autotrail has just told me he has connected his van to the electric hook-up and plugs his charger into a 240v socket in the van. His message was to me that his “car man said not to leave it on charge for too long, but just to top it up once a week for a while during the day and then disconnect”.
I thought the idea of a trickle charger was that you could leave on for long periods.
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Apologies to all concerned - I think I have set a hare running!!
Scrolling through the User Settings option on the Advance Control Panel, I found one “Charge Vehicle Battery” that has an on/off setting. Going to the manual, and looking at the section on the Control Panel, the entry under “Charge Vehicle Battery” has the following:
”Charge V Battery. When enabled the vehicle battery will be charged while 230V mains is connected. The leisure battery will also be charged at the same time”
What do they say less haste more speed!! Taken me almost 17 months to work that one out!!
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ok, that looks a good outcome....just plug in your ehu lead and all should be well.
if you have a volt meter its easy to check at the cab battery that its actually doing it....
any battery being charged should read 13.9v to 14.4 depending on system.....certainly well above 12.7 (normal fully charged level).
and youve got tne charger for back up.
good luck.
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Prescot
I have the Bailey Alliance 2019 model which is basically the Advance model with more extras. I have just had a look at my handbook and I can see no mention of charging the cab battery whilst on EHU. Despite the setting in the control panel which I understand is common to all Bailey ranges I would be inclined to follow BB's advice to check that a charge is actually going to the cab battery. Perhaps 2018 models were linked to the charger and I am wrong to be sceptical but worth checking.
David
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If I could find my voltmeter I would check it - why is when you want to find something it is never where you thought you left it?
When the Advance is not connected to the mains, in User Settings there is an option to change from Leisure Battery to Vehicle Battery and one of subsequent settings shows the battery level at 13.1 volts. Unfortunately when you switch on the mains supply the Control Panel defaults to the leisure battery and all you can see is the charge going to the leisure battery - 14 volts plus.
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"When the Advance is not connected to the mains, in User Settings there is an option to change from Leisure Battery to Vehicle Battery and one of subsequent settings shows the battery level at 13.1 volts."
this setting is to allow you to run your habitation equipment from either battery.....i guess it could get you out of a jam for a few mins if the leisure battery was dead for whatever reason...and I think it also forces charge to the selected battery should it need a boost...however you dont say which battery was selected when the subsequent setting read 13.1v
13.1 is likely to be the float level BUT you would never see this on a battery when not on hook up...except if there is another charging source connected...the solar panel?
so, if this were the leisure battery and it was reading 13.1v with no hook up then this would be what most would expect....the battery being charged by the solar panel.
now, if you can change to Vehicle battery and get a reading for that...if it were 13.1v or thereabouts, solar would be charging this, too. if it were 12.6-12.7 then its well charged....but not being charged by the solar panel.
if you can do this and control the direction of charge for solar to either battery then you have a flexible but manual system.
however, its not fully fit and forget as some manual intervention is required.
Unfortunately when you switch on the mains supply the Control Panel defaults to the leisure battery and all you can see is the charge going to the leisure battery - 14 volts plus.
cant you force the change as you described when not on ehu? again, this would give ypu some flexibility.
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Hello. I have a 2019 Marquis Majestic 275 which is basically an Elddis Accordo 275. Just to confirm it I checked the manual today and it clearly (albeit buried) states that when on hook-up the charger charges both leisure and vehicle batteries.
Mine is on my drive and hooked up and over periods greater that one month the engines starts fine, without any sluggishness.
I agree in many ways the manual is not very helpful. On the control panel there are a number of components listed, eg leisure battery on/off, vehicle battery on/off, and autobattery on/off.
Does anyone know what autobattery does please? On mine it was, until today off. Today I turned it on.
Stay safe and ready for the off when this is over.
John
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agreed, a cab battery should only need a small amount to top it back up, however trackers, alarms and immobilisers can have an effect and if the system is in place and it just needs setting should be able to manage this.
yes, if the system cant charge the cab battery then either it needs a change (usually a split charge, duall charge solar system or Battery Master) or an external source as you describe.
only the owner can decide which is the best/least hassle etc.
one advantage of getting solar set up to do this is that it opens up the ability to use non-ehu sites, aires, THS temp holiday sites, rallies etc where the 'external source' of a second charger couldnt be used.
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one advantage of getting solar set up to do this is that it opens up the ability to use non-ehu sites, aires, THS temp holiday sites, rallies etc where the 'external source' of a second charger couldnt be used.
Indeed it does. The main reason we had the solar fitted was to maintain the charge in cab and habitation batteries, as our MH is kept in storage. Our caravan never had any means of charging the battery and I had to periodically change it for my reserve, as the tracker and alarm ran it down.
However, when in France last year we made use off it for 3 nights off grid on Aires. Ones we wouldn't have even considered without. We were really looking forward to doing even more of it this year.☹️ Ah well there is always next.😀
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I used to jack up the caravan to take the load off the tyres. I'm thinking I may do the same with the MH as it looks we may be in for the long haul.
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Toolstation do some cheap sturdy axle stands ,good quality ,use for my landies
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You guys had me worried so I just tried my 2.2 litre Land Rover Freelander to see if it would start - it's been standing on the drive untouched for a full month - the battery is six years old and must be near the end of its life and I never charge it in any way. The car started at the first touch on the button. I can retire to my deckchair.
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We had a motorhome in the US for 4 years and left it at times for up to 6 months. The only way to keep the vehicle battery charged was to use a battery maintainer all the time running on mains voltage. When we moved storage and this was not available i tried a 5 A solar charger direct to the battery and this did not work in the Nevada sunshine! Vehicle radio (even switch off), alarm systems etc all use power when you are stopped.
The answer was to disconnect the battery and it held the charge being a new battery. You could also use a small solar charger direct.
The easiest way is to run the engine for 10 minutes every couple of weeks as the engine alternator will then charge it.
American RV's also had a cross over switch from the house battery for emergency start, so main solar panels (if not under cover storage) would then charge the hous ebattery an dthen you used the cross over switch
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Another thing to consider is removing the windscreen wipers. The UV tends to deteriorate the blades and they collect a lot of crud washing down the windscreen when parked up for prolonged periods.
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Following recent posts about keeping the vehicle battery, I sent Bailey Customer Services the following message:
“Reading my owner’s manual the section on the Seattle Control Panel has under Settings an option to “Charge V Battery” and an option for On or Off. When on is selected the manual says that when on the EHU the vehicle battery will be charged as well as the leisure battery. Does this feature work on my 2018 Advance 76-4. I have checked the voltage of my vehicle battery when the van is not on the EHU and it reads around 12.5V and when on the EHU it reads 13.6V. I assumed that this indicates that the vehicle battery is being charged. I ask because posts on the CAMC site suggests that the Advance and Alliance do not have this feature. Could you clear up my confusion.”
Following consultation with BCA, manufacturer of the control panel, Bailey responded saying:
“Our colleagues have advised, Yes this model does have the vehicle battery charging facility.”.
I have Advance 76-4 purchased in August 2018. The online manual for the Advance, Alliance & Autograph with the Seattle Control panel all contain a reference to vehicle battery being charged.
Hope this helps
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CY, cant you take it for a spin from this morning?
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I've SORN'd it now and blocked it to save the tyres. It'll be another couple of months before it will be worth going out to play, I reckon.
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We had to go to an appointment yesterday, so went in motorhome. Fired up first time and trip was 60 miles so a good run. Had lunch and a cuppa before return journey, 😊 We hope we’ll be able to go on the trip we have booked in July.
Emailed Marquis and they told me solar panel doesn’t charge battery on Elddis 120 Accordo Majestic outfit. I’ll discuss the options with Peugot before overwintering later this year. For now will give it a run out now and again.
Thanks again for your advice. 👍1
should be around 12.7 
