Re: [A/S] i'm looking for a good battery hookup system in my vw westfalia

["Jim Dunmyer" <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

You'd be best off to wire in a relay and very heavy wires (at least #10,
preferably #6) to connect those batteries directly to the van's battery when
the ACC line goes hot. That is, the coil of the relay would be powered by
the same circuit as your dashboard radio. Use a 40-amp circuit breaker
between the relay contact and the van's battery to protect things.

A lighter plug hookup will work, sorta: you need to use as heavy wire as
possible, but it'll still be fairly slow in recharging the batteries if
they're run down to any extent. Don't guess at what's going on, get a meter
and learn to use it.

Many people say that this or that configuration "works for me", and they're
100% correct. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll work for
someone else. Yes, the typical RV converter/charger will work for many/most
RV'ers, the manufacturers wouldn't use them if they didn't. However, they
definitely lead to short battery life and overall poor performance of your
batteries. If you're undemanding (little boondocking), they might work fine,
but if you truly USE your batteries, you'll find yourself out of "juice"
when you shouldn't be and replacing batteries that were sent to an early
death.

                                                                <<Jim>>