eric roberts

Leisure batteries Great and Small

Of course, this is coming up to the time of year when spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere! There is no doubt in my mind that most people feel much better about themselves. Especially when the morning gets lighter and, indeed, warmer. Although here in the UK, this is not always so!

However, as Easter approaches, families all over the country prepare for their first trip away. Be it in a caravan, motorhome, or indeed on some sort of boat or river craft, So the annual pilgrimage to their favourite destination begins. Of course, preparing their vehicle or boat comes first. Including checking over the vehicle’s mechanical and electrical equipment.

Batteries come first

Checking the 12v caravan battery is one of the first jobs to do before venturing out on the road or river. Accordingly, this reflects the large number of leisure batteries that we sell online at this time of year. Motorhome and caravan owners all have different ideas !

About their choice of battery. Including the type and brand of the best leisure battery for a campervan that you require. So, buying a battery is just the same as buying any other consumable goods.

Significantly large amounts of people prefer different options.

Buying a new leisure battery can be a confusing thing to do. Over the years there has been many developments in the leisure battery market. Specifically, dedicated batteries were introduced for the leisure industry.

So, when I first started in the industry then many people used a car starter battery. In fact some still do. Differences in battery types are not that significant. many of these vehicle owners just prefer a battery that will last them for a couple of years and then replace them with a cheap new battery.

Horses for courses-Leisure batteries Great and Small

Horses for courses is an apt term to use. Just like car batteries ! So we find that people who buy a second hand vehicle will try to replace the battery with the same one fitted to the vehicle. In fact most vehicles will be fitted with the traditional starter battery and an added camper battery setup.

Of course, to power the electrics. We then go onto the different types of holidays that these people venture away on.

So, we can all get caught up in the traffic jams that occur every bank holiday here in the UK. Yorkshire where I live can have lengthy ques stretching for miles.

Guess what half of them will be made up of weekend caravaners heading for the East Coast seaside towns such as Scarborough or Whitby? Expressly, most UK counties have a similar experience with weekenders heading for their particular seaside resorts.

These guys were the first to buy car batteries to use mainly in caravans or even older motorhomes and boats. Popular choices are the AP 110 100Ah leisure battery.

Some users prefer to buy the top brands

Generally though we tend to find that the customers with the large motorhomes want to buy the better well known brands of motorhome batteries. Primarily, I think that these people travel further. So, often, we tour remote areas of Scotland and Wales! Even venturing to other European countries, such as France, Spain, and Portugal. Accordingly, my wife and I were in fact visiting Portugal as a stop off on a recent cruise.

Henceforth our cruise ship glided into our first port of call in Portugal . “Low and behold” the first visible things that we could see were rows and rows of motorhomes lined up by the estuary.

Of course we took pictures of these for my blogs. Later that day on a coach tour outing we passed the motorhomes ! noticing that many were in fact from the UK.

These vehicles would of course require some good leisure batteries ! They were travelling where there were no electric point plugins so a good Leisure batteries Great and Small, would be essential.

Many modern motorhomes and boats now have solar panels fitted. In my opinion this is a great idea ! Especially when touring in the sunnier climes of Southern Europe. Including Spain and Portugal and not forgetting France.

Modern solar set ups require the best batteries

This in my opinion is the secret of the trouble free battery electric supply. Of course buying the best batteries in the first place. Powerful high amp batteries are a must. Consequently, this is why our Varta leisure battery range and Exide battery range are probably our most popular sellers.

Of course these Leisure batteries Great and Small are deep cycle and semi-traction batteries. AGM batteries are also a popular choice ! With brands such as Optima batteries becoming a popular choice.

But in my opinion the best advice would be to charge the batteries regularly. Especially in the winter time when most people park up their vehicle until the following spring.

Of course this brings me back to what I said earlier about some owners neglecting the Leisure batteries Great and Small over the cold winter period ! Crucially, they often leave the attached battery over the winter period without any supplementary charging.

Batteries Sulfate over the long winter break

Consequently, causing the battery voltage to drop and allowing the battery to “sulfate”. Of course sulfation is the main reason for Leisure batteries Great and Small failing after the winter period. So, once this happens it is very unlikely that the battery will ever recover.

Resulting in the purchase of a new battery. Many owners of these vehicle dont mind this ! Particularly, the people that only go away for the summer weekends usually in caravans and the smaller older motorhomes.

These days most sites that are visited have mains plugin facilities at the caravan owners disposal. So, only needing a battery to say boil a kettle when stopping on route!

The budget Leisure batteries Great and Small are ideal for these vehicles. However smart chargers are now becoming very popular. Consequently, these are known as “smart chargers” or “fit and forget chargers”. Many companies now sell these chargers including Noco and also the Numax range of a motorhome battery charger and indeed are very popular.

How to find the right battery and charger for your motorhome

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eric roberts

Managing Director at Pellon Tyre and Auto Centre trading as batteriesontheweb.co.uk

Eric has been the owner of his automotive business for over 40 years now. Running his fast fit and MOT centre in Halifax along with his wife Michelle. Later adding the online battery businesses. Batteriesontheweb,mobilitybatterystore and their Ebay store.

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eric roberts

Leisure batteries Great and Small

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