Right-o.  Scratch that.  My old '77 Riviera had dual batteries, too.  So,
when did dual batteries start with Vanagons?  Any body know?

Charles
'85 West

At 11:55 AM 10/11/01 -0500, Terry Kay wrote:
>Charles,
>
>A very inncorrect assumption that dual batteries started in 1986.
>
>My 74 Westy has dual batteries, and they have been kept up to a full
>charge real good with a Battery Tender.
>
>Later,
>
>             ______________
>            |[  ] [  ] [ ]\
>            |    |    |    |
>      ~~~ ~||-(())----(())-|
>
>Terry--
>74 Campmobile- (Clementine)
>85 GL- (Delilah)
>86 BMW 325 ES- (Eva)
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     "In life, it is much better to want
>something you cannot have---
>
>Than to have something you can't get rid of"
>
>(T.K.)
>
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>Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 09:36:44 -0700
>Reply-To: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
>Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
>From: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
>Subject: Re: travel to libby montana
>Comments: To: gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>In-Reply-To: <20011011155225.86826.qmail@web13908.mail.yahoo.com>
>
>Unless there's a special reason for carrying water in your tank, I'd drain
>it.  You're going to be around water anyway (you said you'd be hooking up),
>so it's added weight and trouble.  Actually, we almost never use the water
>tank regardless of the weather, carrying instead a few gallons in
>jugs.  Water in the tank is not only unnecessary weight, it also tends to
>get stale.  Unless we're going to be in the boonies for an extended time,
>we don't bother with the tank at all
>
>You didn't mention what year your rig is.  Dual batteries started with '86,
>if I'm not mistaken.  I put an isolated dual system in my '85 and built a
>charger into the system.  It's a deep-cycle RV battery which can last for
>days without recharging.  If yours is a newer model with factory installed
>dual batteries, I'd think any trickle charger would work, but someone with
>more experience should speak to that.  Are you sure you are drawing down
>your engine battery by using interior lights?  I thought there was a relay
>in newer rigs that separated the systems.
>
>Charles
>'85 Westy
>
>At 08:52 AM 10/11/01 -0700, gary hradek wrote:
>>We will be taking a trip to Libby, Montana in late
>>October.   Would it be safe to travel with water in
>>the storage tank?   I have thought to add a 10%
>>ethanol solution to the tank to prevent freezing.
>>We will be hooking up an electrical connection each
>>night.   Has anyone used a trickle charger to keep a
>>charge on the battery?   If so, what kind of charger
>>works best and can I run the charger while I use the
>>lights and radio in these very  long Montana nights.
>>Thanks gary
>>
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