Here in SoCal during the summer, it's often a long, hot drive from LA to Bishop up Hwy 395.  North of Mojave there's a stretch where they encourage you to turn on the head-lights, even in day time.   

The lights, the heat, and the A/C cause my voltmeter to drop from a typical 13+ volts down to less than 12.

I would have thought that the voltage regulator would compensate for this, but apparently not.

Has anyone experienced this ?

Has anyone experimented with upgraded alternators or more sophisticated voltage regulators ?

Thanks,

Fin Beven
'90 Carat, Custom Camping Conversion
Pasadena, CA