I have a 1999 Ford F250 diesel to carry my TC on. During the winter, I usually take the camper off the truck and store the truck in my garage. Works great, except for the battery. I am looking for some advise on trickle or battery maintenance chargers to keep my truck batteries charged during the winter. The camper is fine as it is maintained with solar.Since there are two batteries in the ford diesel I would like to know what others do to keep the batteries charged. I don't want to remove them from the truck, mainly because of my age.Thanks,Jim

15 dollars at Harbor Freight. I use two of them on the truck in the winter and one on the car all summer. Work just fine.

Solar for the truck with panels amounted on the garage roof.

A guy on a tractor forum I'm on just lost his machine to a HF trickle charger. I'd spend a few bucks more and get something better like a deltran.

They make float chargers specifically for your needs. If the batteries start in good condition one should be able to keep both topped off. For about the same price you can buy a smart charger that will bring up a battery that is partially run down and then go into the float mode when the battery is fully charged. I use one of the smart chargers on an old tractor that has a bad generator. It stays on any time I'm not using it and floats most of the time but brings the battery back up after I have been using it.I also have several vehicles that I don't use in the Winter. Instead of using float chargers on them I just top off the charge with my smart charger mid Winter and in the Spring. Sometimes just the Spring when I forget. Works for me.

Read what charger does as wording is often misrepresented. Trickle chargers are design to keep the battery topped off overnight. They have low amp, but high voltage and left for long time will boil your battery dry. I have been using THOSE HF maintainers since when they sold for 4 bucks, what makes about 25 years. But everything in this life is subject to failure, so having maintainer on, you should check it once a month. For 3-6 month dry storage I found disconnecting battery clamp the easiest and really foolproof way to go.

Trickle Charger for Ford Diesel | Good Sam Community

AnEv942
Nomad
Oct 28, 2017
Kayteg1 wrote:
The "Turns on and off as needed"
is a red flag, but you know that already?

Not sure what you mean- it doesnt actualy turn on/off, not the best wording.
But once maintainer has reached float, 12-24 hours, will stay there, holding volts @12.68.
Unless I draw down battery, then it will go back to charge mode as high as 14.4 for a few minuets to few hours, depending how much have drawn battery down.
Thats how most small maintainers function. Most are designed to use 24/7, I've never experienced one that boiled a battery. I have another Schumacher SEM1562A thats been in use for years 24/7 on our jeep.

Except the HF you mentioned, it doesnt change what its trying to push into battery. I use one in the shop to periodically charge 7amp scooter battery, about 4 hours. Left unattended it will go as high as the 15+v its capabale of and would cook battery.

I wasnt sure if the Schumacher would maintain 2 batteries but does it quite well- not a charger, thouhg will bring batteries up just not its purpose. I have parasitic drain of about 72 ma which after week of not driving batteries fall to 12.2v, 12.1v & below truck will not start.
Kayteg1
Explorer II
Oct 28, 2017
Battery maintaining voltage on float circuit is set at about 13.3V , so charger fluctuating the voltage is not a maintainer.

Forum Discussion

Trickle Charger for Ford Diesel

About Travel Trailer Group

Related Content

Solar trickle charger help

Solar Trickle charger

Trickle charger for batteries

Battery tender or trickle charger

Charging motorhome batteries with a solar trickle charger