This is how I did it. Your implementation may be better than mine, no warranty is offered, given or implied, ensure that you get a qualified electrician to install this, the value of your system may go down as well as up. Small print – seriously, this stuff is for suitably qualified people only.

I have a second / leisure battery in my Type 2 T2 Crossover Bay Window van. It powers the fridge, some lights and the ignition side of the Propex gas heater. Since we are often touring, it made sense to charge up that battery when driving along. Using a system similar to the Westfalia T25, we made a slightly crude but effective system.

Parts purchased from online sites:

• 1 x 100amp relay. This is about 4cm cube / 1.5 inch cube and cost me about £7 / $10
• Some wire. Heavy wire to get to and from the positive terminals of the battery (same thickness as the existing battery cables) and lighter duty for the switched live and the earth of the relay.

The theory

• The alternator output is only live when the engine is running.
• I only want to have this system charging when the engine is running.
• Once the leisure battery is charged, stop charging.
• Use the existing regulator in the alternator
• Use some spade connectors and crimping tool already in my toolbox

This effective bit of wiring charges the leisure battery from the main battery when the engine is running. The main battery gets charged at the same time from the alternator. The alternator regulator ensures that the main battery and thus the leisure battery do not get over charged. Simples.

How it works

The relay arrived and has 4 terminals that are numbered in tiny writing. There are spade connectors for each one. I bolted the relay to a suitable place above the engine on the roof of the engine bay.
Spade terminal 85 was wired with about 4 inches of cable to the same bolt I was using to attach the relay so now we are earthed for the relay (battery earth is direct from the battery).
A new heavy wire went from terminal 87 to the positive terminal on my second / leisure battery to receive power when the system is live.
A new heavy wire went to terminal 30 from my main starter battery to be used to charge the second battery.
And finally I removed the spade connector from the top of the alternator. Then I fitted a piggy back connector to sit in between that wire and the top of the alternator to take a new wire “in the middle” but any method of getting a wire in there is valid. That wire only needs to be small, the same size as the wire coming from the alternator. This wire “tells” the relay when to open and start charging the second battery. This wire goes from the top of the alternator to number 86 on the relay.

Testing
With the heavy wire from terminal 87 NOT being connected to the second battery, it should be dead normally. I kept this held carefully and when the engine was running, I was getting over 13 volts as the relay is sending that down to terminal 87 from the main battery. Turning the engine off showed no charge coming through, so we had a proof of concept. That last wire was connected to the leisure battery and tightened down.

Due diligence
All wires were then cable tied neatly so that they do not flap about when you are driving along as it is difficult to monitor the engine bay from the driver’s seat.

In use
Because the relay is automated, there is no switch to move, it stops charging when the engine is off and the relay is solid state to reduce the chances of failure.

Benefits
We have not used an electric hook up for several years and can confidently arrive to a site with a full charge even with the fridge running all day.
It cost about £12 with all wiring.
I know how it works, so any changes can be done confidently.
It took about an hour, most of which was terminating the cables with mole grips as I am too mean to buy the proper crimping tool.

How do you bait an air cooled VW van / bus owner?

1. Is it called a bus, a van or a kombi?
2. What oil should you put in the engine?
3. What are the best tyres to use?

A bus is quite tall, rather narrow relatively speaking and quite heavy for its form factor. As such, by the time you add an interior and a few people, the high profile (70 profile) tyres supplied on the original steel wheels can end up with quite a load. In fact, this means that a standard road tyre is possibly going to be ok for you, but a high load rated tyre will be recommended by most.

In 1950, the first splitties had 16 inch rims, which reduced to the 15 inch steels in 1955. Ultimately VW moved to just 14 inch wheels by the time 1965 was reached.

A lot of web sites struggle to show you a VW Type 2 split screen from 1951 to help on correct tyre options. The Bentley manual notes that you need reinforced radial ply “tires” with a C rating. Here in the UK a 102 rating is also used for reinforced sidewalls, which would be strongly recommended rather than standard car tyres.

If you drive a modern car, you will probably be inflating your tyre to around 30psi. It may well have a narrow sidewall (the flat visible black part from the steel or alloy rim to the circle of rubber that touches the ground) of a 30 or 40 profile. Your van tyre may well have a 70 profile meaning there is around twice the distance of rubber from wheel to outside edge, adding a lot more force and impact when rolling.

Add to that the tyre pressure which is often recommended at between 55psi and 65psi depending on tyre manufacturer and recommendation plus of course the load.

All this makes for a lot of strength required on that rubber.

Also check the outer walls (visible and the other side that you can’t normally see) for cracks which can be the source of a blow out and reasons for unexpected flat tyres.

Buy the right tyres for the job.
Inflate correctly.
Check the pressures and tyre condition regularly.
Replace a tyre that keeps going down, has visible defects or as advised by a tyre specialist or your MOT tester.

Tyres are often overlooked but are a key safety device, just as important as brakes.

Now, which oil should I put in my Type 1 (upright) engine? 🙂

As the long season comes to an end and following on from last week’s winterizing, some owners may elect to cover their pride and joy with a cover.

Please. Pretty please. Pretty please with little chrome covers on. Don’t cover your expensive paint work with a tarpaulin that will get condensation inside it, press that moisture onto your bodywork and accelerate the attack on the paint and the metal underneath.

If you don’t have access to a garage or a car port that will keep most of the weather off, try to invest in a good breathable cover. Get the right one for your vehicle and make sure that the material is not flapping around, abrading where it touches.

Ideally park on hard ground that will not have standing water. Parking on grass at the bottom of the field will collect water underneath which will evaporate upwards into your van and its little cover. A breathable cover will let some or most of that collected moisture out but ideally you should remove the cover over winter every month to let things properly dry out and then put it all back to bed once more.

If possible, get a cover with straps that go under the vehicle from side to side, so that the wind cannot lift the cover off the vehicle. It is disheartening to get home from work in the dark and find your expensive van exposed to the elements and a wet cover wrapped across your hedge.

For those of you lucky enough to have a garage, a dust cover is optional but again, think about the possibility of trapped moisture pressing against the bodywork. Does a quick dusting or a nice spring time wash and wax give more benefit than the winter cover?

Got to dash, I think my van might be snoring.

The next edition of the club magazine has been finished by our Editors and looks fantastic. It should be arriving through your door soon!

Yes, it is that time again, winter is very much heading our way. For anyone with a vehicle, VW or not (apparently other vehicles are available!), winter in the UK is the worst time for metal on the roads.

Some suggestions:

Inside

Water

If you have anything containing water, drain it all out. Water tanks, boilers, kettles. Don’t just empty the tank, drain the whole system including the pipes. Remember that water in pipes still expands when it freezes, not just in the tank. It also goes stale after a period of standing. If possible take the tank indoors to keep it above freezing and/or clean it thoroughly.

We use a mild Milton solution to thoroughly clean ours including the impeller that sits in our tank and its associated pipe and electric cable. Then we rinse everything and air dry it all. Other options are available too!

Power

Leisure batteries like ambient temperatures and extreme cold will reduce their operational life. Keep them above freezing by removing them and keeping them in the garage or similar. Remember to keep the electrical contacts in the van safely insulated if applicable.

Keep those batteries charged using a trickle charger that is fit for purpose, which will also prolong their life.

Gas

Butane or propane tanks and bottles should be removed from your vehicle and stored safely with their openings closed properly – don’t leave the regulator open relying on the gas tap on the cooker as these can fail. Now is a good time to weigh them against their empty counterparts to know when you need to change them!

Boring cleaning

Now that you have opened up your van, removed the relevant tanks and bottles, you can get all misty eyed and miss the peace and tranquility of your van by getting in there and cleaning it all. It gives you a great sense of personal achievement as well as going into the winter with a nicely clean kitchen area, the fridge has been bleached and rinsed, and if applicable the bathroom, the shower and maybe the hot tub are all clean. Leave internal doors slightly ajar to keep mould and mildew at bay.

Soft furnishings

If possible, remove curtains, bedding, that emergency woollen blanket from Granny and take them indoors for a good wash or airing.

Ingress

Don’t be tempted to leave doors open or windows more than cracked open. All sorts of miscreants can get in and eat your lovely interior.

Outside

If possible store your vehicle in a garage. If that is not possible, a car port will do a similar job. A breathable cover can be good but make sure it is listed as fully breathable otherwise moist air gets under the cover, rises when things warm up and the vehicle will get wet, holding that wet against the bodywork. Avoid a heavy cover for sure!

Tyres

Tyres degrade from extreme temperatures and long periods of standing still. Winter does that very well! Inspect the tyres, check the pressures and consider putting the van on axle stands if you are not using it for a very long time, taking the wheels into the garage or shed. It also makes theft more difficult!

Moving parts

Lubricate everything. Hinges, moving parts, sliders, mechanical parts. Check the oil level. Use the right lubricant for the part in question. It will pay dividends next year and will keep water away, which is good for the life of the part.

Boring cleaning

Again, give the outside of your vehicle a proper clean, ideally by hand. Dry fully including the fiddly bits inside doors and between panels. Give it all a good quality wax polish. This also keeps water away and prolongs the panels and parts. It also makes you happy as you pass over the cold season when you don’t want to be away.

Underneath

If you are an advocate of underseal and waxoil, get the old visible stuff removed and apply new underseal to dry clean parts. The jury seems out on the benefits of underseal against the downside of it trapping moisture but waxoil or similar applied hot into cavities must be better than not applying it?

Engine

Some texts state to start your engine once a month and run it on idle for 30 minutes. More than that is not necessary and I don’t touch our air cooled engine at all.

An oil change just before the winter alongside a fuel-storage additive in the fuel tank if you like that sort of thing.

Main battery

We leave the main battery connected and the solar panel bolted to the roof of a van in a car port for the leisure battery. If that was not the case, we would trickle charge the main battery once a month over the winter. Again, this just makes sure that you don’t degrade the battery and end up having to replace it all of the time.

The next edition of the club magazine has been finished by our Editors and looks fantastic. It should be arriving through your door soon!