The road to freedom!

Peter Rosenthal…

…is one of MMM’s technical gurus. He enjoys nothing more than getting his hands dirty modifying and tweaking his Renault Trafic-based campervan

Former MMM Tech Editor, George Collings, coined the phrase ‘sleepy van syndrome’ to describe the issues that can occur on almost any ’van during long lay-ups. Motorhomes that are not used all year, or have been parked up during lockdown, are especially susceptible to this.

So, before you twist the key and point your motorhome towards a campsite, it’s wise to carry out a few simple checks.

It’s tempting to jump in your motorhome and fire it up – but hang on. Think about the battery voltage. If we had a pound for every tale of woe that involved low battery voltage, we’d all have retired to a large mansion.

Almost every aspect of your base vehicle and habitation equipment relies on correct battery voltage to function correctly.

In the case of your habitation batteries, do not pass go – simply plug the vehicle into the mains hook-up and leave it overnight before you test any internal system of the motorhome.

Not all motorhomes recharge the vehicle battery when they’re switched off and not all habitation charging systems also recharge the vehicle battery, so you need to check this. If your vehicle doesn’t have a starter battery charging circuit, then you can easily add one – we featured fitting a Van Bitz Battery Master in the May 2021 issue (p116), but you can also get similar systems from Votronic (via RoadPro) and Sterling.

While you could use a separate charger (like a CTEK) to recharge your vehicle battery, it’s best to have one of these automatic systems fitted as they not only work when you’re on a mains hook-up, but also divert battery to battery and solar panel