Cherry - The build!

[Sniggib]

Hi All,

So its time for our build thread!

We have had our van Cherry (T6 LWB, cherry red!), aka Shushan (an odd joke based on a Jonny English film if memory serves) for a couple of years. Kitted out with a very basic home built bed, with the rear as a bike garage / mucky area.

But the time has come to make her into more of a camper!

So I will post up the progress as I go from planning through to kitting her out. Hopefully it will be of use for others in future, and it will allow me a place to post my many, many questions along with a bit of a record for myself.

Cheers,

Sniggib (Matt)

 

[Sniggib]

First off it has been the electrics!

Here is my wiring diagram;




Things I am currently unsure on are:

- Do I really need two leisure batteries? Our daily amp draw (winter) will be about 12Ah per day. So a 110Ah battery should last us a few days without charging up via split charge or solar (not that solar will be much good in winter)

In summer the solar kicks in and will counteract the fridge and generally give us more charge.

My issue is mounting two batteries, which would have to be in a cupboard behind the drivers seat, thus taking up more space.

Real world experiences appreciated!

- Then it is which Leisure battery, I am currently looking at;

12V 130AH Leoch Adventurer AGM Leisure Battery (LAGM130) NCC Class A - Alpha Batteries (alpha-batteries.co.uk)

12V 110AH Xtreme AGM Leisure Battery (XR1750) NCC Class A - Alpha Batteries (alpha-batteries.co.uk)

Motorhome Leisure Battery AGM LP120 120ah 5 Year Warranty | eBay

Any other suggestions or opinions welcome!

Cheers,

 

[Sniggib]

Stripping out the old....

 

[Sniggib]

Decides on batteries!

Gone for;

2 x AGM LP100 100ah Popular Caravan Battery Leisure Type (85ah Replacement) | eBay

Planning to mount them both vertically. They are 190mm tall so should just get away with this under the drivers seat, length is 315mm so this will allow them to poke up just a little into the space between the rails of the seat without catching. One will be under the drivers seat, the other will be directly behind the drivers seat in a small cupboard.

The plan;



Any advice on what size cable I need to connect the two together? Thinking 35mm2 battery cable?

 

[RayF]

If you’ve not seen this cable sizing guide, you might find it helpful
Cable sizing and selection | 12 volt planet

 

[Sniggib]

Thanks @RayF yes I have been using that to work out and order my wiring.

Where I am getting confused for the batteries is that my CTEK kit comes with 10mm wiring, but I presume that it because the CTEK will only pull 20 amps.

So I then think I need heavier cable between the batteries. They will be sited next to each other so max length is say 1m, I presume that if they are 90Ah batteries, their max amps is 90A if they tried to 'charge each other' to balance out? This is the bit I wanted to check.

So on that basis I could use 16mm2 cable, but other posts I have read and 'battery connector kits' seem to utilise heavier 35mm2 cable. Tempted to go for the heavier 35mm2 just to be safe, though 25mm2 170A is half the price.

I will then be putting a fuse between the batteries to protect them. Again with the batteries being 90Ah, and if I opt for the 35mm2 cable at a rating of 240A I think I will put in a 125A fuse.

Cheers