Hi,
I've spent some time living off grid, getting my electricity from some Trojan deep cycle batteries charged with solar panels through a controller. I'd like something similar for my newly acquired Transit.
The Transit has two batteries under the driver's seat. I'd like to install a deep cycle battery, and have that charged from the alternator and also charged via a solar panel with a controller (I want to run laptops, fridge, lights for days at a time without running the engine). I want to replace the second (non-starting) battery currently in place with a deep cycle battery.
I see that Ford supplies a deep cycle battery - does anyone know the cost of that? And has anyone found a cheaper or better alternative?
I'm guessing that when the engine is running, the two batteries are charged in parallel, and when the engine is stopped, the batteries are isolated from each other. I'm thinking of leaving all the battery connections as they are, but adding the output from the solar controller to the deep cycle battery. Can anyone see a problem with that?
Thanks in advance. I'm new here, but I've searched through the threads looking for these answers.