OK, so we need to work out how to fit the leisure battery, the split charge relay and the battery charger under the drivers seat and run all the necessary cables around the van.
In a previous post we ran the wires from the starter battery into the area under the seat, now we need to run the wires from here to the back of the van for all the electrics. I did a search on the forums for the best route to take from under the seat, but in the end I ran the cables up the B pillar.
In order to protect the cables I purchased some flexible 20mm conduit, which we then run up the B pillar where there is hole to give access to the back of the van,
The conduit was held in place with some self adhesive ties, but these kept moving, so these were riveted on.
The conduit was held well out of the way of the seatbelt with cable ties, all of this will be well hidden behind the trim.
The only issue I found was the conduit went up the B pillar and then back down the other side before it could exit into the rear of the van, which cause many moments of entertainment as we tried to pull cables through.
We then ran the cables along the van mid height end used these extremely useful two piece tee junctions when can be assembled around the conduit after the cable had been pulled though.
This meant all the hidden cable would be inside the conduit and reduce almost all chance of chaffing.
These were used everywhere the cable had to exit the main conduit.
A short piece of conduit was used so the cable could exit through the insulation, which will be fitted at a later stage.
We ran a piece of conduit right across the back of the van in the enclosed box section where the rear doors latch, to carry the cables from one side to the other.we tied a small weight to a piece of string and let this drop through the conduit, before it was fitted and then pulled the cables through after.
A Victron intelligent batter charger was sourced as it had very good reviews,this will be permanently connected to the distribution unit, this will monitor the battery as well as charge.
It is supposed to optimise the charging based on how the battery is being used, it also has a storage mode to keep the battery in good condition when it is not being used.
The charger has LED’s on the front to indicate state and I wanted to be able to see these, so I decided to mount it under the drivers seat at the front.
The battery charger is a bit of an odd shape so after several hours with a jigsaw and some sandpaper I made this out of some of the ply that we had removed previously.
The charger sits slightly proud of the ply, but once the ply has been carpeted, it will be a flush fit, as I only have short legs, the chances of my heels hitting this is slim.
We purchased the leisure battery from Tanya , it is a bit bigger than we would of liked, but had some very good reviews, its an Enduroline 110 Ah battery, which would be more than enough for our needs.
We originally intended to place the leisure battery front to back under the seat, but this meant it took up too much room, so we changed it to be side to side. this leaves enough room for the split charging relay and charger in the front section with plenty of room for air.
If we decide to fit a swivel seat to the drivers seat, this will effectively close off the top, so airflow will be important.
I had to import the battery strap from America as I could not find one in the UK at a reasonable price, there are two ‘Top Hat’ shaped brackets which the strap runs through, these are screwed to the floor under the mat.
The seat frame was modified at the bottom, as the battery was slightly wider than the dimension on the website, this allowed it to sit slightly further back, the top was also modified to allow easy removal of the drain tubes, these exit out through the large grommet which VW helpfully placed in this area..
The ply upstand will be carpet lined and screwed to the seat frame, then the distribution unit and fuse box will be located on this side of the upstand and a cover will be made to hide these away from prying eyes and probing fingers.
Always remember to use wire rated higher than you need, and to use fuses rated at less then the wire used.
I am hoping that the Rock n Roll bed will be here in time for the next installment.