Barbarian Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Hello to all you Forum users. I have been off the Forum for some time for personal reasons but now I am pleased to say I am back and need some help. 1. I have a (02 on 51 plate) Swift Sundance on a Ducato base. I have just bought a second 85ah leisure battery identical to the one in and want to link them. The one fitted currently is under the driver seat, I want to place the second one under the passenger seat. What I need to know is, what size cable for the link? Can it be just a straight + to + - to - or do I need a fuse between? The direct space between the two is 24 inches, I will keep the link length to a minimum. Can you help? 2. We are planning to go to Italy for most of November and early December we have nowhere in particular in mind but warm areas do not have to be HOT. Any suggestions for sites, preferably with shower and electric hook up but not essential. We will be taking bikes. Thank you in anticipation! Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Use the heaviest cable you can get hold of. The negative terminal of the new battery can be connected to earth (vehicle chassis) and the positive needs to be connected to the positive terminal of the original leisure battery with a fuse near each battery. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 I would use a cable no smaller than that which goes to original leisure battery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Agree, have a look at :- http://www.motts.dsl.pipex.com/second%20leisiure%20battery.htm C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 [QUOTE]Barbarian - 2006-10-19 8:59 PM We are planning to go to Italy for most of November and early December we have nowhere in particular in mind but warm areas do not have to be HOT. Any suggestions for sites, preferably with shower and electric hook up but not essential. We will be taking bikes. Thank you in anticipation! Barbarian [/QUOTE] It all depends on how warm you need it... last Christmas my wife and I toured Tuscany and Umbria. The campsites we chose came mostly from the Caravan Club Europe book. Memorable, though, is Camping Michelangelo, nestled in an olive grove just below Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence...http://campeggiomichelangelo.interfree.it/It snowed one evening, completely covering the vans, the olive trees, the campsite and the whole of Florence. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Madge Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 [QUOTE]mom - 2006-10-20 6:21 AM [QUOTE]Barbarian - 2006-10-19 8:59 PM Memorable, though, is Camping Michelangelo, nestled in an olive grove just below Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence...http://campeggiomichelangelo.interfree.it/It snowed one evening, completely covering the vans, the olive trees, the campsite and the whole of Florence. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen![/QUOTE] Hi Mom, Been there and with the slope on the site I thought it would make a very good ski jump with the snow about. We were there in the spring and many of the pitches at the lower end of the site were waterlogged. Agree, the views are fantastic. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globetrotter Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 What fuse ratings would be used? Mine has had this conversion done before I bought it and I just want to check the installation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 Thank you to all for your speedy and very useful replies. 1. I am not sure which size fuse to use so I will go for the same size as my existing battery. The link was very handy it even gave me a diagram to follow. 2. I am looking at the sites advice given. Regards Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Fues rating is very much dependant. You will not go far wrong if you use the same fuse and cable sizes as the original battery wiring if the reason is to extend your wild camping time. BUT If you plan to fit a large inverter to power say a microwave oven then all your battery leads and fusing will need to be reassesed. If you want individual advice then hit the HOME PAGE icon at the bottom of the site page and you will find email addresses at the top of the home page for me and the Mrs. C.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 20, 2006 Author Share Posted October 20, 2006 Thanks Clive all I want to do is part one of your reply to extend our wild camping time. I decided to add a second battery when our TV went off halfway through The Bill, sad but alas true! :-( Regards Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Will Hunter come up to expectations? Will he stay on the straight and narrow? Tune in for the next thrilling installment .... Us 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 22, 2006 Author Share Posted October 22, 2006 Thanks to all who responded to my second leisure battery request. I have now successfully completed the task. Also Thanks for the sites advice in Italy, we have a bit longer to plan now as we can't get away before 6 Nov. but we will just stay away longer B-) Regards - Barbarian (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smifee Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 hi barbarian i went to italy last oct & nov. if you want it warm you will probably need to go way down south. if you do i can recommend a sosta at Ardore Marina. Parking for 6 - 8 MH's, 25 yards from the beach, water & emptying point. It's free. We stayed there the first week in November. The weather was good & the sea warm. I've got the lat & long from my sat nav if you want them. We had 45 nights away & only 4 on sites. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 23, 2006 Author Share Posted October 23, 2006 Hi Smifee Thank you for taking the time to respond. We have a SatNav so the name of the town should be enough as we tend to always enquire at the Tourist Info. office (if open) or Police for local Motrohome friendly Spots. Otherwise we look out for Marinas / (Fishing) Ports / Campsites in that order. We find that fishing ports are quieter than commercial ones. Regards - Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike.wittamore Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Just got back from a late trip to Italy. We did the Florence, Rome and Siena bit, as always they were good especially Florence. A beer on the site terrace over looking the city is magic. We found something new this year called “Cinque Terre” (top left of the boot) There are five towns squashed into small valleys in the cliffs. At the moment there is no road access, there is a train that runs in tunnels most of the time and just pops out at the town stations. You can get a day ticket (5 euros) to travel as you like hopping on and off. The cliff walk between the towns is beautiful. The part from Riomaggiore to Manarola is very easy but it gets more stressful as you go north. It’s really not to be missed but it won’t be for long as they are building a road to connect the towns. There are a lot of sites in the area. Have a good time. Mike W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Mike...Last Christmas we toured Tuscany, Umbria and the Ligurian coast. We also discovered Cinque Terre and concluded as you did, that "fabulous" doesn't really cut it. We parked as close as we could to some of the villages and walked the mile or more into each. We will be returning next year to do the train journey. Following is an excerpt from an update I do to friends and family around the world.Regards, momAs the holiday moved into it's final days, we motored up the Ligurian coast, the Italian side of the Cote d'Azur. A series of five villages, each located by the sea, forms a special area on this coast called Cinque Terre. Visiting each village in turn required miles of careful brake-burning descent from the mountains to the sea and an equally slow climb back out. But Bruce was equal to the task! This area offered perhaps some of the most rewarding scenery we have ever experienced. In one of these villages, a mile or so walk from a resting Bruce, we stood on some boulders splashed by the Mediterranean and watched the sun fall to the watery horizon and disappear from view. Though the camera was at the ready, neither photographs nor words can ever adequately describe the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 To all contributors We like the sound of 'Cinque Terre' and the 'Ligurian Coast' I have taken the plunge today and ordered the two volumes of the CC Europe books and a CCI card, so in conjunction with our SatNav we should find our way around, but of course there is no substitute for shared experience, for which we are very grateful. Hopefully we will be on our way on / about 6 Nov. (lol) B-) Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Just a word about the CC Europe books... we use them almost exclusively in Europe, especially when travelling in the winter. We never book more than 24 hours in advance, but we "do" call them at around 10 am on the day of intended arrival because occasionally, 5% in our experience, the site will be closed even though it is marked as "all year round". Ringing early in the morning gives us the chance to choose another destination while there is plenty of daylight.We particularly focus on the readers comments at the end of each description; I would say that the majority of our choices are based on these few words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Thanks for that Mom, believe it or not the books arrived today, I only ordered them yesterday afternoon! :-D We have looked at the map of Italy and decided to do it justice we need more than one trip, as we have 'only' four weeks this time we will not go as far as the Liguria region. We will just have to be brave and go back again, but thanks for your input. Regards - Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Oops! looked again at the map with glasses on, mixed up Liguria with Puglia :$ Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 [QUOTE]Barbarian - 2006-10-27 9:38 PM Oops! looked again at the map with glasses on, mixed up Liguria with Puglia :$ Barbarian[/QUOTE] Opposite ends! Puglia of course is the place for big buxom red wines, wonderful food and sun! But Liguria should be within reasonably easy reach on a 4 week trip. Unless of course you do what nearly happened to us! Get trapped in Hermitage and The Rhone on the way through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbarian Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 Hi Mom, Can you elaborate please on the getting stuck in Hermitage bit? We have not been to this area before, anything will be of assistance. We have only been as far as Northern France and Spain, Basque area, so this will be our furthest trip. Regards - Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 G'day!The "Hermitage region" is about the only place in France where specialist shiraz grapes are grown and used. Shiraz is our favourite wine! You can find it on the A7... look in deep south east France for Tournon sur Rhone, just north of Valence, which is north of Avignon, in the middle of the Rhone wine region. One of the best ways to get to Liguria, for example, is to head from Calais to Reims on the A26, then down to Troyes on the A4, picking up any champagne supplies you need along the way!!, then make your way to Dijon and Beaune, the centre Burgundy. From there, down the A6 past Lyon, onto the A7 then through the Hermitage hills, past Valence, Orange, Avignon and then on to Aix en Provence and the A10. From there along to Cannes and then you hit the coastline of the Cote d'Azure and follow through to Italy and it simply changes name to Liguria. Personally, I would give yourselves a real buzz and go as far as Pisa and visit La Torre Pendente, the leaning tower and then meander slowly back along the coast. Depending whether you are fast travellers, spending one night in an area and then moving on, or more relaxed travellers, picking a site for several nights and exploring, you may find that you have time to travel inland from Pisa and visit Florence and Tuscany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.