Leaving a Defender for up to a couple of months at a time

[NorthDave]

Hi All,

I'm thinking of buying a cheapish Defender to leave at a holiday home in the Alps. I have outside space but no garage and no outside power to run a CTek trickle charger. Would the vehicle still start after a couple of months?

Is there a better way of doing things? I did wonder about taking the battery out and trickle charging inside but pretty sure the insurance will want a tracker and the alarm to be functional. Maybe I could rotate two batteries?

Thanks in advance!

I'm busily doing research but it does seem like a mine field buying these! Seem to have narrowed it down to a 110 TD5 with cold climate pack. The scare stories on the web have me a little nervous though!

[xuy]

I would be worried about it being stolen over anything else.

Buy a portable jump starter and keep charged in the house.

[NorthDave]

xuy said:

I would be worried about it being stolen over anything else.

Buy a portable jump starter and keep charged in the house.

Crime doesn't seem to be a problem over there. The french neighbours find it hilarious when we secure things.

Will constantly bumping the batteries not damage them? I figured it would have a hard life anyway in winter when the temperature gets cold. Are there battery types which are better for this kind of thing or can I over spec the battery to give it longer life and more starting grunt?

[Rollcage]

What about a solar trickle charger? Should do the job.

[NorthDave]

Rollcage said:

What about a solar trickle charger? Should do the job.

I got the biggest one of those I could see from Halfords but it didn't appear to do anything for the car in the UK (which went flat after two weeks!). Do they really work or did I just source badly?

[xuy]

NorthDave said:

xuy said:

I would be worried about it being stolen over anything else.

Buy a portable jump starter and keep charged in the house.

Crime doesn't seem to be a problem over there. The french neighbours find it hilarious when we secure things.

Will constantly bumping the batteries not damage them? I figured it would have a hard life anyway in winter when the temperature gets cold. Are there battery types which are better for this kind of thing or can I over spec the battery to give it longer life and more starting grunt?

How about a pair of Optima Batteries?

[tb1880]

If the car is secure and you're not worried about it being stolen, how about just fitting a battery isolator switch.

[NorthDave]

xuy said:

How about a pair of Optima Batteries?

Just been doing some reading and this solution looks good.

I could run a 1,2,1+2,off switch with the alarm still running in off mode? Might be worth looking at the more intelligent systems too to provide a massive cranking ampage.

Thanks for the help.

[Impasse]

NorthDave said:

Rollcage said:

What about a solar trickle charger? Should do the job.

I got the biggest one of those I could see from Halfords but it didn't appear to do anything for the car in the UK (which went flat after two weeks!). Do they really work or did I just source badly?

Have a look through this lot, but be warned some are quite expensive.

[g7jtk]

Get an extension lead and a battery charger. If it's flat when you get there plug it in.

[g7jtk]

Get an extension lead and a battery charger. If it's flat when you get there plug it in.

[MarsellusWallace]

A new battery and an isolator should do the trick.

[andyxxx]

My 10 year old Defender is never garaged(in the UK)and often left for 6 to 8 weeks and always starts first time and it's on its first battery.

[g7jtk]

I think a couple of months at a time should be on. My old D2 could stand up to 6 wheels at a time and still start on the button.