Parking Cali for 5 months

aileen · Oct 20, 2013

Hello all I wonder if any of you could give me advice. I will soon be leaving to spend the winter in Thailand and the Cali will be parked in my garage. Naturally I don't want the batteries to go flat and I don't have anyone that could come by and start the van regularly. I plan to hook up to electricity but think that will only charge the leisure batteries so I bought a CTEC battery charger and thought of leaving that attached while I am gone.
Does this plan sound feasible, is it alright to leave it hooked up for that length of time. Anyone have any experience? I am not clear if the main electricity hook up gives a charge to the main van battery as well as the leisure batteries or not. I phoned a VW dealer and he said he thinks it only gives a partial charge to the main battery. I hope I have made this clear.
Thank you all for any info.
Aileen on road.

frigorifix · Oct 20, 2013

Would it work if someone just started it on a regular basis? Without driving it I mean.

Retiredron · Oct 20, 2013

This looks ideal for long term storage :thumb

www.ctek-chargers.com
Ron

Californiaman · Oct 20, 2013

I believe the hook up on facelift models does charge the main battery. I'm not sure if the hookup connected and a ctek charger will confuse things or not. The ctek being an intelligent trickle charger will probably sort itself out. I don't imagine that being on hookup for 5 months will be a problem.

Starting it and just warming it up without driving it probably isn't - good idea. Making sure the tyre pressures are good (probably on the high side) would also help.

aileen · Oct 20, 2013

Thank you all for taking time to answer. The charger I bought is one of those good CTEC ones and also thanks for the hint on making sure that the tires are well inflated - good point. I'll contact another VW dealer and find out if that main battery is charged via the electricity hookup or not. My model is a new one this year so is post facelift.
Aileenonroad.

igmac · Oct 20, 2013

don't forget to leave your handbrake off, stop it seizing.

Ian

aileen · Oct 20, 2013

Thanks Ian, I didn't know that.

keredewor · Oct 20, 2013

My Cali is in constant storage, I hook up on mains and have a carcoon charger on the engine battery as that is NOT charged through the hook up, it works perfectly for me as I store it each year from now (end October) until May next year, never been a problem for over the past 5 years.................other than not driving it as it should be driven..........

smgcowfoldparts · Oct 21, 2013

Battery conditioners are fine for long period of use, My Dad has used one for months on end keeping a car battery topped up. Hook up will charge the main vehicle battery, but I don't think it would charge it from flat for example.

If someone does start it and not drive it then leave the sidelights on as well as this will help charge the battery as well.

cheers

aileen · Oct 22, 2013

Thanks especially for the last two posts. Most reassuring.

Cody · Oct 24, 2013

Wouldn't the bigger problem be flat spots on the tyres after being sat for 5 months? Certainly an issue with my motorbike tyres which I turn regularly over the winter but perhaps the 'commercial ' tyres of a Cali aren't as affected.