husband wishes to know, if leisure battery in van goes flat over the winter, do you need special charger to get it back into shape or can you use car battery, or will first trip out charge enough for use.
Hi DamienJayne, if you do not intend to use the van over winter, the battery should be taken home with you and kept fully charged, preferably in a cool place which is not subject to frost, and not directly on a concrete floor.
When a battery loses charge, sulphation of the internal plates starts, and can permanently ruin the battery.
A charger which shuts down to a maintainence charge when the battery is fully charged is best to use, available at reasonable cost from Halfords or any good auto electrical place.
As for the question of relying on the car to charge the battery on first trip out, it would have to be a very long journey to achieve this level of charge.