Given all the suggestions to get a Ctek 4.3 to ensure the battery is topped up, I've looked into options to make that work in my current living situation where I don't have a garage or outside power source. The current alpha version of "the plan" is to attach the Ctek to something like a Goal Zero Yeti 400 (Goal Zero Yeti 400 Lithium Portable Power Station | | Goal Zero) and attach either a 50 or 100 watt Boulder solar array to ensure the Yeti's battery is always at 100%. The solar panel size will be based on how much draw the Ctek puts on the battery...if a 50 watt will keep it topped off while trickle charging the XKR's battery, then that's the solution, otherwise, the 100 will do the job.

The solar panels will be located on the cargo cover so that they have unrestricted access to the sun and the Yeti will be under the cargo cover in the trunk.

Does this sound feasible or am I making much ado about nothing if this is a daily or mostly daily driver?

 

If it is being driven daily for more than short runs there shouldn't be a problem keeping the battery healthy. As stated in many discussions on the forum, extended periods of non-driving or successive short operations that are taxing to the battery's charge level. I only use my tender when not driving more than 3 to 4 days at a time or when I've been out and about on short trips around town for a couple days straight.

 

You should not ever need to use a battery trickle charge on your car if you are driving it at least once or twice every couple of weeks. Even if you are doing short runs, you should still not need a trickle charger.

 

Yes, invest the charger moneys on getting it inside. Worst part about the car is keeping it clean since it looks so much better when it is.

 

Sounds good! The only time the car wouldn't be driven on a regular basis is if there was snow or ice on the ground, so I think I'll be fine for now without the charger.

 

Even if there was snow/ice on the ground, just start it up once a week and let it run for 15 minutes. That will keep the battery in good shape.

 

When you get a car just buy a new battery. Give it a full charge before installing and install it and off you go. Don't worry about the smart charger until 2-3 years down the road.

 

What year is your car? The 5.0 cars are notorious for eating batteries in a few days if not driven. Not fun to replace either. Thank you AAA.