On board Charger?....Help

[badbob]

Hi, Thanks for all the help everyone has given me . I have a new question. I just bought a '16 used Bass Tracker. It has one battery that is for the engine to start and also for the trolling motor. Should I run a seperate Battery for the trolling motor ? and also what about on=board chargers ? pros? cons?......Thanks!

[Wayne P.]

Yes, you should have separate batteries unless you want to take a chance of not starting after using the trolling motor for any lenght of time.

Two types of batteries are usually the set-up with a starting battery for the gas motor and a deep cycle battery for the trolling motor.

On-board charges are just a convenience to off-set the use of portable chargers and are available in models to charge multiple batteries.

[IDbasser]

You really should have a separate battery for your trolling motor.  I love my on board charger, my batteries are always ready, and it would be a pain to charge 3 batteries separately.

[Madhouse27]

Yeah, I'd definately have a battery that was specifically for your trolling motor. I would connect your fishfinder to the battery that starts your outboard to avoid any interference.  As far as chargers go, I've had great luck with the XPS one that I got at Bass Pro Shops. A two bank charger like you would need for your two batteries are pretty reasonable and well worth it. Nothing like backing the boat in and simply plugging it in after a long day on the water. Enjoy your new boat.