5 Trickle Chargers to Keep Your Vehicle’s Battery Primed and Ready for Action

Batteries can be very temperamental creatures. They require proper electrical flow and optimal temperature ranges to work their best. If these conditions aren’t met, batteries can get grouchy. Like a “You’ll be late for work today” sort of mood. Not to mention they’re one of the more frequently replaced items under the hood throughout the life of your vehicle. So here at the Gear Team, we strive to keep our batteries happy.

During normal, frequent driving conditions, your alternator keeps your battery in a good mood by providing optimal recharging voltage and amperage. Together, they’re a dream team. But as soon as you park your vehicle, the battery discharges over time. The discharge rate varies a bit, depending on the battery’s age, quality, temperature, and level of sulfation in the cells.

So enough scary talk about perishing batteries—how can we prevent this? Well, if you plan to have your vehicle sit for a month or more, it’s time to invest in a trickle charger. These handy tools keep a battery at its optimal charge automatically. Just clip the claws on the terminals, set the battery type and desired charging input, plug it in, and walk away. Easy as that. To prevent overcharging your battery and damaging it, trickle chargers feature a regulator that provides an auto-shut-off function that also allows them to kick back on once discharge is detected.

Trickle chargers are essential for folks who store their vehicles during winter or decide to leave their car behind during a long vacation. These trickle chargers are much cheaper than paying for a new battery. Now, if you’re using one on a car in storage, we recommend to get a high-quality one that’s meant for long-term use. Aside from normal cars and trucks, you’ll definitely want to run trickle chargers on your other toys, like boats, motorcycles, and other powersports vehicles that don’t stretch their legs regularly. If your battery is planning to sit for longer than a month, we recommend the trickle charger route.

So in short, keeping your battery at its optimal charge is essential to prolonging its longevity. Snag one of these top-rated trickle chargers to prevent having to replace a battery too soon and ensure no surprises when you get home and try and fire up your ride. For the infrequent driver, these are a great investment.

Top Rated Portable Jump-Starters