LRDG Wireless set up

[Charlie Down]

I recently got sent a photo of a Y Patrol Wireless truck in connection with something unrelated (apologies the photo is from a private collection and I can’t post it).
The photo showed a wireless operator sending/receiving a signal on his No11 set. What struck me was that the other truck (Chevrolet 1533X2) was parked so close to the wireless truck. It reminded me of another well-known photo of an identical arrangement (attached). The trucks only just allow the operator to fold down his work shelf and stand in front of it with his back to the other fender. The trucks are aligned so that the driver’s seats are as close as possible to each other. It’s a very cramped set up considering they have hundreds of miles of empty desert to park in, and that they should be dispersed for camouflage, and so they present a minimal target should they be spotted by aircraft, as seen in most photos of a Patrol laying up for the night
So it strikes me that there had to be a reason for it. It is too deliberate and precise to be chance.
In front of the driver’s seat on the floor panel is a battery inspection hatch. The arrangement reminds me of how you would place 2 vehicles to jump start one of them. So is this a Wireless power issue, or a wireless causing flat batteries and the other truck is on standby to jump start it? Would the use of the Wireless cause the battery to loose so much charge that it would need jump starting? If so what is the point of the spare battery on the side step of a wireless truck? Or is it for some completely different reason?
My knowledge of WW2 Radios is limited so hopefully someone with greater knowledge/experience can chip in.
Something else I noticed that I didn't expect is that the aerial is connected to the wireless only when the wireless is in operation and is plugged into the front of the wireless and out the front of the wireless compartment. I have always assumed the aerial and cables were 'properly' wired into the body, through various holes in panels and eventually the wireless. This set up means that the Patrol couldn't send/receive messages when on the move (ignoring the issue of connecting headphones into the wireless at the same time!).

Picture24.jpg