Does anyone have any helpful hints or suggestions for the recharging of trolling motor batteries and transporting them?

I have a trickle charger. Everytime I charge a battery up, I seem to get some discharge. I do top off the battery with distilled water, but maybe I'm filling it up too much.

Also, every time I carry these batteries back and forth from my pond, I double bag them in garbage bags, yet I always seem to get some leakage into my car. When this gets wet (with water), I'm pretty sure the carpet in my car will dissolve where the battery leaked.

Thanks.

Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."