Community Forums

BobKomar · 12-01-2011, 04:46 AM

Fleetwood decided to park the house battery in the nose with the chassis battery. Of all the dumb places! This puts it to far away from anything weather tight to install a solar charge controller and not have to run far to much wire from either the panels on the roof, or the controller to the battery. It also makes it hard to add battery to the mix.
Has anyone relocated the house battery? Mind sharing some tips?

Old Bounder · 12-01-2011, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobKomar

Fleetwood decided to park the house battery in the nose with the chassis battery. Of all the dumb places! This puts it to far away from anything weather tight to install a solar charge controller and not have to run far to much wire from either the panels on the roof, or the controller to the battery. It also makes it hard to add battery to the mix.
Has anyone relocated the house battery? Mind sharing some tips?

I haven't relocated mine, but I have added a second set of GC-2s to the front half of the bay just aft of the entry door. The addition required the installation of a sealed (and vented) battery box. To mitigate the distance (and cable lengths) between the battery sets, I installed my Inverter/Charger in the bay just behind the right front wheel (the lower half of this bay is the propane tank on my 34V. The result is equal length cables to/from the Inverter/Charger between each battery set.
The bay chosen for the I/C is a convenient place for monitor/controller connections to be made. The wires can be fed directly up the interior wall to the cabinet wall with all the disconnect and associated switches currently mounted there. I have my TriMetric Monitor and I/C Control Panel mounted there.
I have photos that might be of limited value to you if you are planning similar changes.
BTW - I don't share your opinion that the OEM placement of the batteries (behind the grill) was/is a poor arrangement. The proximity to the chassis battery and the BCC is both logical and convenient.

BobKomar · 12-02-2011, 05:27 AM

I'll have to look into battery boxes. I have never seen a sealed/vented unit that fits a pair of 6 volt batteries, that is what I'm hoping to use.

Old Bounder · 12-03-2011, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobKomar

I'll have to look into battery boxes. I have never seen a sealed/vented unit that fits a pair of 6 volt batteries, that is what I'm hoping to use.

Here's the one I used. It can be easily sealed around the cable access holes with Eternabond or wide electrical tape. I added a flexible vent hose (to the outside) to the lid. Dyno Batteries DNO BATBOXGC2B Boat Battery Boxes & Trays Box For 2 Dyno Gc2B W/ 2 Straps Here's a photo of how it fits in the bay. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15918372/100_0728.JPG

Sonnydale · 12-03-2011, 12:50 PM

I did this to our 1994 Bounder, which I don't own any more. I did this because I wanted to add an Inverter and hence the problem of the batteries being to far.
I moved them to the storage unit next to the generator. I used a plastic battery box that accommodates 4 6V batteries. I also added some steel straps that cradled the storage box on the outside to strengthen it as the batteries are very heavy.
The straps tied to the frame. Here are some pictures I took when I was selling it. Hope this helps.

nbounder · 12-05-2011, 08:37 PM

It isn't nice to cuss out father Fleetwood. He did what was best in 1998. If it's that much of a problem to you, stop cussing and start looking for a newer rig. My '95 has the same battery placement, and I think it's just fine.

BobKomar · 12-06-2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbounder

It isn't nice to cuss out father Fleetwood. He did what was best in 1998. If it's that much of a problem to you, stop cussing and start looking for a newer rig. My '95 has the same battery placement, and I think it's just fine.

I am happy about everything but the battery placement, and Fleetwood's poor choice of rubber fuel line for the generator run.

I use my Bounder far from the hook up life style of camp grounds, so I demand more out of my battery set up, and would like to add solar charging and a inverter. While I spend a lot of my time at the dunes where a running generator wouldn't be noticed, I also enjoy the woods, where it would be noticed.

Old Bounder · 12-07-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobKomar

I am happy about everything but the battery placement, and Fleetwood's poor choice of rubber fuel line for the generator run.

I use my Bounder far from the hook up life style of camp grounds, so I demand more out of my battery set up, and would like to add solar charging and a inverter. While I spend a lot of my time at the dunes where a running generator wouldn't be noticed, I also enjoy the woods, where it would be noticed.

I also installed a large "whole house" inverter when I added the second set of batteries. The placement of the original batteries was not a problem, then-or-now. Is everything that has failed since 1998 the result of a poor Fleetwood choice?

BobKomar · 12-08-2011, 12:13 AM

No, Fleetwood is just the coach builder. They decide what systems to install and where on the coach. The systems are manufactured by other manufacturers.

They did choose the battery location that makes little sense unless you are on shore power or the generator most of the time. Maybe the market that the Bounder was aimed at uses the Bounders like this? Maybe I was driven by having more basement storage than other coaches? I don't have these answeres, but I do know that the current location doesn't work well for what I want to do. If it works well for you, then carry on.

The fuel line issue is one of thoes, it is what it is kind of problems. I'm sure that Fleetwood knowingly installed fuel line that had such a short life span. The rest of the coach is made well, and I don't think Fleetwood would have got rich off of going with a slightly cheaper fuel line. I do suspect that the supplier withe had a bad lot, or tried to make a few bucks with a lower bidder.

The 7.4 Vortec is know to have leak prone injectors and failure prone fuel pressure regulators. Guess what I'm going after Christmas? Changing a bad fuel pressure regulator and injectors. Im not 100% sure what system failed, but I'm replacing both while I have the upper manifold off because I don't want to have to do it again. The cure for the leak master GM injectors is to go with 5 liter Mustang injectors. This is also not Fleetwood's fault.

I am more than happy to cure the parts of my Bounder that don't work for me as over all it is a great Coach. But I belive I have the ability to question Fleetwood's thought processes on the battery placement in this case, as it only really makes sense if you are hooked to a power pole most of the time.