Has anyone fabricated an extra battery rack?

[roaming]

I'm researching solar options for my '02 41 Select, and I'd like to add additional battery reserves for boondocking. The factory battery compartment doesn't leave any additional space for me as the 4x6v house and 2x12v chassis batteries take up pretty much all of the usable space.

I was wondering if anyone has added additional house batteries to their coach, and if so, how and where you added them?

Thanks!

[kketterling]

I relocated the two chassis batteries to the engine compartment and that freed up space to add 4 additional house batteries. Not sure if you have room in your engine compartment to do this or not.

[roaming]

Oh that is BRILLIANT! I hadn't even thought of that option. I'll definitely find space to relocate the chassis batteries, I just need to keep all of the house batteries together due to minimizing the losses from the solar.

Thanks a ton for the quick reply, this definitely changes my thought process around how I'm going to move forward!

[slabman]

My all electric 45 ft. Alante has 8 house batts lined up along the top of the compartment with 2chassis batts below.. Do you think you have room for this arrangement? You could move one slide out tray and mount another alongside.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kketterling I relocated the two chassis batteries to the engine compartment and that freed up space to add 4 additional house batteries. Not sure if you have room in your engine compartment to do this or not.

That's what I'm thinking of doing also. The chassis batteries are no/low maintenance and the four house batteries are Interstate U-2200's. The house batteries do need distilled water. All of them are now on a rollout tray but I've ever touched the chassis batteries for service in 9½ years now. I think they're that same size as the house batteries so I'd just need to fabricate mounts and longer cables.

Oh yes, I did add 4 oz of mineral oil to each cell of the house batteries, and they are 9½ years old now and doing just fine.

[BigV]

I built a rack between the frame rails in front of the radiator. Holds 4 golf cart batteries. I'm a little concerned with them being there going down the road in freezing weather.

I'm actually thinking of relocating everything to the back and removing the spare tire. My power distribution and charger are in the rear. It would make sense to move the house batteries and the inverter to the rear. All the cabling would be shorter. Just have to figure out a slide to pull the batteries out from the opening. Without the spare in there is room for at least 8 golf cart batteries which is what I want to increase to.

[roaming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slabman My all electric 45 ft. Alante has 8 house batts lined up along the top of the compartment with 2chassis batts below.. Do you think you have room for this arrangement? You could move one slide out tray and mount another alongside.

Exactly what I'm thinking. Taking the 2 chassis batteries out of that top tray like Ken did for the additional 4 house batteries. Right below that is a spot where I can put the chassis batteries sideways so they are fore/aft instead of abeam as they are now. I won't be able to put a slide-out tray for them, and they'll be a pain to get to, but they're AGMs so they don't need all of the tender loving affection that the wet house batteries do anyway I'll get a couple pics and start drawing out the tray once the sun comes up here.

Thanks again everyone!

[BigV]

Just realized this is a brand specific area. lol.

That is what I get for hitting "New Posts" from the menu.

[slabman]

Fleming Sales - Trays

Here is the outfit that supplied some, if not all, of the TS slides. You should be able to find one to suit any of your needs. If you need any more dimensional help, let me know.

BTW....the U-2200's will be slightly different in size from the chassis batts...Gp31's.

[Mekanic]

I got a (2) extra batt trays from a guy that was getting ready to scrap some med duty trucks. THey just bolt to the side of the frame rail. THey hold 2 group 31 commerical batts each.
I haven't installed mine yet.
The one from a Ford truck was heavier than the others, you could cut it and mod it to take 3 or 4 batts easy. THe side bracket part of it is 1/2 inch thick.

[roaming]

I was thinking about building a box like shown below (just drew the lines in Paint, so cut me a little slack ). the side brace can be cut and welded to the box, or i can make the panel at the rear removeable so the batteries can be slid out towards the rear of the coach.
The biggest downside I've found to the RV lifestyle is giving up my tools - no TIG, no MIG, no plasma cutter, no chopsaw, now I have to pay someone to do all the things I'd rather do myself :(

[slabman]

Jim, most guys like you just pick up a 24-28 ft. trailer and bring their stuff with them. I've seen 'em with stackers, generators and even air conditioning in them along with the full complement of tools. OH, even bring along the car! While not as extensive as you, I travel with a very full tool box and continue to be amazed by how much of it I use almost daily. Makes me wonder how those with only a hammer and screwdriver in their rigs can even function.

As for your idea, it looks feasible, although if this is a 45 ft. rig, I think the chassis batts can fit one behind the other...maybe push that exhaust further back? While I know you'd love to work with the existing, you COULD pick up two new slide-out trays and get all 8 house batts installed along the top. Or maybe cut down that tray, fab. it into two trays with another pair of glides and accomplish the same?

[roaming]

We emptied the garage, sold the race trailer and ALL the goodies when we went full-time :( Now I'm down to one large toolbox filled with the bare automotive essentials and one for household essentials.
This is a 41' rig, and that top battery tray doesnt' leave any wiggle room on the sides to extend it wider, hence the need for the lower tray. While I was just doing math in my head, I realized that only 2 additional 6V would fit on the upper tray also due to the size, that throws a bit of a monkeywrench into my works.

The CFO keeps me on a budget too, I'd have to present a ROI case for the capital expenditure for the trays, so I'm probably stuck with something hard-mount.

[BryanL]

re: "Oh yes, I did add 4 oz of mineral oil to each cell of the house batteries, and they are 9½ years old now and doing just fine."

Do you realize that the implication of this is that you don't really have a significant need to increase your battery bank size?

re: "but they're AGMs so they don't need all of the tender loving affection that the wet house batteries do anyway "

since they are sealed batteries, they need a bit of extra TLC, especially in the area of charging and maintenance equipment. to avoid permanent damage.

re: "The house batteries do need distilled water."

if the batteries need more than just a topping off every year or so, the implication is that they are being over charged. This is usually do to poor storage maintenance but can happen as a result of primary re-charging going a bit overboard too often.