Community Forums

Moira · 04-28-2019, 12:53 AM

If anyone has a picture of your (Monaco) Detroit Series 60 with the extra batteries mounted in the engine compartment, I would be very grateful to see those.

I am on a add a residential frig thread and we are trying to figure out where and how to put the additional batteries. I have a Cummins but it should be similar I hope.

thank you

djhinds · 04-28-2019, 05:51 AM

My Detroit 60 has the 2 starting batteries on the bottom pull out tray and 4 Lifeline coach batteries on the top tray. My coach is a 43' coach and there would not be enough room for batteries in my engine compartment. I have seen coaches with both Cummins and Detroit 60 engines with 4 batteries in the horizonal bin to the back of the big battery compartment on a tray. It had 4 coach batteries installed there. I have also seen starting batteries installed in the engine compartment of a 45' coach as there is more room there. My coach is setup to put more batteries in the back horizonal bin as I have seen cutouts for battery cables to come thru. There would be room for 4 more batteries if I wanted. I have a residential fridge and induction cooktop and never needed more battery capacity. The fridge does fine all night boondocking and if we need the microwave or the cooktop I start the 12.5 generator.

Good luck
Dave

Moira · 04-28-2019, 09:14 AM

"I have seen coaches with both Cummins and Detroit 60 engines with 4 batteries in the horizonal bin to the back of the big battery compartment on a tray."

Do you mean in a storage compartment that is right aft of the battery compartment like this?

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The 2003 Signature does not have a aft compartment. They have to go in the engine compartment and I would just like to see where and how they did that.

thanks

Windecker · 04-29-2019, 09:52 AM

My 05 is what your looking for. What exactly are you needing? How the mount is made, sizes, measurements?

Happy yo help.
Windecker

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Moira · 04-29-2019, 11:24 AM

Thank you Winddecker,

It looks like they are mounting right behind the coach bumper which I guess is fiberglass or something.

There is not a lot of room in the engine compartment but I would imagine someone fabricates a tray of sorts and attaches it to something solid underneath it. What is it mounted onto?

Question 2,
But then the wires have to route to that side compartment because thats where the battery disconnects are and all the stuff that connects to the chassis batteries like alternators, cab stuff, inverter, solar etc. This is a big mystery to me. Is it just a matter of routing one big red wire and connecting it to the back side of the disconnect??

thanks again!

Windecker · 04-29-2019, 11:35 AM

I'm not in a good place to get pictures right now but happy to if needed at a later time.

There is a tray that is made from hefty steel plate material that is sitting on a couple of steel tubes that are welded in by the draw bar area.
Pictures will help you with this...
I would think that you could relocate your Chassis battery cable easy enough and leave your disconnect switch where it is if you want.
I assume alternator wire would be moved as well and maybe shortened.

Your effort will all be design and tray fabrication, wires are a snap.

Let me know what you need...
Windecker

RobRoy · 04-30-2019, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moira

If anyone has a picture of your (Monaco) Detroit Series 60 with the extra batteries mounted in the engine compartment, I would be very grateful to see those.

I am on a add a residential frig thread and we are trying to figure out where and how to put the additional batteries. I have a Cummins but it should be similar I hope.

thank you

This is on my HR Navigator ( Monaco Signature) with a 500cid ISM

Two shelves of house batteries 4 + 4

Chassis Batteries mounted in the rear engine compartment

( these are old pics when I bought the coach. The house battery
compartment has been refurbished since and new batteries installed )

Hope this helps.

Happy Trails

1CoolZ71 · 04-30-2019, 11:28 AM

I have the same setup as RobRoy in my "all electric" 45' Navigator with the Detroit 60

Moira · 04-30-2019, 06:51 PM

I just took a good look in the engine compartment and there doesn't seem to be any place to mount a tray. Directly in front of my engine is the fiberglass. There is also some real big wire bundles down there.

Moira · 05-09-2019, 07:58 PM

UPDATE,
looks like I will be putting off getting the refrigerator. I don't have anyone who will do it for me. And its getting very close to leaving for the summer. Also I am hearing a lot of people using 4 6v golf cart batteries like I have and they are ok with that. I think I would like more though just for good measure. I can only add 2. Also someone told me that my 2500w pure sine inverter would not run the frig and everything else so I might be looking at getting one of those too. I am going to be boon docking so the only other thing that will be on is the TV and sat and some lights. We have a propane stovetop. If I have a/c on that means I am plugged in at a campground so does the inverter matter then?

Woodman018 · 05-09-2019, 08:17 PM

Moira,
We have the Samsung french door residential fridge and is is very efficient. It is rated at 1.1 amps max. I checked it with my amp meter about 10 minutes after I started it one day and it was pulling 1.2 amps so at 12 volts it is pulling around 12 amps and it doesn't run that often once it is cooled down. It is a great improvement over the norcold.
Dave

RobRoy · 05-10-2019, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moira

UPDATE,
looks like I will be putting off getting the refrigerator. I don't have anyone who will do it for me. And its getting very close to leaving for the summer. Also I am hearing a lot of people using 4 6v golf cart batteries like I have and they are ok with that. I think I would like more though just for good measure. I can only add 2. Also someone told me that my 2500w pure sine inverter would not run the frig and everything else so I might be looking at getting one of those too. I am going to be boon docking so the only other thing that will be on is the TV and sat and some lights. We have a propane stovetop. If I have a/c on that means I am plugged in at a campground so does the inverter matter then?

IIRC the orignal owner of my coach said he had to swap out the inverter to a 3000 watt when he installed the house refrigerator because it would trip the circuit breaker often.

A friend of mine who does a lot of boondocking is running 4 6vdc golf cart batteries and says does so with no issues. Im sure the inverter load can be estimated with the frige on and determine by the AH of the batts of where you stand.

My frige runs off off direct power when the coach is plugged into 110vac and I have to turn the inverter on when not plugged in.

Hope this helps

Happy Trails

For what it's worth , I was told long ago that keeping the refrigerator full helps with less run time, we keep lots of bottled water both in the frige and freezer for that reason and also that I wont drink or make food with campground water supplies...I just dont trust them.