How to operate rusted house battery pullout tray

[ladyrvr66]

My 30' 2008 Holiday Rambler Augusta has a pull out tray for the two house batteries, which is very badly rusted. How do you operate this? I never received complete manual when I purchased motor home. My previous motor homes didn't have slideout trays and I don't want to force or break anything by using to much pressure. I have WD'd 40 it and also used slideout lube on it to make it easier to move. Just don't want to do anything wrong.

Ladyrvr66, Bubbles (blind toy poodle) & Heidi (1 year old german shepherd)
2008 30' Holiday Rambler Augusta

[whitetop]

There should be some type of retainer on the slides for the tray. A picture would great if possible.

[mrrving]

I had the same problem on my 2008 Jayco Greyhawk 31SS. My was rusted shut and would not slide. RV technicians sprayed the tracks with lube that road dust would not stick too. Do not remember what they used, but with them pulling on the handle and one pushing from behind it finally moved. I would check my battery' water levels monthly so I would test the slide mechanism. I would also get a white powder build up which added to the problem. Occasionally I would have to crawl under the RV and tap the back of the drawer with a hammer to get it to move.

[clyon51]

As white top said, there is a locking mechanism to keep the tray in place during travel. On My Monaco, the very front across the entire tray is a handle. You pull on the handle, it lifts unlocking the tray, then just pull it out. Of course with the weight of the batteries and rust/corosion on the slides, it will take some effort.

[dpinvidic]

Pictures would be a big help

Dan

[RobRoy]

Does it look like this?



If so? stick your fingers under that bar ( yellow arrow) lift up and pull out. It's heavy and if like most coach's very neglected and requires attention and might me hard to pull.

Although this pic is a poor one .... I maintain this area at least every 90 days.

Wash the complete center and batteries with hot water.

Maintain Battery water level with distilled water.

Cables and connections for tightness

Cables for proper routing and chaffing.

Lubricate slide rails with spray dry slide

Happy Hunting

[patmsp]

When I replaced my batteries i cleaned the trays with baking soda paste and wire brushes. After it was clean and dry I sprayed the trays with pickup truck bed liner. A thick rubbery sort of glop. It's held up pretty good for the past 3 years. I sprayed all the posts with the red battery spray to reduce corrosion and I also added a quick fill water system that reduces the amount of corrosion that normally accumulates on the tops of the batteries.

[RobRoy]

Originally Posted by patmsp

When I replaced my batteries i cleaned the trays with baking soda paste and wire brushes. After it was clean and dry I sprayed the trays with pickup truck bed liner. A thick rubbery sort of glop. It's held up pretty good for the past 3 years. I sprayed all the posts with the red battery spray to reduce corrosion and I also added a quick fill water system that reduces the amount of corrosion that normally accumulates on the tops of the batteries.

I like the bed liner idea as most are urethane based and pretty much bullet proof if applied correctly, thanks for the idea and a future project.

For corrosion maintenance, I use a garden pump pressure sprayer with a mix of baking soda and water and rinse with hot water. Then use a box fan to dry it out and then lubricate the slides as necessary.

I use no chemical on the terminals I have found that it does nothing more than collect all kind of debris and dirt. Cable corrosion happens for a reason and in most cases IMO it's improper charge rates or by over filling,

The reason I pay close attention to my battery center maintenance is that the original owner did not, and it was a big surprise to me and a mess to deal with when I dug into it.

Once maintained it takes little time to keep up with

[distaff]

You are getting good advice. The front bar is the catch/release mechanism. I removed mine completely from the coach - batteries are heavy so that was actually the most difficult part.

I cleaned them with a wire brush and cleaned the tracks with soap and water, then oiled them with a dry silicon lubricant. Lots of different brands - WD 40 now sells one.

While I had my trays out I was really surprised at how open the compartment was. You can see in RobRoy's picture a large gap in front of the bottom tray. It is even more apparent when the trays are out. Huge gaps for stones and road spray from the rear tires to coat the batteries.

I bought some stiff plastic sheeting and cut it to fit the gaps and riveted them in place. I used a bit of angle aluminum to form bottom corners to give a place for it to anchor.

Last thing, I float about 4 ounces of mineral oil (any pharmacy sells it) on each of the 6V cells. This reduces dramatically the amount of acid that gets released as an aerosol during charging. I've had very little corrosion since and the bay isn't clean, but it isn't full of gravel after a winter drive.

[ladyrvr66]

I have some pic's to send, but have no idea how to send them to irv2 to you. It wants the url to where my pic's are. And I am a dummy when I was asked that. Can I send pic's thru email or is that allowed?

[distaff]

To attach pics from your computer ignore the "picture" icon (looks like a mountain with the moon rising), and click on the paperclip icon. Then "Choose a file" will open a view of your file manager and you can select the picture you want.

When you have selected the pictures you want, click on "Upload".

[distaff]

Just checked my batteries today. I haven't looked at them in 6 months. Haven't done anything to them in a year.

The deep cycles are down maybe an 1/8th of an inch, I will add some water. The connections are all clean (as you can see). My starter batteries are showing a little corrosion - but I didn't float oil on them.

Normally the deep cycles would be a mess from acid being boiled off, but you can see the benefit of floating some mineral oil.

Last, my batteries are a little dirty, but given that I drive in winter weather for extended periods, I'm very happy with the condition. I used to find piles of road sand and gravel in my battery area before I closed some of it off.

Since I've closed the battery box in (not completely, but more than before) I'm seeing more corrosion on the starters than I used to see, so I'll probably float oil on them now. They didn't used to build up corrosion because they are generally charged while driving, but with less air flow into the box they are starting to corrode faster.

BTW - kind of annoying that the import of the pictures inverts them, but you can see what I'm pointing out.

[ladyrvr66]

Do you think I have a chance of fixing this problem?? Thanks so much for your help

ladyrvr66 - Bubbles & Heidi

[distaff]

I think you need to buy new ones. There is no structure left.

If you can, get any info off the tray and try to find a replacement. I know that Visone part out a lot of wrecks - RV Components | Visone RV RV Parts | rvcomponents.visonerv.com - others on this site can point you at other RV wreckers.

There are new trays available but they are run $300 and up (each).