Community Forums

Ted III · 08-17-2008, 04:06 PM

I am planning on changing my batteries to a pull out tray. I had this on my Monaco and it was extremely convenient. Has anyone done this in their Alpine?

Jim A · 08-17-2008, 08:20 PM

The only thing I have seen posted in the past was a concern about the flexibility of the heavy high amp cables. I had a class C before with a slide out battery tray, but it was only 2 batteries, not 6, and much lighter cables. But even those were not all that flexible. But it was convenient.

I went with AGM's. Put them in and hopefully forget them for a few years!

Jeff_S · 08-18-2008, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim A:
The only thing I have seen posted in the past was a concern about the flexibility of the heavy high amp cables.

For my re-cable of my battery compartment, I used 2/0 welding cable. Welding cable has many strands of wire, as compared to "battery cable" which is stiff due to a lesser number of large diameter strands.

Therefore, cable flexibility would not be an issue. I think the choice of proper sliding/drawer hardware would be more of a concern.

Rick Coleman · 08-18-2008, 09:03 AM

When I had my Slim Slider basement slides installed at the factory in Orofino, Idaho I asked about a slider for the battery compartment. They said they could make one but wouldn't install it because of their fear of liability problems. They make outstanding sliders and I would certainly consider having them make one. Since it would be so small it couldn't be too expensive. Their sliders fit extremely snugly to the floor and you lose very little space. Check out their website and give them a call to discuss. I found them to be really nice people to work with.

EngineerMike · 08-18-2008, 11:04 AM

Ted- In addition to the above, consider how much room you will need at the back. It would probably be best to elevate some of the junque on the back wall so terminals & cables of the elevated batteries don't interfere w/the assemblage of junque when sliding in & out. This might imply pushing the batt array forward 1.5-3" (just a quick guess) depending on tray geometry.

Cabling on my 08 appears to be welding lead, & IIRC was the same on our 06.

Ted III · 08-19-2008, 03:01 AM

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I had planned to use welding cable due to the flexibility & have used the slim sliders in two other compartments and they are great. As usual Mike I had not thought of the height of things on the back wall but certainly would have when I went to close the battery slide. Thanks for that thought I had not given that any thought at all.
Thanks again everybody,

Rick Coleman · 08-19-2008, 09:45 AM

Ted- If you persue this project I would be really interested in lots of photos and a re-cap of the installation and hurdles to overcome. Thanks.

Ted III · 08-19-2008, 03:18 PM

Rick, I see absolutely no problems at all in completing this project once I get E Mike on the plane to my office. Does anyone know how much Tequila that takes. From there it will be relatively easy. Rick, in all sincerity I will take many pictures. I am not certain just when this is in the chore list but it will happen. When I had the Monaco I immediately purchased four Monaco shirts & caps and gave them to the employees that I felt would be most beneficial. Fortunately I accomplished the same before WRV closed. I thought for moral support I might find Burk Morgan as he has family fairly close to me. This project may be done a lot quicker than I had imagined. I will keep you posted.
E Mike, you had made a comment about the tile on the entrance steps. Were you serious or just pulling our chain or just our steps?

Nick Escamilla · 08-19-2008, 03:37 PM

Ted if you are going to build a tray for the batteries, you can find the heavy draw slides at Mac Master Carr. They have an online catalog with real heavy slides for battery trays.

Ted III · 08-20-2008, 02:17 AM

Thanks Nick, I will look into that. We deal with McMaster Carr all of the time

Old Scout · 08-20-2008, 06:02 AM

I too will be interested in seeing what you come up with for a design. The problem I had with my 2003 was solving the need for 6 house bats to power my resid frig--early 2003s came with only 4 house bats. I looked briefly at fabricating either drawer slides or some sort of swing-out tray. "Problem" with our Alpines is that the existing bat tray is hung off the frame rails--accordingly, there is not much out-board support structure to mount/secure slide trays or swing arms. I ended up with a cantilever design that provided space for two more bats.
My two cents--use a bat water fill system for maintenance [I dont] and keep the bats hosed-off and the posts treated w/anti-corrode stuff on a regular basis. Not as "elegant" a solution as a slide tray but it works....