Battery Location

[David 70]

I was reading an article about "the best rv battery" and of course everyone has an opinion. He tested them at a lithium battery production facility. His conclusion was that if you can't afford lithium's then to just go with the cheapest flooded you can get. This was just comparing lifetime cost of the batteries. He did not take into consideration the maintenance the totally sealed factor for ease of placement. With that I think the OP is good in buying the flooded for experiment. If all works out for him then he can start working out the details so far as placement and type for costs. We don't all have a huge bankroll to experiment with.

[Nicks RV]

So after some long hard thoughts and discussions, I have decided to build a battery tray in-between the frame rails just forward of the axles.

Then next question on the build is whether I need to enclose the batteries in a box or seeing as though they will be 12ft back from the trailer hitch, will road grime not be a problem?

If the answer is to build a box ( as I would like all batteries in one container for ease of wiring) would I build it out of steel or wood?

thanks for the advice and being a sounding board as well

[Mark_K5LXP]

I guess one way to know would be to crawl under there and see what dirt is on the frame now. That's what your batteries will end up looking like.

Dirt's one thing but it's water spray that causes the biggest problems. It promotes corrosion on the terminals, cables and framing. It mixes with the dirt on top of the batteries and you end up with conductive gunk that creates a discharge path and even faster corrosion due to electrolysis. Even if you went with AGM's and watering wasn't a factor, the battery box and terminals will become a mess in short order unless you keep out the elements.

In my opinion, wood is a no-go for anything exposed on a vehicle. For battery boxes I've made, I welded frames out of angle steel and for the top, sides and bottom either coroplast or expanded PVC. Another option might be to buy a pre-made battery box and weld up framing to suspend one of those.

Kinda related, I used to have a pickup with a camper on the back and I put a marine battery inside the frame of the truck alongside the driveshaft where there was some space. I welded an automotive battery tray to some channel steel and it pivoted, so I could tilt it down for service or replacement. It was pretty much a PITA and being exposed it was always a corroded mess but it did solve the issue of having a storage battery without having it inside the camper.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by Nicks RV

So after some long hard thoughts and discussions, I have decided to build a battery tray in-between the frame rails just forward of the axles.



If the answer is to build a box ( as I would like all batteries in one container for ease of wiring) would I build it out of steel or wood?

thanks for the advice and being a sounding board as well

If you have the skill and tools to do it in metal that would be my choice... but I dont have those myself.

I just custom built a storage "compartment" to utilize unused space in my DEF bay. I used plywood and coated it with epoxy resin (normally used for fiberglass fab). If you thin the resin with acetone and no hardener for a first penetrating coat followed by one or more unthinned coats using a normal resin / hardener mix or slightly "hot" in hardener it will cure the first coat that has provided a better adhesion that just a surface coat that hadn't soaked in. I did paint mine black afterwards just to be consistent with surroundings.
For batty boxes coating the inside as important as outside.
You can do the same with polyester resin and its a little cheaper than epoxy. Epoxy has better adhesion that polyester.
If you cut any wire access or vent holes do it ahead and seal the edges with the above process. Or epoxy in short pieces of PVC pipe of the size desired and round / smooth the edges.