Trillium 1300 Interior Battery Placement

[Booker B.]

Hi All,

My latest trailer has had the battery pulled at some point in the recent past (the previous owner purchased it that way). The space where it sat is straight fiberglass with no obvious mounting system.

Can someone(s) please provide a shot of where there battery is located and how it is mounted. Additionally, since I see a lot of Trilliums (including my 72) having the battery mounted on the frame should I consider wiring it outside instead. Pros/Cons?

Thanks!

[DanPatWork]

biggest PRO/CON I can think of is off-gassing. If you are going to have your battery mounted inside, you need to provide a method for the gases to vent to the outside of the camper. If the battery is going to be mounted on the outside, the only concern would be to keep it away from any potential ignition sources on the outside. Otherwise it becomes a question of mounting options, and wiring supplies to connect the battery to your system.

I chose to mount our battery inside. This option helped to reduce the tongue weight, and put ballast weight on the opposite side of the camper from the stove/oven. Wiring for me was a minor factor because I was completely re-wiring the camper anyways. The battery box was attached directly to the floor of the closet that was destined to have a vent anyways. The previous owner had installed an AC unit that we chose not to re-install. The extra space from the over-sized double vent was almost a perfect fit for a hatch door we found on e-bay.

I have seen some battery boxes that were completely sealed, except for a tube that was plumbed to the outside of the camper to allow escape of the battery gases.

Of course a sealed battery option would eliminate the gas problem.

[Ed Harris]

Sealed batteries can also Outgass in a big way.
The difference is that you can not refill them with water.

Most so called sealed batteries are said to be maintenance free and then do not allow for any maintanance at all.

The key to prevent gassing with the sealed or non-liquid electrolyte battery is to make sure your charging it properly and never overcharging.
They only gas when over charged.....really.

Because the electrolyte inside is gelled they may also be mounted in any orientation without fear of spilling again unless overcharged.

I mounted the battery in my 1300 under the front bench and my trailer seemed to have never had an internal battery before.
I used a high quality,High Frequency charger designed for Gel batteries and never had a problem.

[DanPatWork]

Sealed batteries can also Outgass in a big way.
The difference is that you can not refill them with water.

Most so called sealed batteries are said to be maintenance free and then do not allow for any maintanance at all.

Thanks for the info Ed. I allways looked at maintenance free as being the water filled "un-serviceable", just never knew about outgassing from gell filled.

[Booker B.]

Since I have to rewire the system anyway I think I will put in on the frame tongue. The thought of my boys sleeping above and out-gassing battery does seem a bit freaky.

Saying that, does anybody have any preferences for battery boxes? They have this one at crappy tire (use postal code v0r1s0 for americans):

Attwood Series Vented Battery Box

[Donna D.]

Looks like the one on my Scamp. Seems to do the job!

[Daniel V.]

I just got a new sealed deep cycle gel battery from a local battery shop and I am putting it inside. Since our needs are mainly just lighting, we decided to get a smaller one, yet with decent capacity (48 AH), that can be tucked in that wasted little angled corner under the rear seat by the closet. Keeps tongue weight down, too.

[Booker B.]

Hi Daniel,

How will you be venting it?

[Chester Taje]

Hi Daniel,

How will you be venting it?

I believe a sealed battery does not need to be vented.

[Daniel V.]

How will you be venting it?

The battery shop guy was suggesting that regular (non-sealed) batteries are commonly installed inside RVs as well, since the risk is manageable if you know what you're doing, and RVs aren't typically airtight. Still, I decided against that (based on the fact that I don't have faith in my guardian angel), and got the sealed type for peace of mind plus the fact that many different physical shapes and sizes were available. I figure the risk is now minimal, and my personal belief (without prejudice) is that it should do just fine if I keep an eye on it.

[Paul McEwan]

Jason (I believe) at Mobile Hitch said regular batteries out-gas while charging. He recommended putting it inside in a sealed box and venting to the outside through the floor. He liked the idea of keeping the tongue weight down.

My Trill has never had a battery so it's going under the front bench or behind the right wheel well.

[Booker B.]

Hi Paul,

In the end we decided to put it on the tongue as we weren't too worried about the tongue weight with the single propane tank and it also helps to balance out the bike rack.

I documented both here:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...++rack++battery

[Paul McEwan]

Hi Paul,

In the end we decided to put it on the tongue as we weren't too worried about the tongue weight with the single propane tank and it also helps to balance out the bike rack.

I documented both here:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.ph...++rack++battery

Booker, I'm glad you pointed out your nifty set up. I love the idea of installing a bike rack in the back. Looks great.