Please advise, Wiring on CT13

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Diane: I don't think it's necessary to relocate the battery box to the bumper, ours is staying under the rear bunk. I am going to install a battery disconnect switch that is easily accessible. Another converter that some like is made by Progressive Dynamics, I believe they are Made in the USA. Just another piece of info here is that the Uhaul bumpers are aluminum, something I didn't realize because mine is painted. Another member here told me about it. Bob

I agree. There is nothing wrong with putting the battery under the bed and venting it like UHaul did. Batteries don't out gas significantly unless you charge them a high rate. Mounting it on the bumper will cause a whole new crop of problems including possible corrosion of the aluminum bumper. The bumper is not really designed to hold a lot of weight - its a bumper designed to withstand horizontal forces not vertical ones.

[D Davis]

Tom, Bob, You guys are soo Funny! Garrison Keller should be telling a story about you.
Thanks for the Battery location advice. I have looked at those vented boxes and they are very expensive, do you know of any lower price places to check. I got an Optima deep cell avg 24 group battery half price, it's big and heavy. Anyway just painted the bumper, looks a little better.
Diane

[mary and bob]

Battery box, I'm just going to use a Walmart battery box in place of the original Uhaul box because I'm using a big truck battery. I may or may not vent it, but if I do I'll just use a plastic pipe fitting, make a hole in the box cover, and a piece of auto heater hose to connect to the vent in the trailer floor. My converter is bad, so for now I have a wire harness I made to connect to the battery terminals and ran it out under the bunk with a plug on it so I can connect a charger without having to get under everything to reach the battery. A slow charge will not create any significant amount of gas vapor. In 30 years as a truck mechanic I only had 2 batteries explode, one because it was on a fast charge and I was grinding and creating sparks near it, the other shorted when I hit the starter switch to crank the engine. Both batteries were the old style with screw on caps. Bob

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by D Davis

Tom, Bob, You guys are soo Funny! Garrison Keller should be telling a story about you.
Thanks for the Battery location advice. I have looked at those vented boxes and they are very expensive, do you know of any lower price places to check. I got an Optima deep cell avg 24 group battery half price, it's big and heavy. Anyway just painted the bumper, looks a little better.
Diane

A battery box is cheap - they have them at Walmart.

Example: Compare Deka Accessories and Parts vs Deka Accessories and Parts | etrailer.com

What you want to do is to install a plastic barb fitting about 3/4" diameter in the top to run to the wall vent. Add a foam gasket to seal the top of the box to the bottom.

It should end up looking like this:

Battery Boxes Vented for Sale - PPL Motor Homes

Or buy one like the above.

[mary and bob]

For wiring 12 volt lights; I just went to NAPA auto parts and bought jacketed primary wire, Belden # 785750. It is two 16 gauge wires with a gray plastic covering, comes in a package of 25 feet, and costs about $26. Makes for a neat way to run two wires together. Bob

[D Davis]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Battery box, I'm just going to use a Walmart battery box in place of the original Uhaul box because I'm using a big truck battery. I may or may not vent it, but if I do I'll just use a plastic pipe fitting, make a hole in the box cover, and a piece of auto heater hose to connect to the vent in the trailer floor. My converter is bad, so for now I have a wire harness I made to connect to the battery terminals and ran it out under the bunk with a plug on it so I can connect a charger without having to get under everything to reach the battery. A slow charge will not create any significant amount of gas vapor. In 30 years as a truck mechanic I only had 2 batteries explode, one because it was on a fast charge and I was grinding and creating sparks near it, the other shorted when I hit the starter switch to crank the engine. Both batteries were the old style with screw on caps. Bob

Okay Bob, thanks. You seem to find simple fixes. Good info.
My wally world were out of this size box, so I asked the rv repair man how much for a vented box and was quoted: $38.00 plus shipping, so I squirmed. I am taking in all the tips and advice. Thanks Diane

[D Davis]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Battery box, I'm just going to use a Walmart battery box in place of the original Uhaul box because I'm using a big truck battery. I may or may not vent it, but if I do I'll just use a plastic pipe fitting, make a hole in the box cover, and a piece of auto heater hose to connect to the vent in the trailer floor. My converter is bad, so for now I have a wire harness I made to connect to the battery terminals and ran it out under the bunk with a plug on it so I can connect a charger without having to get under everything to reach the battery. A slow charge will not create any significant amount of gas vapor. In 30 years as a truck mechanic I only had 2 batteries explode, one because it was on a fast charge and I was grinding and creating sparks near it, the other shorted when I hit the starter switch to crank the engine. Both batteries were the old style with screw on caps. Bob

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

A battery box is cheap - they have them at Walmart.

Example: Compare Deka Accessories and Parts vs Deka Accessories and Parts | etrailer.com

What you want to do is to install a plastic barb fitting about 3/4" diameter in the top to run to the wall vent. Add a foam gasket to seal the top of the box to the bottom.

It should end up looking like this:

Battery Boxes Vented for Sale - PPL Motor Homes

Or buy one like the above.

Thomas, Thanks...I am deciding to take parts of both your and Bob's
suggestions. Would this work? I have the old original box, however it is missing it's parts. What if I get the 3/4 in barb fitting on an elbow and run
the auto heater pipe or flexible plastic tube from the elbow barb (Fitted to the hole in the box) to the back vent in trailer. (My vent opening has been filled with silicone, but I can did it out.) Then run a fitting with plastic tube attached from bottom of battery box though hole then into the hole in the floor. (Hole in floor now has a big cork in it) HA! Then make sure I have a gasket or some type of rubber to seal the closed battery box. I am trying to cut costs as I have decided to let rv repair man put new wiring and (Used) converter/charger, a 12 volt outlet and (2) 110 outlets in trailer. He is local, nice and does not sell RV's. If his quote is too high, then I will go a different route. Thank you guys for helping me so much, I appreciate it. Also I think I will post pics of the before butcher job on my wires by previous owners then the after.
Diane

[mary and bob]

I wonder what the RV guy is calling a "vented box" ? The Walmart boxes are not a sealed box, they have a space for the wires to come out under the cover. The original Uhaul battery box had a cover that latched on with a fitting on top. A flexible hose went from the cover fitting to one in the trailer floor that was open to the outside to vent the battery. That floor fitting is to the left side of the trailer from the battery box location, left side being the side opposite the door. With any vehicle, left is driver side, right is passenger or curb side, in this country anyway. Bob

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by D Davis

Thomas, Thanks...I am deciding to take parts of both your and Bob's
suggestions. Would this work? I have the old original box, however it is missing it's parts. What if I get the 3/4 in barb fitting on an elbow and run
the auto heater pipe or flexible plastic tube from the elbow barb (Fitted to the hole in the box) to the back vent in trailer. (My vent opening has been filled with silicone, but I can did it out.) Then run a fitting with plastic tube attached from bottom of battery box though hole then into the hole in the floor. (Hole in floor now has a big cork in it) HA! Then make sure I have a gasket or some type of rubber to seal the closed battery box. I am trying to cut costs as I have decided to let rv repair man put new wiring and (Used) converter/charger, a 12 volt outlet and (2) 110 outlets in trailer. He is local, nice and does not sell RV's. If his quote is too high, then I will go a different route. Thank you guys for helping me so much, I appreciate it. Also I think I will post pics of the before butcher job on my wires by previous owners then the after.
Diane

Do you still have the original battery box top? What all parts are missing? If you can seal it and vent it through the floor and the rear wall, it should work fine.

Looking at the photos in your original post, it looks like most of the wiring is still there, - someone just chopped it off short of the converter and battery. That will make fixing it much easier (and cheaper).

[D Davis]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

I wonder what the RV guy is calling a "vented box" ? The Walmart boxes are not a sealed box, they have a space for the wires to come out under the cover. The original Uhaul battery box had a cover that latched on with a fitting on top. A flexible hose went from the cover fitting to one in the trailer floor that was open to the outside to vent the battery. That floor fitting is to the left side of the trailer from the battery box location, left side being the side opposite the door. With any vehicle, left is driver side, right is passenger or curb side, in this country anyway. Bob

Bob, am trying to insert photos of what I think might be the vent hole in back of trailer, and the hole in the floor (now filled with a BIG Cork)
If the pics come through. Thanks for the directions...It's a new language for me. HA

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

I wonder what the RV guy is calling a "vented box" ?

Bob I suspect based on price what he was quoting was for a vented box such as this - comes with box, hose, connections and vent.

[D Davis]

[QUOTE=Thomas G.;290035]Do you still have the original battery box top? What all parts are missing? If you can seal it and vent it through the floor and the rear wall, it should work fine.

Looking at the photos in your original post, it looks like most of the wiring is still there, - someone just chopped it off short of the converter and battery. That will make fixing it much easier (and cheaper).[/QUOT

Thomas, I still have the top to the box. Hurray! Then that's what I'll Do.

Gosh I hope some of it (wiring) can be saved. I perhaps may have paid too much for the camper with all it's little problem areas. So am trying to save on costs. Ha all the windows need to be replaced or redone yet, and It rained real hard last nite and I found leaks in the trailer.
I still love it though.

[D Davis]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Bob I suspect based on price what he was quoting was for a vented box such as this - comes with box, hose, connections and vent.

Carol, you are correct.

[mary and bob]

Carol, thanks for that link, I wasn't aware of those. Can always learn something here.
Diane, in your photos I see the hose to the water tank but don't see the tank, is it there. There would also be a drain hole to empty the tank. I see the original Uhaul converter, and what looks like some plywood added onto the floor in that area. Just today I removed my converter, kept the fuse panel out of it, and am discarding the rest. Don't feel too bad about the leaks, I think all Uhauls have that problem, ours sure does. We need a new rear window, a piece of glass for the right one, have to rebuild both side windows, and the front one leaks a little. Here's a little solution we use with our teardrop because the door hinge will leak when towing in the rain; we put a tarp under the mattress and pull it up over it when it rains. We do this with the Uhaul too because of the side windows leaking.For a temporary solution we put a canopy over the trailer if we are in one spot for more than a couple days. Note though that moisture will build up under the mattress or cushions, so stand them up when you return from a trip to let them dry or air out. Bob

[Thomas G.]

Diane, given that you still have the converter, you also have a fuse panel - it is inside, unscrew the nut near the top. If the converter works - they are fairly hardy - you may not need much more than a repair job vs a complete redo.

It kind of appears that a previous owner just went a little crazy with cutting and removing stuff.

[D Davis]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Carol, thanks for that link, I wasn't aware of those. Can always learn something here.
Diane, in your photos I see the hose to the water tank but don't see the tank, is it there. There would also be a drain hole to empty the tank. I see the original Uhaul converter, and what looks like some plywood added onto the floor in that area. Just today I removed my converter, kept the fuse panel out of it, and am discarding the rest. Don't feel too bad about the leaks, I think all Uhauls have that problem, ours sure does. We need a new rear window, a piece of glass for the right one, have to rebuild both side windows, and the front one leaks a little. Here's a little solution we use with our teardrop because the door hinge will leak when towing in the rain; we put a tarp under the mattress and pull it up over it when it rains. We do this with the Uhaul too because of the side windows leaking.For a temporary solution we put a canopy over the trailer if we are in one spot for more than a couple days. Note though that moisture will build up under the mattress or cushions, so stand them up when you return from a trip to let them dry or air out. Bob

Oh Bob, Thanks for all your suggestions! I did not know there was a fuse panel in the old converter. Am trying not to spend too much. I have learned of a store on EBay that sells converters for a lot less and also the Fan Tastic Fan Vent. My Windows are a mess, also need to redo them. But for now the priority is the wiring. You and Thomas have helped a lot.
I will follow your tip on drying out the cushions. Always carry a tarp!
You must have a big canopy. I have a 10 x 10 first up as well.
The water tank was loose and rolling around unconnected, as the previous owners never used it. They used city water and hose. Told me the tube keep blowing off. I am doing the replumbing myself thanks to the documents center here and the parts manual. I have read and followed that for the redo. The tank is in my house, have cleaned it with clorox
and have new tubing. Previous owner had (I am 99% sure) the wrong type of tubing on the city water hook up. Sorry I know this is a wiring forum.
Diane

[D Davis]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Diane, given that you still have the converter, you also have a fuse panel - it is inside, unscrew the nut near the top. If the converter works - they are fairly hardy - you may not need much more than a repair job vs a complete redo.

It kind of appears that a previous owner just went a little crazy with cutting and removing stuff.

Thomas, Thank you for all of your invaluable wiring advice! I do need to save on the costs, did not realize there was a fuse panel in the Uhaul converter box.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by D Davis

Thomas, Thank you for all of your invaluable wiring advice! I do need to save on the costs, did not realize there was a fuse panel in the Uhaul converter box.

You might want to take a minute to read the parts and repair manuals that are posted here.

Fiberglass RV - Document Center - U-Haul


If nothing else, they show how it was originally and where the wiring was / is located.

Do you know for sure that your old converter is defective? It may just need to be wired to 110 volts AC

[Carol H]

Thomas thanks for clarifying the fuse panel issue - I was scratching my head and wondering what was different about a UHaul that it required that extra fuse panel type ....
Diane - if you go into the documents center you will also find a simple wiring diagram for a Scamp - although I am sure the wiring on the UHaul may not have been done totally the same way I suspect the basic concept of how/where each wire should run and what it should be connected through is basically the same for most trailers.

[Thomas G.]

The wiring diagram is in the UHaul manual, though not in a electrical schematic format i.e. it shows the wires and where they run physically. I have added the voltages to clarify.