Hi Chris
Thanks for you input. Like you said, I suspect having the battery inside was pretty much the standard in those years.
I'm debating whether putting the battery inside where I think it was (with proper vent), or on the tongue and keep the inside space available.
I have an issue with tongue
weight. The previous owner of my trailer made extensive modifications to both bumpers of the trailer. The rear bumper has been modified to accommodate a large tote tank and a genset. The spare tire - originally on the rear bumper - has been relocated on the front bumper, which also holds two 20# LP tanks and the two big Trojan 6V batteries. I don't know what the tongue
weight is, but it's probably like 600 lbs, waaaay too much.
So the two 6V are going. One is bad anyways, and they have to be replaced in pairs. I'm pretty sure a single 12v battery will be enough for me. We've been camping for over 15 years in our popup, camping off grid 99% of the time, with a single Delco Voyager Group 27 deep cycle battery, and ran out of juice only maybe a couple times. I can't see my trailer requiring much more power than my popup.
And my trailer has two 15W
solar panels. They're old but they work and should compensate at least partially for our daily power usage.
Reinstalling the battery inside (and the spare tire back at the rear) should bring my tongue
weight within reasonable limits. Although I'll know the exact weight only when my renos are completed, with 2 LP tanks and the battery under the forward dinette seat I'm not worried about the tongue being too
light.