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Old 11-19-2015, 04:42 PM   #1
Winnie-Wise
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
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Battery Tray Slideout

Has anyone found a slideout for the Winnebago battery bank. We have a bank of 4 Group 31 batteries and can't find a tray big enough, the batteries are virtually impossible to maintain due to the tight space. We need something 27" wide and 14.5 deep.
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Old 11-19-2015, 05:52 PM   #2
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Location: FTer Class of 2015 Origin: Evergreen, Colorado
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Sue:

When we added solar, we converted the house battery bank to 8 batteries -- far too many to squeeze into the existing battery tray. Instead of sacrificing a basement compartment to host the newly acquired amp hours, we had a shop in Denver fabricate a battery box that fits/sits inside the frame rails -- dead-center in the chassis. It is a bit of an inconvenience to slither under the coach twice a year to check on the batteries, but I am skinny and once I get a drop light in there it is quite roomy (lots of wasted space down there) and pretty easy to check battery water levels and connections, etc.

This battery relocation idea is often met with resistance (not ohmage) because the space cannot be accessed by sitting in a lawn chair. I'm a pretty agile fellow and I liked the idea of getting the batteries located low and central (and closer to the charger and inverter). I also liked the idea of freeing up the compartment's OEM battery tray for things that I need to access more often than semi-annually. And I liked the idea of having a comfortable 12" of work space above the batteries.

The cost of the battery box was about $250.00, as memory serves. It is bolted in place and does not move -- there are no battery connections that get torqued by sliding a tray in and out. My version is heavy steel, though I met someone who built his out of aluminum. I had the option to powder coat my battery box, but opted just to have it painted black, instead. Had I to do it all over again I would opt for the powder coating (I am starting to see surface rust in a couple places on my box).

Food for thought.... Relocating the whole battery box might work for you, but it might not, too.

\ken

PS. I don't have any pictures, but one of these days I will remember to take a camera with me down there so I can post some.
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2005 Winnebago Vectra 40FD w/400ISL and Allison 3000MH on Freightliner's Evolution chassis, Onan QD7500, 1000w Renogy solar, BlueOx tow gear, and 2015 Cherokee TrailHawk toad.
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Old 11-19-2015, 06:14 PM   #3
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I would also like to see photos of the battery box and how it is mounted to the frame rails. Thanks for sharing.



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Old 11-19-2015, 07:46 PM   #4
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Sue and Tom-

Try Fleming Sales. Here's a page from their Web site. The largest battery tray listed is 25.5 x 14. When I spoke with them about a custom size for my former coach, they seemed open to the idea.

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Old 11-20-2015, 03:54 AM   #5
Winnie-Wise
 
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Thanks for the lead with Fleming.

DH is not a happy camper when he has to go under the rig so the battery box is a no go for us. We have found one guy who will custom make one for us but it seemed pricey.
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Old 11-20-2015, 06:20 AM   #6
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I enlarged my battery tray to fit 4 golf card batteries. To do this I had to increase the width by approximately 1". I cut the tray down the middle with a air gun with a abrasive cut off wheel. I then bolted the 2 half sections with steel braces approximately 1/4" thick X 3/4" wide. Before transferring the holes from the braces to the tray I cut plywood to the inside size of the finished tray. I clamped the 2 half parts together with the plywood inside and then transferred the bolt holes. In order to bolt the tray back into the coach I had to extend (slot) the 8 hold down square carriage bolt holes to accommodate the additional 1" width. I also trimmed about 3/8 of a inch off the gusset above the tray to have more height for the higher golf cart batteries.

The tray comes out enough to fill the batteries.

If you want to do this PM me for any questions you may have.
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Old 11-20-2015, 09:10 AM   #7
Winnie-Wise
 
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Nice job on the tray.

If I can't find the size I need I will consider this.

Thanks
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