27 replies to this topic

[DavidGraves]

My primary reasons for wanting to utilyze the dead space in front of the wheel wells is weight and water (which weighs a lot.)

 

When we go to Baha we don't go into town much....even 20 gallons of H2O weighs mucho mucho.

 

Maybe also I just hate to waste space....left over from sailboat days.

 

We certainly do stow recovery gear and dirty clothes in the front wheel wells now.

 

David Graves

[CougarCouple]

Hi OP everyone knows the real party starts later on. Imagine a large 12v battery’s one of your cabinets. Plus they are kinda just right there starring up at me when I lift the seat cushion. Guess I should post a couple of shots. I have always wondered how can I access that space maybe install a outside hatch, now that would be a bit of work, I had trouble justifying that cost.
pvstoy if I’m going to make the move they will definitely be secure as I don’t travel with my jacks. I don’t think my OEM charger has a temp probe.
jimjxsn
I don’t even like my gas tank under there, that battery box dangling Ins there is not going to happen.

[klahanie]

^ agree with the oddity of it. our old granby was designed for the batt(s) to be in the bed. I still find it odd to see pics with them inside, under a bench. I like storage space to be more separated. of course in the old days there wasn't the variety of camper models and small trucks, some (most?) combos don't have the in bed room for batts. guess FWC just decided to put them inside on all models.  makes install much easier overall for customers and dealers

 

^ accepted, but disagree with the dangling. currently have a couple frame mount batt boxes (oem e-series take offs, bought cheap from ebay). previous truck had a lpg tank. neither a problem with off highway, boulders, gravel spray, water etc

 

btw, ebay has lots of metal tray and hold down clamp products, as alternatives to plastic

 

I'd say the biggest downside to in bed batts is cold weather performance (as mentioned), although at times it would likely be no different than inside. I've read a small discharge keeps the batt internals warm in cold weather, say overnight. And if the batts are permanently mounted and you use your pick up for hauling things like, dirt or green waste, debris can collect around the batt box which can be difficult and take additional time to clean away.

Edited by klahanie, 08 October 2018 - 09:40 PM.

[ntsqd]

Crawl under a typical pick-up bed and you;ll see a LOT of wasted space that stuff could be moved into. Putting a battery in a secure holder under there would be a good use of the space. If that kind of cold weather is a factor then make it an insulated container and install a battery heater wired to the block heater. I'd design the assembly to hold something weighing 250 lbs. and I'd consider hanging some sort of "mud-flap" in front of it so that rocks etc. thrown off of the front tires can't hit it.

 

Frankly, I'd be more worried about feeding the battery cables thru into the bed than the battery being under the bed. the rubber grommet in a hole in the sheet metal doesn't leave me warm and fuzzy feeling. I'd build a bracket to bolt an Anderson SB series connector roughly flush in a hole in the bed, and make that where the camper separates from the battery.

[EM4]

Battery temperature might be a concern.  Does your solar controller have temp compensation?  Only do it if you have AGM's.  Pain in the butt to check fluids with them in there.  Other than that, sounds like a great idea.

Hi there Vic, 

Slight change of topic here. I have had my used camper for a year now and occasionally ran my single 12 volt wet deep cycle battery kind of low and used the truck engine to charge it back up. Other than that very happy with it. Question : trying to decide whether to upgrade to a single very good AGM battery ( possibly two 6 volt ) or add a 150 watt solar panel and keep the wet deep cycle battery.

Any thoughts on that.

Thanks  

[Vic Harder]

If your wet deep cycle still works, keep it!  How often do you run the battery down?  If on every trip, then you need solar or to move/drive more often to keep the battery healthy.  Changing to AGM won't change that.

[EM4]

If your wet deep cycle still works, keep it!  How often do you run the battery down?  If on every trip, then you need solar or to move/drive more often to keep the battery healthy.  Changing to AGM won't change that.

Not often Vic, and if what I have read AGM's charge up alot easier and are more forgiving than regular deep cycle's

[Vic Harder]

Yes, if you can give each type it's ideal dis/charge type, then AGM's are different than FLA, but not as much different as deep cycle vs marine vs starting types.

 

And it may not be an issue for you if don't discharge them often.  My batteries will live 1500 cycles if I only take them down to 80% SOC.  If I regularly discharged them to 50%, they will last 500 cycles.  In two years of ownership, they have only seen 1 cycle down to 60%, and that was during a test.  They will outlive my truck and me.

 

Do you have a way of monitoring state of charge (SOC)?