Battery compartment lid Hawk side dinette

[CreekRob]

I noticed on my 2023 Hawk side dinette that there's an inner cover over the passenger side battery compartment (front of the camper, beneath the seat cushion of the front dinette seat, and about 3-4" beneath the hinged top cover. IOW, there's the cushion, a hinged cover, a seat sized 3-4" deep compartment, then the cover over the batteries, then the battery compartment itself.

The question is why the last battery compartment cover is screwed down. It has a handle, and no problem removing screws to access battery, but there some stuff I'd like to keep in there with the batteries (another cable out, for example).

Is there any reason to retain the screws? something I hadn't thought of? the cover has a handle, and sits there nicely. I get they might not want be storing my chain mail in there and causing the Mother of All Short Circuits, but still.

 

[Vic Harder]

potentially as an air seal. Is the compartment vented?

 

[New Man]

When I got my 2016 Fleet, I asked the exact same question, and the install/orientation guy told me it was a California "safety" (overkill, IMHO) thing. Because FWC manufactures in California, I was told, it has to comply with a lot of regulations/requirements that you probably wouldn't find in some other states. I defer to the experts (e.g., Vic Harder) on this, but I have AGM sealed batteries, and I think they don't spontaneously explode very often. Don't know about lithium-ion. But in any case, I don't see why having the batts under a screwed-on plate is any safer than having them under the hinged hatch that covers the battery compartment. In fact it seems less safe if I had to get at them in a hurry. But maybe I'm missing somethin'. For what it is worth I have left the screwed-on plate on mine, out of sheer dumb inertia.

On a [somewhat] related issue, can anyone explain why my Fleet has an escape hatch side window? (With sketchy little latches, that have been known to pop open when luggage bumps into them, creating "interesting" sounds when I'm doing 70 on the interstate.) Friends, has anyone in The History of Four Wheel Campers ever used the thing? I'm sure this kind of window is prudent on a monstrous-big RV, but how would I use it in my camper? (I guess I could sneak out the window if the sherrif knocks on the back door when I'm guerilla camping illegally...)

 

[CreekRob]

potentially as an air seal. Is the compartment vented?

It's vented, and not air tight even aside from the vent. LiFePO4's anyway, so no need for a vent. Some air flow for cooling is nice though.

And thanks New Man; I meant to ask at install but forgot, and your answer doesn't surprise me.

The escape hatch thing has been present on every pro built camper or RV I've ever been in. If not a DOT thing, at least an RVIA standard.

 

[CPT Davenport]

I removed the additional shelf all together. This allowed me the room to install a 206ah lithium and gives me over 5 times the storage capacity of the factory LA battery.

 

[Vic Harder]

LiFePo4 batteries do not require ventilation for safety reasons.... air flow to keep them at room temp is good though. AGM's don't gas off much, and I didn't vent my AGM enclosure when I built it, but I don't live in California... YMMV. Hinged cover sounds like a reasonable compromise unless you need the space like Cpt Davenport did.