Instant Expert

Batteries have become a passion of late. I have become an instant expert on battery types, relative costs, pros and cons, and the problems that arise when you have no clue how big a battery really is. After months of research and advice from fellow RV owners I decided to go on a gut hunch and ordered the Exide Orbital 34XCD Sealed Maintenance-Free (AGM) Deep-Cycle Automotive Battery. Available from Amazon for $142.00. It seemed to me to be a good compromise between a $85.00 Wal-Mart battery and a seemingly overpriced $190.00 Optima battery. Contrary to reviews on Amazon this battery came with both top and side connectors. This comes into play as the story continues.

I wanted to mount the battery on the inside driver's side compartment of my 13 ft Scamp for a number of reasons. Theft, Weight distribution, easy access to the battery, and access to storage. Try as I may I could not find a locking battery box to mount on the tongue of the camper.  I have heard tales of campers returning to their site only to discover that someone has liberated their battery...Keeping batteries outside used to be the norm, but since AGM batteries are sealed there is little possibility of it venting hydrogen gas, so I decided to mount it inside under the front bench. Initially I wanted to put it on the driver's side in order to balance the weight of the water tank, but for some reason the battery was about 1/2" too tall to fit there. It did fit on the passenger side though.
My idea was to use top mounted cables with wing nut connections to enable me to easily remove the battery for in-between use charging. However the wing thing wasn't working. The battery case wouldn't allow them, so I thought about it...I really only need to remove the battery during the winter. The converter will charge it between uses. Realizing that, I went with side mounted cables and covered the top lugs. This gave me the extra 1/8" clearance I needed. Otherwise I would have had to rout out some space on the storage area cover.

Next I wanted to mount the DC to AC converter as close as possible to the battery. They seem to work better with a shorter cable length. The converter is mounted on its side, and I made a cut in the fiberglass seat to access the receptacles. Not the most convenient spot, and had the battery fit on the driver's side as intended the outlets would have been tucked in the corner. However since these will rarely be used it seemed an acceptable compromise. Now I am looking for something to dress up the hole I cut. initially I thought I could use one of those outlet covers that people use in the garden or garage, but the converter's front plate is too large. maybe just a bead of caulk, unless you can think of a different type of outlet cover.