Battery box help

[Ironsights]

We just bought our Montana High Country 334BH last weekend and absolutely love it! Quick question about the battery box. Because we often leave our fifth wheel parked in storage for extended periods I need to be able to remove the battery each time so I can put it on a battery tender. The battery box currently installed makes this difficult because there are four screws that secure the lid to the box. Is there a battery box out there that allows for quicker access?

[432bartman]

Yeah, I think all of them have that over complicated battery box setup. Waiting to see what other people say on this too.

[Tom N OH]

Why not put in a true battery disconnect right at the battery? A good battery, truly disconnected, should lose very little, if any, voltage.

[AZ Traveler]

Agree w Tom - don't remove the battery, just disconnect it with a full disconnect switch.

[twindman]

Agree with Tom also. I disconnect mine in AZ from fall to spring - usually 4-8 months - and the batteries have always been able to run the landing jacks on the front. (We only get below 32 degrees by 3-4 degrees once every 8-10 years. so batteries don't freeze up)

[jeffba]

I disconnect the battery and added a 7W HF solar panel on the king pin

but then I am lazier than most

[RMcNeal]

Can you give more info on that solar panel? Our rig is prewired for solar, but that seems overkill for just keeping the battery charged in storage.

[Tom N OH]

7w is only 0.583333.... amps. Very, very little. Wouldn’t run a pissant’s Gokart around a Cheerio, but it should keep a single 12v topped up without any other draws. Shouldn’t be necessary if the battery is completely disconnected from the camper’s circuit, but it can’t hurt.

[jeffba]

battery is disconnected. and the pissant actually has a figure eight cheerio goKart course thank you very much

Swing into HF go to their Solar section. get a 7W panel (they only have 1) and I think a 100W charge controller (That was the smallest they have). Mine is held in place with velcro. nothing fancy for wiring. takes 30 seconds to install and remove. everything is plug and play.

[Tom N OH]

Sweet! When are the races & are properly socially distanced spectators allowed to attend?

[goodellj]

I removed the large tek screws on the 4 corners of the battery box and replaced them with a nylon strap with a buckle that I found in an RV parts store. It is secure and a lot easier to deal with, and no tools needed.

[steiny93]

keep in mind,
The 7watt solar will not keep up to the coach draw even with the coach built in battery disconnect flipped. (the coach disconnect leaves the lp detector / level-up / etc with power as examples)

You will need to install your own complete disconnect if you want the 7watt to work.

[Mr Mustang]

Originally Posted by goodellj

I removed the large tek screws on the 4 corners of the battery box and replaced them with a nylon strap with a buckle that I found in an RV parts store. It is secure and a lot easier to deal with, and no tools needed.

I did the same thing. ✌🏻️

[John shultz]

hi. I never remove our batteries. we installed 4-100 watt solar panels 3 years ago. we also at the same time installed 4 6 volt golf cart batteries wired for 12 volts with a total of around 660 amp hours. when we store our camper for the winter, we live in Northwest Indiana, I leave the switch on to the coach and the panels so far have kept up the 12 to 13 volts during the winter. i check my water once a month in the batteries. we used to boon dock a lot and the panels kept up the voltage. i use a cpap machine at night and the batteries will last 8 hours easy. when we are towing, the truck keeps the batteries charged. for cloudy weather, we use a 2000 watt generator for about 3 hours from 3pm to 5pm to charge up the batteries for night time.it is a quiet generator we keep in the bed of the truck to help keep the noise level down. I hope this answered your question.

[Clyde n Deb]

In 25 years of RVing, first with a class A, and the last 15 in our Monte, I have never removed the batteries, even in winter with outdoor storage (Colorado). Always had the old “knife switch” disconnects on all batteries. Disconnect every time I storage park. No tenders, nada. Getting ready to replace the Interstate (2 batteries) in my Monte. How long you ask? They are 8 years old, still work, but on their last leg.

[jimcol]

Originally Posted by Clyde n Deb

In 25 years of RVing, first with a class A, and the last 15 in our Monte, I have never removed the batteries, even in winter with outdoor storage (Colorado). Always had the old “knife switch” disconnects on all batteries. Disconnect every time I storage park. No tenders, nada. Getting ready to replace the Interstate (2 batteries) in my Monte. How long you ask? They are 8 years old, still work, but on their last leg.

I do exactly the same. Missouri is probably not as cold as Colorado but we have some sub zero winter days and most of the winter is below freezing. In 20 years RV'ing never a problem. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best with a lot less things to break or mal function.

[Stan and Linda]

Hi everyone, Does anyone have pictures of how they wired in a complete battery disconnect switch. Thanx all.

[beeje]

Just get a Marinco ? marine disconnect switch and put on the negative cable between the battery and the frame. That way, when it is off there is NO drain what so ever possible.

As far as battery boxes are concerned, I have had 4 batteries wired up for over 15 years on 3 campers with NO boxes what so ever and have NEVER had an issue with gasses. The compartments are not that air tight to be an issue IMHO