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Old 04-19-2021, 11:59 AM   #1
brooks340
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Basement modification

We have a 2020 MHC 294RL and I am mostly complete a solar and inverter installation. I have the Victron Multiplus, batteries, solar controller, all fuses, buss bars etc all installed in the front battery compartment. While this works well, it's a bit dusty/dirty being upfront and it's also not heated. This will become an issue should I upgrade to lithium batteries in the future as they have a thermal charging cut-off at 32 degrees. So, I am thinking of utilizing the space behind the basement wall, between the stairs and the furnace/water heater. There is a descent amount of space if I just cleaned up the wiring and build a frame to install the gear. That way it's out of the way, it's in a heated space, and as long as I build an access door, and possibly a plexiglass window it should work. The issue I'm having is the aft basement doors are attached to a metal frame that runs the width of the trailer. It's secured to both the floor and the basement ceiling ribs. Does anyone know if this is solely to attach the basement walls or does it provide structural support for the ceiling? I would need to remove parts of it to configure the basement as I've outlined above and I'm hesitant to do that until I'm sure it's not load bearing.
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Old 04-20-2021, 01:42 PM   #2
brooks340
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I have an update to my earlier post. I contacted Keystone support this morning and asked if I could modify the metal framing behind the basement doors as per my original post. They told me the framing is for added frame rigidity and should not be modified. So, if I do move the batteries, inverter etc into the basement it will have to be done without changing the existing framing. Not sure that will work for me but I'll have a look this weekend. Another option of course would be to buy heated lithium batteries when i do make the purchase. I could also work to seal up the front compartment to keep the road dust and grime out.
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Old 04-20-2021, 02:32 PM   #3
Montana Man
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That is quite the setup. The idea of sealing up the space shouldn't be too much trouble. In mine, the dust enters the relief holes for the generator cut out. It shouldn't take very much effort to keep that space above freezing.
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