Battery question (From TapaTalk Forum)

8:14 PM – Apr 30#1

I have a 5th wheel . In the front compartment I have two battery boxes screwed to the metal floor. My question is a box mounted near the batteries and it is a recessed plastic box it appears a battery could fit in it but nothing is in this box. Can someone t err ll me what this box is for? I opened the mystery box and nothing is in there ..it has a vent on top and bottom? Please explain what I am missing

11:51 PM – Apr 30#2

With the warning label on the top of box it should be for a battery. Its kind of a strange place for one but it looks like its vented so it should be OK. You would think there would be some wires that would be close to hook up to the battery unless someone stopped a project for extra battery?

7:19 AM – May 01#3

Looks like a battery box. With that said, is that your LP tank in the pic? That is a VERY dangerous place to mix batteries and LP. I’m not even sure if it’s legal. The LP should be in a separate unlocked compartment vented to the outside. Batteries spark and batteries explode and I wouldn’t want them next to my LP tank. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with that setup. Just my 2 cents.

Chip

8:00 AM – May 01#4

Yes the LP tanks are in the same compartment. I bought this unit used but it appears it is all factory . Where are other LP tanks located on other 5ers

8:52 AM – May 01#5

Who is the manufacturer of your fifth wheel?

12:52 PM – May 01#6

falconhunter wrote:Looks like a battery box. With that said, is that your LP tank in the pic? That is a VERY dangerous place to mix batteries and LP. I’m not even sure if it’s legal. The LP should be in a separate unlocked compartment vented to the outside. Batteries spark and batteries explode and I wouldn’t want them next to my LP tank. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with that setup. Just my 2 cents.
Chip

12:56 PM – May 01#7

TonypattersonAZ wrote:Yes the LP tanks are in the same compartment. I bought this unit used but it appears it is all factory . Where are other LP tanks located on other 5ers

Our tanks were in a separate compartment on the right front side of the trailer. The caulking used to seal it wasn’t great but it had a mesh bottom that let propane (heavier than air) vent out.

Woulnd’t be hard to make a compartment around the propane tanks with a FRP or Alucobond type sheet and a screen in the bottom.

1:28 PM – May 01#8

There might have been a surround in place in the past, I can’t imagine there wasn’t. . By the looks of the rust and corrosion on the floor by the battery it’s possible the surround was rusted badly from the battery venting and removed or the batteries were originally somewhere else. I have yet to see a modern fifth wheel that had this kind of set up but then who knows.
Chip

3:16 PM – May 01#9

Thanks for all the replies. I will look at the LP tank concern and see what can be done. It does appear to be for a battery .strange installation of a recessed box and two non vented battery boxes mounted inside. This RV is a Lifestyle Alfa Gold . A really expensive unit originally. It has a large propane bottle in the right side in a separate compartment not accessible from the center and on the left side two smaller bottles as seen near the aftermarket battery boxes. I now think this unit may have had one 12v battery in the recessed box and the propane tanks were not a concern. But the original owner wanted two batteries and changed the install. Not a great set up for sure.

9:32 AM – May 23#10

That is a battery box and that hole one the top of it is for a vent hose which should vent to the outside. Also, what was said about the LP rant is right on.
The tank appears to be on a slide platform but needs to be enclosed and vented. I suggest that you take your rig to a qualified dealer and have it configured properly.

9:55 AM – May 23#11

Thank you for the Replies , I agree after looking that the installation was concerning and I have addressed the issue as safety was a concern. I will post ,Pics show the before and after. I took out the mount that supported two propane tanks and sealed the battery compartment and installed a bracket to hold the propane bottle in the compartment with no bottom that appears to be where it should have been installed originally. In this unit it has in the passenger side one 30 lb tank and two 20 lb tanks on the driver side that went into the battery compartment . I have now removed the mount that held TWO 20lb bottles and the new one pictured with one 20lb tank will also hold a 30 lb tank . On the opposite side there is a compartment that holds ONE 30 lb tank . So when I install the new 30 lb tank in the new bracket ( where the 20lb tank is pictured)I will have TWO 30 LB tanks. I think it came out pretty good.