- Jul 22, 2015
- 2,724
Ok. I've searched for this online, and didn't find anything definitive, so I'll ask our little corner of the world. And I'll apologize in advance, as I don't have pictures to illustrate.
I have 2 x 6V golf cart batteries that supply power to my travel trailer (for the uninitiated, I gain more amp-hours with them, vs. a standard 12V battery -- thicker plates, yada yada). GC-2 battery format is top post only, with additional posts (so, two sets of pos / neg). Connect them in series, and you get 12VDC.
My current trailer / battery frame only has room for 1 battery (the old one, I could put the batteries side-by-side, each in a plastic battery box.)
So, rather than weld a larger 'frame' on top of the trailer frame, I decided to kill two birds with one stone (actually 3)... I purchased a truck toolbox from Lowe's (made for 'midsize' trucks, not the big kahuna for the full-size pickups). Has a latch on each side of the lid, with a rod (1/4"?) inside connecting the two latches (so it runs across the length of the lid.) It locks as well, so that addressed another concern, and it has enough room that if I want to go to a four x 6V setup in the future, I can turn the batteries sideways and do so (by running a series / parallel configuration, I can keep a 12V config, but also double the amp-hours). Great for boondocking (camping w/o 120V / 30A hookups), which I do, often.
I used four sets of U-bolts to fasten the box to the frame (drilled holes for the U-bolts in the box; used rubber grommets to isolate the bolts from the box (so that it wouldn't eventually tear through the diamondplate.) Two more holes in the back (also with grommets) for the battery cables to feed through. Turned out nice. Box sits backwards, so that I can fully open the lid (it's close to the curved front wall of the trailer; you get the idea). Width of the arrangement is less than the width of the trailer, so it's not sticking out on either end.
Anyway... the box isn't quite tall enough to close properly if I put the top of the plastic battery box on, inside the tool box ('box in a box', if you will). So... the battery terminals are exposed on the top - and I'm a bit worried about them bouncing & contacting that rod in the lid that I mentioned, and seeing something in my rear view mirror akin to the Breaking Bad ep where Walter White shorts out the electrical system of a BMW & sets the car on fire in a gas station by crossing the + & (-) terminals with a window squeegee. (yeah, it was exaggerated a bit, but you get the idea)
I had the idea of putting an inch or two of flexible foam between the battery terminals and the lid, but was worried that that might not be enough to prevent conductivity between the rod and the terminals.
Another idea that comes to mind as I write this is a thin sheet of plywood between the two (1/4"). This, I have more confidence in, although being inflexible, it might still be an issue to close the lid, or it might break in transit, being thin.
I could remove the bar (but that will defeat the lock security, as only one side locks; the bar keeps both sides down when connecting the two latches. So that'd be a 'last resort'.
And some of you will say "secure the batteries in the bottom of the tool box, so that they don't move". Yeah, I could do that (I already have bracing in so that they don't move back / forth & side / side) -- but even if I secure them against moving up / down, I don't want to have the rod and the terminals in close proximity to one another.
Rather than do that, I'd probably remove the tool box, and fasten the plastic box to the frame (although that's kind of risky, even if I reuse the U-bolts that I fastened the tool box to the frame with (the plastic box isn't super thick, and it's really intended to sit in a 'frame' of angle iron).
TL; DR: Ideas / recommendations ?
I have 2 x 6V golf cart batteries that supply power to my travel trailer (for the uninitiated, I gain more amp-hours with them, vs. a standard 12V battery -- thicker plates, yada yada). GC-2 battery format is top post only, with additional posts (so, two sets of pos / neg). Connect them in series, and you get 12VDC.
My current trailer / battery frame only has room for 1 battery (the old one, I could put the batteries side-by-side, each in a plastic battery box.)
So, rather than weld a larger 'frame' on top of the trailer frame, I decided to kill two birds with one stone (actually 3)... I purchased a truck toolbox from Lowe's (made for 'midsize' trucks, not the big kahuna for the full-size pickups). Has a latch on each side of the lid, with a rod (1/4"?) inside connecting the two latches (so it runs across the length of the lid.) It locks as well, so that addressed another concern, and it has enough room that if I want to go to a four x 6V setup in the future, I can turn the batteries sideways and do so (by running a series / parallel configuration, I can keep a 12V config, but also double the amp-hours). Great for boondocking (camping w/o 120V / 30A hookups), which I do, often.
I used four sets of U-bolts to fasten the box to the frame (drilled holes for the U-bolts in the box; used rubber grommets to isolate the bolts from the box (so that it wouldn't eventually tear through the diamondplate.) Two more holes in the back (also with grommets) for the battery cables to feed through. Turned out nice. Box sits backwards, so that I can fully open the lid (it's close to the curved front wall of the trailer; you get the idea). Width of the arrangement is less than the width of the trailer, so it's not sticking out on either end.
Anyway... the box isn't quite tall enough to close properly if I put the top of the plastic battery box on, inside the tool box ('box in a box', if you will). So... the battery terminals are exposed on the top - and I'm a bit worried about them bouncing & contacting that rod in the lid that I mentioned, and seeing something in my rear view mirror akin to the Breaking Bad ep where Walter White shorts out the electrical system of a BMW & sets the car on fire in a gas station by crossing the + & (-) terminals with a window squeegee. (yeah, it was exaggerated a bit, but you get the idea)
I had the idea of putting an inch or two of flexible foam between the battery terminals and the lid, but was worried that that might not be enough to prevent conductivity between the rod and the terminals.
Another idea that comes to mind as I write this is a thin sheet of plywood between the two (1/4"). This, I have more confidence in, although being inflexible, it might still be an issue to close the lid, or it might break in transit, being thin.
I could remove the bar (but that will defeat the lock security, as only one side locks; the bar keeps both sides down when connecting the two latches. So that'd be a 'last resort'.
And some of you will say "secure the batteries in the bottom of the tool box, so that they don't move". Yeah, I could do that (I already have bracing in so that they don't move back / forth & side / side) -- but even if I secure them against moving up / down, I don't want to have the rod and the terminals in close proximity to one another.
Rather than do that, I'd probably remove the tool box, and fasten the plastic box to the frame (although that's kind of risky, even if I reuse the U-bolts that I fastened the tool box to the frame with (the plastic box isn't super thick, and it's really intended to sit in a 'frame' of angle iron).
TL; DR: Ideas / recommendations ?
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Not sure I'm picturing it right in my head, but would it be an option to wrap the rod in electrical tape to prevent conductive contact with the battery terminals?
