Thread: DIY battery box or portable power pack

good idea and yes i think building your own will work out better and cheaper than the off the shelf model

re: charging, i can not see a problem securing it in the back somewhere and connecting it via say an anderson plug to your existing system

The voltmeter will just be connected to the +ve and -ve terminals on the battery. No rocket science there.

I like your idea of putting the connections in a separate compartment on the end rather than building the box taller. Obviously depends on where you are going to store it as to what dimensions you can end up with.
The other thing I would do is to not have an opening lid on top. I'd make the box lid fixed, and load the battery from one end then close the end. That way there is no chance of a catch failing and dropping your battery on the ground or your foot while you hang onto the handle.
I'd use an anderson plug to connect the battery to the rest of the internals inside the box to make it easier to slide in.

Not sure which of the Traxide controllers you have, but the SC80 that I have can be configured for 3 batteries rather than just plugging it in parallel to your aux as you suggested.

Steve

Hi I Have 2 boxes like the picture below, You can pick the boxes up at Autobarn, BCF & Supercheap for not too many $$$. One of these lives in the back of the disco all the time and the other which is a bit more fancy lives in the caravan.

The one in the van has a indicator to tell how good the charge is and a circuit breaker as well as a cig plug. Its pretty simple to add these to the basic box as shown in the pic.

I added an anderson plug to both boxes and to the van, made a heavy extension cord with anderson plugs. With this setup I can swap them around as needed. Charge 1 or both at once from either the Disco or the smart charger in the van or charge either or both from the solar panels.

Best thing is the portability and versitility, worth the small amount of space lost in the rear of the Disco.

I have done the same as Adonuff, box from BCF with a n70 size deep cycle battery in it, i had a heavy duty anderson plug on it and have swapped it in and out of our camper etc, i also drilled some holes in the top and fit a cig plug and one of the marine style plugs, it works great very portalable, the box is super durable, i pull it out of the camper when im not using it, charge it up and keep an eye on it so it doesnt discharge.