Battery location.

So after lots of deliberation as to how to enclose the battery/electrical area i started looking at alloy boxes, couldnt find anything the size i wanted without having it custom made so decided on enclosing the area by folding up steel sheet.
I made a brief start on it but then an alloy checkerplate box came up on gumtree almost the right size, space i have is 650mmL x 300mmD x 400mmH and thoe one i found is 600mmL x 300mmD x 400mmH :).
It even has a gas ram for the lid and is lockable, the lid protrudes about 20mm but otherwise its a perfect fit.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2016/07/62.jpg


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2016/07/63.jpg

Got a chance to mount my battery box to the trailer and make a start on adding power sockets, box is bolted to chassis so it can handle the 40kgs of the 145ah battery .
I screwed 2 pieces of 12mm plywood in one end for mounting the isolator and fuse panel.
Will be ordering some control boxes from the 12v shop in SA.
The occy strap is just a temporary measure until i make a base for the box that will have battery clamps.

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?acti...h=125672;image


http://www.myswag.org/index.php?acti...h=125674;image

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

So after lots of deliberation as to how to enclose the battery/electrical area i started looking at alloy boxes, couldnt find anything the size i wanted without having it custom made so decided on enclosing the area by folding up steel sheet.
I made a brief start on it but then an alloy checkerplate box came up on gumtree almost the right size, space i have is 650mmL x 300mmD x 400mmH and thoe one i found is 600mmL x 300mmD x 400mmH :).
It even has a gas ram for the lid and is lockable, the lid protrudes about 20mm but otherwise its a perfect fit.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2016/07/62.jpg


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2016/07/63.jpg

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IF you're going to run a box like that dont forget to think about putting a set of "at a glance" leds into it so you can check things like charge from the vehicle, rough SOC of the batteries and if you put fuses in there to bridge the fuse panel with 12V leds so that if you get an electrical issue (which usually happens at night) you have an instant tell tale that you can see from outside the box.

AND put a couple of white LED lights inside the box wired up with a door switch on it so that when you open the box the light comes on.

IF the lids as good as it looks I'd also be very tempted to recess a small 10W (larger if you have the space) maintenance charging solar panel into it so when you get all you have to do is park it so it gets a few hours sun a day and most of your battery maintenance becomes set and forget.

Looks like a good layout though.

I'm not planning on a vehicle link just yet but i will be adding a meter and solar regulator , the interior light is a good idea.

Got the solar reg and fuse box fitted , also mounted the solar input Anderson plug on a lip of the box for ease of fitting.Attachment 114679