Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have seen some great examples of both battery applications (on the tongue and in the galley below the counter). I would like to place mine in the galley for wiring convenience but understand there are inherrent risks with doing so...or so I think.

I would be mounting a Wal-Mart marine battery, charger, converter, and fuse panel in the lower right-hand galley compartment below the sink. The battery wouyld be housed in a plastic case and I would create a small ven to the outside.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Especially since I will be mounting my breaker, converter, and charger inside the same compartment as the battery...

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Hi Dustin,

The "inherent risk" with most batteries is that they can and do produce hydrogen gas, generally while charging.

Venting them is good, placement of the battery other than conveinience, should be toward (proper) weight distribution.

Having the charger in the same compartment may not be the best placement unless there is a sealed wall between them?

Sparks/fire/high heat should not be next to or near the battery, otherwise, placement is not a big issue.

Rob

How about putting the charger on the opposite side of the galley bulkhead in a cabinet in the teardrop cabin? Still close to the battery but isolated. That's the way I did it.

I put my battery in an electrical compartment/tongue box and ran wires from there under the trailer to the rear. I kept bumping my head under the trailer running wires and got an inexpensive bicycle helmet to wear when underneath the trailer on my creeper. There must be an easier way! But it finally got done and this might be one option.

Bill

PS In this pic the battery box is out of sight underneath the converter. Two vents in the back of the tongue box hopefully clear out battery gas sufficiently.

This how I have mine. The trailer has been connected to AC power and maintaining the charge on the battery for a couple of years now. Even though the trailer has yet to be finished, it has served continuous duty as temporary dry storage for tools and material during this and other projects (right now it is fencing supplies and material for the wife's garden fence) so the lights, fantastic vent and even the Air Conditioner have seen use comparable to several weekend camping trips. I am not recommending that you do it this way, only showing "something that works". It is a very convenient "job box" with lights and climate control for now, once the mattress is inside that will not be so.

Larwyn,

How does the Battery Tender keep the battery charged if it isn't hooked up directly to the battery terminals? I'm looking to do mine in a similar setup as yours.

planovet wrote:Larwyn,

How does the Battery Tender keep the battery charged if it isn't hooked up directly to the battery terminals?

C'mon, everyone knows DC flows downhill.

planovet wrote:Larwyn,

How does the Battery Tender keep the battery charged if it isn't hooked up directly to the battery terminals? I'm looking to do mine in a similar setup as yours.

It is connected through a fuse on the fuse block. Here's a simplified block diagram showing the charger connections. It just seemed like a cleaner install without all that excess wire and inline fuse. I"ve spent much of my working life trying to make unruly wires less so......

Thanks Larwyn! I thought that was how you did it but I wasn't sure it would work that way. I'm a vet, not an electrician

I'm going to have the battery and tender in the tongue box and the fuse box will be in the galley. I guess I will just hook it up directly to the terminals.
I know I need an inline fuse from the battery to the fuse box but do I need an inline fuse from the tender to the battery too?

planovet wrote:Thanks Larwyn! I thought that was how you did it but I wasn't sure it would work that way. I'm a vet, not an electrician

I'm going to have the battery and tender in the tongue box and the fuse box will be in the galley. I guess I will just hook it up directly to the terminals.
I know I need an inline fuse from the battery to the fuse box but do I need an inline fuse from the tender to the battery too?

I used an auto reset circuit breaker between the battery and and the fuse block (the little metal box with two terminals and the #6 cable on both, on the right side of the bottom pic). The battery tender comes with an inline fuse in the positive lead, since I was going through a fuse in the fuse block, I eliminated that inline fuse when I cut the leads to length.

In your case, I'd probably just bundle the leads up and leave them full length, leaving the factory supplied inline fuse as it is.

Larwyn wrote:C'mon, everyone knows DC flows downhill.

A great looking installation Larwyn! I went a little overboard and made things more complicated than necessary. This photo shows what I call the control panel that sits in the tongue box in front of the battery. The strange shape allows the hinged upper level to clear the tongue box latch mechanism. I kept the in-line fuse that came with the Battery Tender and it connects to the battery at the red battery switch on the lower level. The AC Battery Tender cord plugs into a switched outlet. The switch is on the upper level in back in this photo. I mostly use the converter for battery charging and a relay disconnects the Battery Tender output if I forget and try to connect the converter and Battery Tender to the battery at the same time. With the 3-stage converter I really do not use the Battery Tender much and probably could have left it out altogether. At my trailer storage there is no place to plug it in.

Bill


PS I used two #10 DC wires on most of my battery connections, instead of a single heavier wire. This gave improved flexability for the hinged upper level. And with a 30A fuse on both the converter and tow vehicle charge circuits this seems to be plenty.

The red switch on the upper level connects DC power to the rest of the trailer. It could have been left out too, but it is nice to know that with a single switch there is not a light left on somewhere to drain the battery.

planovet wrote:I'm going to have the battery and tender in the tongue box and the fuse box will be in the galley. I guess I will just hook it up directly to the terminals.
I know I need an inline fuse from the battery to the fuse box but do I need an inline fuse from the tender to the battery too?

Most battery charger manufacturers tell you to put a fuse or circuit breaker between the charger and the battery on the positive leg. On my boat I have circuit breakers mounted next to the battery charger (2 battery banks, 2 breakers.)

I find breakers easier to deal with. I never have to look for fuses, and they act as convenient off switches (under non-load conditions). Check with the charger company, a lot of them will have the installation instructions on their website.