More outside storage!

For those of you who don't have an SL model, the rear battery rack can be converted to a storage bin.



The picture doesn't do it justice but it looks pretty clean and it's a very sturdy compartment.

Here's how I did it. http://67.122.16.97/lars/gallery/vie...umName=album01

[Wavery]

Nice job Lars. I'll have to take a look at that in the morning. Thanks for sharing.

Wayne

fwiw, I don't think it would work on mine because with the swing tongue the batteries are pushed so far back that they are almost touching the shell.

For non SL and no swing tongue, great idea.

Hmm, I have a swing tongue, two propane tanks and two 6V monsters. Still have room for the compartment.

Originally Posted by larsdennert

Hmm, I have a swing tongue, two propane tanks and two 6V monsters. Still have room for the compartment.

When my TM is closed, the front upper shell is about a quarter inch from touching the battery boxes. This is also why I can not install Trojan T105 batteries. The T105s are taller than the current group 24 batteries. The space behind the propane tanks is occupied by the batteries. There is no room left.

I guess different years are laid out differently.

That's really interesting... our battery compartment is in the back of the trailer inside a locked cabinet that also has extra storage, not on the front of the frame. I did not know they changed it.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Models with a slideout on the front (SD, SL, KS, etc.) have their batteries in the back compartment. All the other models have the batteries on the tongue.

Dave

[Bill]

Models with the front slides have horizontal propane tanks, which occupy more tongue space than upright tanks. That's the reason for putting the batteries in the back compartment, and for the lack of room for Lars' extra storage compartment on slide models. I don't think TM has had a "change in layout".

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

Models with the front slides have horizontal propane tanks, which occupy more tongue space than upright tanks. That's the reason for putting the batteries in the back compartment, and for the lack of room for Lars' extra storage compartment on slide models. I don't think TM has had a "change in layout".

Bill

Because of my swing tongue, the propane tanks are a little farther back than the are otherwise. This pushes the batteries further back as well.

When the TM is closed I can not remove the cover on my battery boxes because the shell is in the way. This is a security feature. If you want to steal my batteries you first need to figure out how to pop the front shell at least part way open.

This is also why I have a battery disconnect switch. When the shell is closed I can not remove the fuse, because it is in the battery box which is not accessible while the TM is closed in the garage. If I want to measure the voltage on the batteries I have to pull the TM out of the garage so I can pop it open. Or, I suppose I could measure it at the connector to the TV, but there would be perhaps some voltage loss in all that wire.