where to locate addisional batterys

[keysbottles]

I purchased a 2014 Freedom Elite MH 24' and hope to install solar at some point and add batteries.  My goal to equip the MH for boondocking.  The house batteries are located under  a step at the entry of the MH,  so any added batteries will be need to be located elsewhere because of a lack of room under the step.  Has anyone else had this problem?? if so how did you overcome it?  Don't assume anything when it comes to my knowledge of electrical.  thanks  Don

 

[Almost There]

I just checked the video of the exterior of that RV. IIWM I'd relocate the entire house battery system to the storage bay immediately to the rear of the entry door. It does mean giving up that storage space but it's not immense to start with and you've got that huge rear bay anyways.

I wasn't able to check the dimensions of the door opening so some creativity might be necessary to choose and install the batteries. You might have to go with AGM batteries so that they can be installed on vertically. If you can get regular lead acid batteries through the opening I would suggest that you install a watering system for them to make watering possible.

The only other possibility is to have a welder drop the existing battery box frame so that you can use larger, more robust batteries to increase your amp hours without going to more batteries.

 

[B and C]

My Roadtrek came with one house battery underneath and hard to get to. That bay is now empty and I put 3 AGM batteries in the bottom of the kitchen cabinet. It is between the front and back wheels and on the same side as my converter and solar charger so cable runs were easy and better weight handling. My kitchen is small but I didn't need that space for my kitchen stuff.

If you decide to put your batteries in the storage bay as suggested, make sure the bay can handle the weight. Mine wouldn't so they went inside.

 

[keysbottles]

Thank you for the reply.  how serious are the wiring issues when moving the location of the battery bank?

 

[Almost There]

Not bad, you'd have to punch a couple of holes through the compartment wall and put in grommets to protect the wires.

Biggest job will be rerunning the battery cables to wherever they feed in to the power supply unit.

And of course, figuring out how long the cables are that you need to get.

B&C is right, you'll need to check the strength of the compartment bottom and reinforce if necessary. My 4 - 6 volt batteries weigh in at just shy of 300 lbs. Doubt seriously if the RV manufacturer ever intended anyone to be able to cram that much stuff in to the small compartment!

 

[keysbottles]

I have two battery now, is it necessary that two additional battery be at the same location?  Can they be 4-5' apart?

 

[B and C]

Sure they can. You are still going to have to rewire. Wires between banks will need to be larger than what is currently being used.

Read this: https://www.impactbattery.com/blog/tutorials/how-to-charge-marine-and-rv-batteries-in-parallel/