Has anyone relocated their battery to a position rear of the axle? I was wondering if, when secureley held in position in a rear bed box, it could be reconnected to the original connections at the front of the van?
I have often wondered why caravan manufacturers design vans with lots of weight to the front, such as gas bottles, spare wheeels and heavy batteries.
I cannot see the reasoning for the battery to be at the front when most, if not all EHU's are at the rear of thee pitch.
Repositioning some if these items would also help in attaining the correct nose weight of the van,
I think the reson they put them over the axle in the middle is to stop them from bouncing about too much even though they have been secured properly,if they were positioned at the back they would suffer from shakeing about quiet a lot.Ian
Hi Malcolm, a pertinent observation, one wonders if the manufacturers assume that we all use Discos as tow cars. Should you be inclined to relocate the battery to a bed box would sugest you place as close to the axle as pos. I did something similar many years ago but it was an initial installation and not a modification. I mounted the battery inside a plastic box with a sealable lid. Secured the box to the floor inside the bed box and then cut a vent aperture thro the base of the box and the floor. Also ran the cabling down thro the vent and back up in the spot I wanted it. The ideal location would probably be over the axle, but the wheel boxes would almost certainly preclude that, so as close to axle as pos. Incidently, the installation I did was on a 1962 Sprite Alpine (Gas lights etc etc) . Also topped it off with a car battery charger and owned that van for 19 years. Don't be afraid to make modifications but remember a battery needs sealing from the living area and venting to the outside, finally, watch the weights but I'm sure you're aware of all that.
Moving the battery to a more suitable position (I would think over the axle best) is no different to procedure for load distribution. As saxo1 points out, the main consideration is safety. Unless it is intended to fit a new external dedicated battery-box, then a sealed maintenance-free battery is essential. Caravan charging systems are designed not to 'gas', but any vapours that do escape are still flammable.
Perfectly correct. What I was saying is don't make the noseweight too light for the caravan, just to suit the car.
It should be possible to sort out the noseweight without resorting to this, unless the car has an inadequate.capacity.
Jim
I am in the position at the moment that our 'van is about to go to the dealer for items to have repaired.
With it completely empty, the nose weight is within 7kgs of the maximum allowed for my car. (85Kgs) I appreciate that there are cars with a lower noseweight but that can be adjusted by judicious placement of the accesories around the 'van.
It would there follow that when the manufacturers (Lunar) designed the 'van, they allowed for the battery to be where it has been placed, ie forward of the offside wheel.
------------- How come when some people visit the fountain of knowledge, they only gargle!!!
Thanks everyone for your replies. It makes for interesting reading!
If you read my post again, you will see that the noseweight was just an afterthought. My main question was regarding design and usability, i.e. the mains inlet to the van being at the front when the EHU is at the rear. Also the water inlet is situated very close to the electricity. Electric and water doesn't mix.
As to the noseweight, I wonder if the manufacturers take into account the possibility of someone fitting a motor mover to the van which also increases noseweight when fitted forward of the axle as instructed by the mover manufacturers. Most new vans have spare wheel carriers behind the axle so that movers cannot be installed there.
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Topic: Relocating Battery
