Second House Battery Box

[The Hawk]

After a long web search we found info on a Ford frame mounted battery box and assorted parts for same, all new stock. Has anyone ever used these parts? I have a hunch they have not change at all from year to year. We totaled up all the parts and it comes to about $150.00. Now to get under the 2011 Greyhawk to see if it might fit.

http://www.parts.com/oemcatalog/inde...layCatalogid=0

[Flytyer2]

Something you may want to consider is the max size of batteries the box will hold. More than likely, these particular boxes are for 12V, and 6V will be too big if you choose to go that direction.

[moonraker]

I have a greyhawk also .The box your looking at wont fit a group 27 battery I took the battery to a local welding shop and had one built for 90 dollars it looks factory built . Also jayco had a duel purpose battery installed in it I got two deep cycle batterys the same. Hope this helps

[The Hawk]

Looking under the rig its much harder than I thought, let alone not being able to use a group 27. Well on to the next idea what ever that maybe. Thanks for the reply.
The Hawk

[Terry]

I have never messed with a Greyhawk, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night...but I have seen some other people talk about the same thing so you are not alone.

Let me ask you this - what are you trying to accomplish? Are you just not getting enough run time, cant run the generator, etc etc - that might stir up some folks into some more ideas for you.

If you just need longer run time, the only thing that comes to mind right now is adding a sealed AGM type battery inside a storage compartment along with the necessary cut offs, etc - but that is going to run $200 to $250 for a 75-100 Ah battery.

[The Hawk]

Thanks for the reply tafishe. I was just looking into not having the run the gen. as often. Thought that this would be simple but as the saying goes the "best laid plans of mice and men"......Looking under the Greyhawk we have cables to reroute and the brake cable is in the way so we will just stay with the one house battery and use the gen. more.
The Hawk

[Terry]

That is too bad...odd they dont make provisions for a second battery. I guess they figure most folks will just crank up the gen.

Might look at some other energy saving ideas like going to LED lights,etc which would use much less battery power. Other than adding those AGM batteries, not sure what else you could do? Solar would not be that cost effective of an option with just one battery either.

[The Hawk]

Jayco makes a great product and with our new greyhawk we have had no warranty problems what so ever!!!!! So I will just live with the one battery, run the gen. and hope that Jayco reads what we have to say here and looks at it as maybe being an option they could add in the future.
The Hawk

[Flytyer2]

When all is said and done, running the generator is probably the best and cheapest way to go. Even with two batteries, one doesn't get that many amp hours and neither the microwave nor air conditioner will work for long (just a very few minutes) with two batteries. Also, if you have to use the heater, the heater fan requires more "juice" than you might imagine, as well as other appliances like TVs, etc. For me, the biggest advantage of batteries is when we stop and dry camp for a single night, I plug the CPAP into battery power, via the inverter.

[Tom Copeland]

OK, what's a CPAP?........ newbees here!

[fidalgo66]

CPAP stand for continuous positive airway pressure. It's a device that allows those with sleep apnea to sleep properly.

Fidalgo66

[Denise]

Originally Posted by Tom Copeland

OK, what's a CPAP?........ newbees here!

Originally Posted by fidalgo66

CPAP stand for continuous positive airway pressure. It's a device that allows those with sleep apnea to sleep properly.

Fidalgo66

-------> had no clue what a CPAP was <------- LOL

[ledoyle]

Just purchased a 2007 Greyhawk 31SS with only 3300 miles on it. The battery was the original 12 volt and was getting tired. We do sometimes dry camp for a couple of days. I didn't want the noise of running the generator all the time. We are in the final throws of making a mod to the 31SS.
1) Removed the 12 volt RV/Marine Battery and box.
2) Had a 28" wide door installed in place of the battery door.
3) I have built and installed a frame and support for a Kwikee battery box that is on order and should be here next week. (24" X 18")
4) We will install the pullout tray next week and have two six-volt Trojan T-105's installed in series. The tray will handle up to 6 batteries. We'll keep you posted on the progress. The upgrade with two batteries and custom cables will probably wind up costing $800 - $1000 but we'll have something we can use and grow with without giving up other storage in the MH.

Anyone have experience with the Trojan T-105's? Thanks, Larry

[Quahog]

I've got two of the Energizer GC2's which are the low cost version of the T-105's. They work great but I would have rather had the Trojans. Cost was the deciding factor for me.

[Seann45]

I have 6 of em... 4 years old and going strong... use em 250 days a year...

[letitshine307]

When we bought our 2015 Greyhawk we mentioned to the dealer that there was no way 1 battery would be sufficient as we dry camp 90% of the time and running the generator in pristine country was not the answer. To make the sale the dealer installed a 2nd battery in the storage compartment next to the battery slide compartment. You might go back to the dealer and see if they'll help you out.

[The Logans]

CPAP = Continuous Positive Airway Pressure - Helps breathing at night.

We decided against 6v batteries, as we had one fail. You can't just cut one out of the circuit as you can when a 12v battery fails.

We gave up on trying to add a second house batter, as it was very expensive, and labor intensive.

Now I'm looking into a portable solar system that you just unfold and set up next to the RV, and plug in.