Securing A Leisure Battery To A Motorhome Floor

[Kevin Hartle]

Our new battery is too large to install in the external battery box, so I would like to put it inside one of the bed lockers. The plywood of the floor seems very thin and I would not like to rely on screws retaining a battery clamp in an accident. What is the best way to robustly attach a battery clamp to the floor? Do people glue a thicker piece of ply to the floor and attach the clamp to that, or is it better to drill through the floor and use a spreader plate underneath the motorhome to spread the clamp load? Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[activecampers]

Won't like the answer, but......

For things that I know will kill me if I have a big off when driving are ratchet strapped through approved load D rings bolted through the floor with external plates - so battery, internal water tank etc would need to rip a massive hole in the floor before they hit me.

So probably ironically die from a tin of baked beans!

 

[MichaelT]

Alloy angle around base then delete rings and ratchet strap.

 

[nicholsong]

Won't like the answer, but......

For things that I know will kill me if I have a big off when driving are ratchet strapped through approved load D rings bolted through the floor with external plates - so battery, internal water tank etc would need to rip a massive hole in the floor before they hit me.

So probably ironically die from a tin of baked beans!

[Off topic]

Any food stored in tin (Sn) could poison you. It should be in lined aluminium cans. When I worked at Heinz it was a cardinal sin to use the word 'tin' instead of 'can'

Not a lot of people know that.

 

[Ingwe]

Not a lot of people know that.

Thank you, Michael.

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[Kevin Hartle]

Won't like the answer, but......

For things that I know will kill me if I have a big off when driving are ratchet strapped through approved load D rings bolted through the floor with external plates - so battery, internal water tank etc would need to rip a massive hole in the floor before they hit me.

So probably ironically die from a tin of baked beans!

I am of the same opinion, I don't fancy being hit by a flying battery. I like the idea of d-rings secured through the floor.

 

[Clivefog]

Is proposed site vented? There is a reason why batteries are housed in external lockers or air tight sealed under floor.

 

[activecampers]

Is proposed site vented? There is a reason why batteries are housed in external lockers or air tight sealed under floor.

Lithium doesn't matter. Pro vans can have batteries under cab seats (!) and even OEM vans can (Transits etc). I'm not sure the Fiat battery is vented externally. So its not mandatory. Having ventilation on lead acid/gel types, yes, certainly, don't want enclosed space, but venting outside isn't good. Air tight sealed under floor is bad for LA so don't go there! (Hydrogen can vent and need to escape). Also LA may need vent tubes.

 

[activecampers]

Alloy angle around base then delete rings and ratchet strap.
View attachment 987518

Screwing the D ring into what? It doesn't take a big accident to have huge forces.

The force exerted by the 20 kg load in a 40 mph accident could range from approximately 1,788 N to 3,576 N, depending on the duration of the impact.

So roughly the same as the impact force of 178-350kg dropped from 1m pulling on the ring.... Easily pull out screws. Hence using engineering bolts through floor to spreader plates.....

Thinking about it - my 70kg water tank would be "secured" but bet it would split and the water escape before ripping out through floor. So I'll probably drown - unless lady luck uses that water to put out a fire! Saying that, the toilet cassette will probably not be a pleasant thought!

 

[Figaro]

I'd have thought a larger sheet of 18mm plywood glued n screwed to the existing floor with aluminum angle around the base and D loops to secure ratchet straps would be a good option

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[Kevin Hartle]

Is proposed site vented? There is a reason why batteries are housed in external lockers or air tight sealed under floor.

Thanks for your reminder for anyone thinking of putting a lead acid battery in the habitation area. In my case there is an existing dropout vent in the floor, but the battery is lithium and does not require any kind of ventilation.

 

[RustyRuss]

Strengthen the floor with some 18mm marine grade ply. Using a multi tool cut two slots through this and the floor wide enough to take the strap off a ratchet strap. Make sure the two slots are either side of a chassis rail or other load bearing structure under the van. Ratchet battery into place. You may want to add 4 blocks of wood or L section metal framing to fit tightly around the base of the battery to ensure it definitely won’t slide about. I would also very strongly recommend dousing the newly cut holes with wet rot wood hardener from Ronseal. I have used this on the edges of the base cabinet for the sink in our wet room bathroom at home. Applied with a steady hand and a few cotton buds. 3 years on and the mdf the cabinet is made from is as good as when first installed.

Cheers!

Russ

 

[Jev88]

Saw on a friend's van - he had a thin floor and so glued a suitable rectangle of plywood to it and then attached the d rings to that and a ratchet strap over the battery. After my insistance he also bought a plastic tray tomcatch any spills from battery and also routed the VENT pipe from the battery down through the floor

 

[VXman]

I am of the same opinion, I don't fancy being hit by a flying battery. I like the idea of d-rings secured through the floor.

To be hit by a flying battery would mean the motorhome would have gone upside down. I think there would be many other worries about what would hit you if the motorhome overturned.

When I added an additional leisure battery as a temporary measure I used some sticky back Velcro underneath the batteries onto the floor. I have tried to remove the batteries since and have failed!

 

[Kevin Hartle]

Strengthen the floor with some 18mm marine grade ply. Using a multi tool cut two slots through this and the floor wide enough to take the strap off a ratchet strap. Make sure the two slots are either side of a chassis rail or other load bearing structure under the van. Ratchet battery into place. You may want to add 4 blocks of wood or L section metal framing to fit tightly around the base of the battery to ensure it definitely won’t slide about. I would also very strongly recommend dousing the newly cut holes with wet rot wood hardener from Ronseal. I have used this on the edges of the base cabinet for the sink in our wet room bathroom at home. Applied with a steady hand and a few cotton buds. 3 years on and the mdf the cabinet is made from is as good as when first installed.

Cheers!

Russ

I like the idea of strapping around one of the structural members. I had a look underneath the vehicle and unfortunately there isn't anything structural that is close enough to the limited space that I have available. It looks like my best option will be to use spreader plates.

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[Kevin Hartle]

To be hit by a flying battery would mean the motorhome would have gone upside down. I think there would be many other worries about what would hit you if the motorhome overturned.

When I added an additional leisure battery as a temporary measure I used some sticky back Velcro underneath the batteries onto the floor. I have tried to remove the batteries since and have failed!

An interesting idea, but I would definitely want the ability to be able to remove the battery.

 

[VXman]

An interesting idea, but I would definitely want the ability to be able to remove the battery.

I'm sure its removeable but it would require some effort - will probably need to lever something underneath the battery to release the Velcro.

 

[arkwright]

To be hit by a flying battery would mean the motorhome would have gone upside down. I think there would be many other worries about what would hit you if the motorhome overturned.

When I added an additional leisure battery as a temporary measure I used some sticky back Velcro underneath the batteries onto the floor. I have tried to remove the batteries since and have failed!

I echo this, what does it matter how it's secured if it's in a bed locker? Or am I missing something?

 

[KNWH]

[Off topic]

Any food stored in tin (Sn) could poison you. It should be in lined aluminium cans. When I worked at Heinz it was a cardinal sin to use the word 'tin' instead of 'can'

Not a lot of people know that.

If you check your cupboard with a magnet you’ll find most tins are steel.
The two cans of Heinz beans I’ve got certainly are.
Some food stuffs do need to go in aluminium cans and others use steel with a lacquer coating on the inside.

 

[Brains]

Buy a smaller battery!
And put it where it should be, where it vents to the outside and in the event of an accident will not move.

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[Lenny HB]

Mine are mounted in the storage box under the double floor where the original battery was, I used 3mm 1" x 2" angle alloy on two sides of each battery, Fixed with 8mm bolts & penny washers on the other side. one on the end one on the side of the batteries they won't be going anywhere.