I bought a year old (still on the lot) Northern Lite 10-2000CD about six months ago, I found that with the way the compartment doors are vented water can and does enter.
The big problem is there was nowhere for the water to go so it found its way around the molded cabinet and into the interior. The dealer had tried to caulk all the areas required to keep the water from entering the camper but the water still had nowhere to go.
I took the doors off and pulled out the formed compartments and found lots of mildew, it had apparently been wet many times while it sat on the dealers lot (I keep it stored indoors unless I’m using it.)
Using a spray bottle of bleach to kill the mildew and a fan for a couple of weeks I believe everything is dry. I opened the two compartments into one larger compartment that can now hold three batteries and reframed all the wood where the door attaches.
I custom ordered a new door from RV Surplus, I cut the upper portion of the flange for venting (this company doesn’t do that), than a new ¾” plywood floor and a PVC fresh air vent in the bottom.
I than started framing the new box but didn’t get photos before I covered it up with Hardboard. In the upper left corner is the p-trap for the kitchen sink, after I had finished the box and put the slides and battery in, it was too tall for the cover I had built, so I came up with cutting a 4” PVC elbow to fit.
O
The Thermal circuit breakers were located in the battery box originally but they were corroding due to the gases, I relocated them outside the battery box.
Next is the finished box with quick connects installed (from Grainger) and than with everything caulked and painted (I know I should have done a better job painting)
I purchased heavy duty drawer slides at Specialty supply Co, Built my own battery trays, bought battery tie downs from Murray’s discount auto . Because of the tight space in the rear of the compartment I removed the handles from the batteries and just lay them on top, this way I can use the handle slots for the tie downs. Each battery slides out independently so I don’t have almost 200lbs hanging out and stressing the camper. The steel rod in front of the trays is my lock to keep them “in” when I don’t want them “out”
On the battery wiring I installed wire loom to keep everything neat and prevent chaffing, I added a loop to the quick connect so I have something to pull to make it easier to disconnect.
And the finished camper, now on to the next project.
Maybe I should check the propane compartment?
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edited 03/21/06 12:08pm by Spott *
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Nice repair and remodel of the battery storage compartment area. Appreciate the photos.
George
2006 F-550, Crew cab, 4x4 w/factory bed getting 10 mpg @ 5,000 miles
2006 Lance 1191
2006 Wells Cargo 14' Cycle Wagon
Doran Pressure Pro Tire Monitoring System, Garmin 2720 GPS & Lance
rearview monitor
Working on Cat Heat and 200 watts more solar power
Y2K Silverado 1/2 ton...Whipple Supercharger,SuperSprings Airlifts (I know...)
97 Bigfoot 15C9.5FS ,FastGuns, 2 x 75w Solar
77 Chevy 1 Ton C30 (I love this truck)
2000 Chinook concourse (uncomfortable , badly designed rv ,must get rid of it :-( )
Yep... we can do a better job then the factory just takes a little smarts and effort. Great job!
I have one question / thought, does hydrogen gas not rise rather then fall? The vent on the bottom would not help to vent this explosive gas outside. Even if you were to move it to the top it is designed to vent through the floor and this gas wants to fly like the Hindenberg. Oops! Bad example.
What most doors have are louvers which then allow water to drip away from the openings but still let the lighter than air hydrogen vent to the outside. The battery box is all plastic so if it gets a bit wet it is a non-issue. I see a lot of great ideas here and as usual for me I will be stealing some of them.
Thanks for the post, pics, and links.
Allen
2005 Ford F-350 CC Dually 6.0L Diesel 4x4 King Ranch loaded, Supersprings, Coolant filter, Oilguard bypass filter.
AllenF wrote: I have one question / thought, does hydrogen gas not rise rather then fall? The vent on the bottom would not help to vent this explosive gas outside. Even if you were to move it to the top it is designed to vent through the floor and this gas wants to fly like the Hindenberg. Oops! Bad example.
When installing the door I cut away the top center portion of the flange so when the door is closed there is a gap to allow the gases out, the vent in the bottom is for fresh air to enter.
Here is a photo I took with a light inside the closed compartment, The light coming through is where the gases will exit. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the kind words.
* This post was
edited 03/20/06 01:29pm by Spott *
is there a reason as to why the warranty did not kick in and fix the original damages? agree with the others that it was a first rate repair/upgrade that you did.
We interupt this marriage for FISHING SEASON 2002 Ford 350 Crewcab 4X4 Powerstroke
1999 Lance 1020
eisen and SWMBO wrote: is there a reason as to why the warranty did not kick in and fix the original damages?
I did not know there was a problem until I started taking it apart to do my upgrade to three batteries. And even if they did a repair they would have put it back the way they first had it. I believe they thought the ungodly amounts of caulk they put in at the dealers was an appropriate fix.
I wanted to do this project since it was very hard to check the acid level in the batteries, you had to unstrap the tie downs and remove the wiring for each battery and every time. It didn't make it so I would check very often.
Excellant job. Did you consider adding insulation to the new compartment walls (inside) before installing? One of the shortfalls I find in campers is that compartments like these have no insulation and create very large cold sinks in the interior. I have insulated doors, but they're vented!! I'd love to be able to wrap insulation on the inside, but don't have access without removing the compartments. Good job!
O
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