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Old 05-22-2018, 04:13 PM   #1
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Hole rubbed in bottom of battery

Has anyone had this issue with batteries? I purchased a Forest River Flagstaff e-pro 12rk on April 26th at which time the dealership in Ohio (I live in Texas) installed 2 6 volt batteries. They put them in battery cases, but by the time I finished my two weeks of traveling, I discovered that the bolts in the bottom of the battery cases were actually rubbing on the bottom of the batteries, scraping off the bottoms of the batteries to the point where the one of the bolts actually caused a hole/leak in one of the batteries. I am trying to deal with my dealer to replace the leaking battery (and plan to lay down some rubber on top of the bolts to prevent this from happening in the future), but the dealership is not cooperating. I sent them pictures today, but the service manager doesn't seem to want to call me back. Has anyone had this happen to their batteries? Any suggestions how to resolve this issue if I cannot get the dealership to come through?
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Old 05-22-2018, 04:32 PM   #2
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Make sure you file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in the dealer's area. Believe it or not, people check those listings and retailers HATE when they get bad press because of unresolved issues.
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Old 05-22-2018, 04:41 PM   #3
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If you wore a hole in the bottom of a battery in two weeks, either the incorrect bolts were used or they were installed incorrectly. This is a relatively inexpensive item for the dealer to take a hard stand on.
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Old 05-23-2018, 08:39 AM   #4
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Issue may be resolved

Well, my issue may very well be resolved. The service manager called me this morning and said they would provide me with a new battery! Yay! (Pictures were worth a 1000 words!). Just waiting for him to pay for it so that I can pick it up. My husband is going to put some rubber over the bolts so that this doesn't happen again.
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Old 05-23-2018, 08:45 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Bev4banff53 View Post
Well, my issue may very well be resolved. The service manager called me this morning and said they would provide me with a new battery! Yay! (Pictures were worth a 1000 words!). Just waiting for him to pay for it so that I can pick it up. My husband is going to put some rubber over the bolts so that this doesn't happen again.
I would consider laying a thin board in the bottom of the tray. I would be concerned the bolt will wear through the rubber. My battery box isn't bolted to the rails, it just sits there with a strap around it
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Old 05-23-2018, 08:46 AM   #6
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Well, my issue may very well be resolved. The service manager called me this morning and said they would provide me with a new battery! Yay! (Pictures were worth a 1000 words!). Just waiting for him to pay for it so that I can pick it up. My husband is going to put some rubber over the bolts so that this doesn't happen again.
Glad the dealer is doing the right thing.

As for the rubber... unless it is very thick, there will still be high spots the battery sits on instead of a nice flat surface. The battery case on these newer batteries is pretty thin. Maybe try round head bolts or most battery boxes have indentations where the bolt can be placed so they don't stick up and hit the battery.
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Old 05-23-2018, 08:57 AM   #7
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Glad the dealer is doing the right thing.

As for the rubber... unless it is very thick, there will still be high spots the battery sits on instead of a nice flat surface. The battery case on these newer batteries is pretty thin. Maybe try round head bolts or most battery boxes have indentations where the bolt can be placed so they don't stick up and hit the battery.
We may use a double layer of rubber; my hubby is pretty good at figuring out resolutions to just about anything. And my bolts were round head and the batter box did have indentations, but they were indented enough. The bolts still stuck up and hit the battery. We will figure something out.
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Old 05-23-2018, 01:21 PM   #8
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Carriage bolts or Elevator bolts

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Glad the dealer is doing the right thing.

As for the rubber... unless it is very thick, there will still be high spots the battery sits on instead of a nice flat surface. The battery case on these newer batteries is pretty thin. Maybe try round head bolts or most battery boxes have indentations where the bolt can be placed so they don't stick up and hit the battery.
Redo the job with carriage bolts or elevator bolts.

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Old 05-25-2018, 05:37 AM   #9
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I like to see a pic of the bottom of the battery box, sounds to me like the box was is not mounted right . The heads of the bolts should never touch the battery even if you put rubber on them
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Old 05-25-2018, 06:42 AM   #10
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I like to see a pic of the bottom of the battery box, sounds to me like the box was is not mounted right . The heads of the bolts should never touch the battery even if you put rubber on them
The box wasn't mounted correctly; the service manager at the dealership did admit that to me when I sent him photos of the inside of the battery box. He ageed that he would pay for another battery; however, he has not returned my call to let me know how long before that is taken care of. I think he may have to send a purchase order to the battery store near me? I'm going to give him a few more days and if I don't hear from him, I will take further action.
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Old 05-26-2018, 05:59 AM   #11
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please post the pics, their is no way the bolts should touch the battery if its mounted right . The battery box has a raised area to support the battery and recess areas for the bolts
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Old 05-26-2018, 06:19 AM   #12
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Please post pictures I have three trailers with batteries mounted. I have had a camper for 35 years and never had a hole rubbed in a battery from mounting hardware. I am curious as to what the dealer did when they mounted the battery.

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Old 05-26-2018, 06:21 AM   #13
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I'm going to give him a few more days and if I don't hear from him, I will take further action.

It's a long holiday weekend. If I were you, I'd call him sometime next week just so he doesn't "forget about" you.
Good luck!
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Old 05-26-2018, 06:24 AM   #14
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Inside of box has raised areas that's what support the battery and the lower areas are where toy bolt box to frame and bolts should never touch the battery
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Old 05-26-2018, 07:59 AM   #15
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I wonder...

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please post the pics, their is no way the bolts should touch the battery if its mounted right . The battery box has a raised area to support the battery and recess areas for the bolts
I wonder if they inserted the (long) bolts up from the bottom.

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Old 05-26-2018, 12:10 PM   #16
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Inside of box has raised areas that's what support the battery and the lower areas are where toy bolt box to frame and bolts should never touch the battery

Thanks, yes I am aware of how the battery should sit and what the box looks like. By the way, the situation is resolved and I want to give Buckeye RV in Jeffersonville, Ohio credit for doing the "right thing" by me! I am picking up my new battery today. Yay!
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Old 05-26-2018, 12:13 PM   #17
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I wonder if they inserted the (long) bolts up from the bottom.

Larry
No, they just used the wrong kind of bolts. They were "just high enough" to cause the hole. Dealer admitted to bad installation. I suspect a couple of employees got a talking to!
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Old 05-26-2018, 12:14 PM   #18
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Please post pictures I have three trailers with batteries mounted. I have had a camper for 35 years and never had a hole rubbed in a battery from mounting hardware. I am curious as to what the dealer did when they mounted the battery.

They just used the wrong kind of bolts.
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Old 05-26-2018, 12:46 PM   #19
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When I got our new trailer home I found the same thing. In my case the self-tapping bolts were put through the raised part of the box, and the bolt heads were rubbing the bottom of the battery. I relocate the bolts to the depressed area, so they didn’t rub.
Seems like an easy issue that should have been caught at the factory or dealer.
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Old 05-26-2018, 01:50 PM   #20
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the situation is resolved and I want to give Buckeye RV in Jeffersonville, Ohio credit for doing the "right thing" by me! I am picking up my new battery today. Yay!

We love a happy ending! Thanks for the follow up.
Happy Trails!!
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