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Old 05-27-2018, 08:35 AM   #1
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External battery storage on bumper

Hi all!

I have a 2004 Sunseeker and have two flooded 80ah batteries under the rig.

I would like to add 4 golf cart batteries (agm perhaps) and am considering putting them in sort of a locking tool box on the rear bumper. Has anyone done this? Do I need to weld some supports on the bumper (I presume they weigh about 70lbs ea?).

My other idea was to put them in the pass-through compartment but that seems very weak as far as the weight goes.

Other ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Rich
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Old 05-27-2018, 08:36 AM   #2
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Oh one more thing I forgot to mention, I have a blue ox tow bar so a platform may not work?
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Old 05-27-2018, 10:28 AM   #3
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External battery storage on bumper

Not sure about your model but here’s how I handled that situation using unistrut and no welding was required Click image for larger version

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I also added a progressive dynamic converter and moved it closer to the batteries in the pass through , bigger battery cables and a battery monitor. Yes, it’s a slippery slope once you get started, but I needed the extra capacity to run the residential frig when we are without power.
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Old 05-27-2018, 12:07 PM   #4
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That’s a pretty cool set up and I like the fact that there is no welding. So basically just drill holes in the frame and bolt on the unistrut?
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Old 05-27-2018, 01:03 PM   #5
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No drilling either, I sandwich unistrut on the top and bottom frame and used all thread and tightened together. Pretty hard to explain but not complicated. I’ll try to send a pictureZ

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That’s a pretty cool set up and I like the fact that there is no welding. So basically just drill holes in the frame and bolt on the unistrut?
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Old 05-27-2018, 09:23 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rjpetr65 View Post
Hi all!

I have a 2004 Sunseeker and have two flooded 80ah batteries under the rig.

I would like to add 4 golf cart batteries (agm perhaps) and am considering putting them in sort of a locking tool box on the rear bumper. Has anyone done this? Do I need to weld some supports on the bumper (I presume they weigh about 70lbs ea?).

My other idea was to put them in the pass-through compartment but that seems very weak as far as the weight goes.

Other ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Rich
That is a lot of weight to hang off the back. It will certainly mess with tongue weight on TV if you put 4 batteries in the back of the trailer. I am not familiar with the framing at the back of your trailer but as posted in many other threads, the back of many trailers require extensive welding and bracing to support 280+ pounds on the bumper.
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Old 05-28-2018, 01:30 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rjpetr65 View Post
Hi all!

I have a 2004 Sunseeker and have two flooded 80ah batteries under the rig.

Thanks
Rich
Sunseeker's a class C yes? I am looking at the pictures and that looks like a bumper pull tongue. Your Blueox is a tow bar-- right?

I think they are addressing a trailer. You need to be sure what you attach 280 lbs of batteries to back there, the MOMENT from axle to bumper will toss those babies around like crazy and g forces will triple the effective weight of those guys. If you go with AGMs that will be a different charging profile and a really unbalanced mix with two smaller wet batteries. Every time I evaluate additional batteries on our rig I'm regretful that I cut corners and didn't buy AGM's for the first pair because I could easily put a second pair in the pass-through right behind them but since that's in doors I can't put wet plate batteries in there safely and I don't want to go through the grief of a sealed box vented to the outside either.

Let us know what you decide to do and how it came out. There was a thread a while back of a fellow adding extra batteries to an fr3 chassis and he did that buy welding a frame below and toward the rear from the batteries that were in his step. Since they were all outside you didn't have to worry about venting and didn't have to use AGM's.

Send pictures when you're done. Thanks
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Old 05-28-2018, 11:57 AM   #8
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Yup. Streetking's mod is on a TT so it's not applicable to a Class C and tow bar. Class C's have a beefier bumper than your average ultralite TT or 5er so it may or may not be able to handle the weight, but I'd look for an alternative location. There must be some Class C owners here who have done some solar mods that can help.

You can also look on YouTube. Check out a channel by RV with Tito. Here's a link to his installation of four 6V deep cycle batteries:

How to Connect Six Volt Batteries To Create a 12 Volt Battery Bank - RV With Tito
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:21 AM   #9
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Thanks all! I still have not decided what to do. I’m a pilot too so I understand moment, g-force and COG. It IS a class C so that’s going to be a challenge. I suspect that I may have some room to weld an additional cage next to the existing one for two more batteries which is under the rig. At the very least perhaps I should replace the two flooded with agm? Will it make that much of a difference? I have (2) 80 AH flooded now and it seems that even the typical AGMs are only 80-100AH? That doesn’t buy me much more power?
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