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Old 04-04-2015, 02:04 PM   #1
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How do I remove the strap holding the battery case?

I feel a little stupid asking this question but I can not get the strap off the battery case which is housing the battery. I need to get the battery out to charge it. The nylon strap and buckle are on tight and I have tried and tried to loosen them. Is there some trick to this I'm not aware of? Click image for larger version

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Old 04-04-2015, 02:10 PM   #2
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Try wedging a screwdriver under the top of the bottom strap. That may loosen it up enough.
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Old 04-07-2015, 12:11 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greti View Post
I feel a little stupid asking this question but I can not get the strap off the battery case which is housing the battery. I need to get the battery out to charge it. The nylon strap and buckle are on tight and I have tried and tried to loosen them. Is there some trick to this I'm not aware of? Attachment 73049
Does the buckle part consist of two pieces sandwiched together? If so, then they slide apart......one piece pushes forward and the other pushes back.....then they'll separate to give you the room you need to loosen the strap.

Hope that makes sense...
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Old 04-07-2015, 12:24 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greti View Post
I feel a little stupid asking this question but I can not get the strap off the battery case which is housing the battery. I need to get the battery out to charge it. The nylon strap and buckle are on tight and I have tried and tried to loosen them. Is there some trick to this I'm not aware of? Attachment 73049
In the picture it looks like you may have tried this but, with a screw driver try to slip in under the end that feeds back through the buckle and work it out. Then pull up on the bottom side of the buckle to relieve the pressure from the jaws of the buckle. This is tough to explain and those straps can be a real pain sometimes. And the only dumb question is the one that isn't ask :-)
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Old 04-07-2015, 12:53 PM   #5
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Mine was a PITA too so once I got tired of fighting with it, I replaced the buckles with a snap on type one in the link below. I found them at Ace Hardware, I believe.

http://www.iboats.com/mall/image/vie...ose_4812_2.jpg
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Old 04-07-2015, 06:09 PM   #6
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Thank you for the feedback. I tried using scissors to pry the straps loose but the teeth on the buckles have made this nearly impossible. I did wonder if I needed to slide the buckle apart but I didn't have adequate strength to do this either. I am close to cutting this thing off and replacing it with the type noted by lickem66. It really should not be so hard!lol
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:08 PM   #7
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We cut ours off and replaced with a heavy chain and strong padlock.
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:12 PM   #8
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Thank you for the feedback. I tried using scissors to pry the straps loose but the teeth on the buckles have made this nearly impossible. I did wonder if I needed to slide the buckle apart but I didn't have adequate strength to do this either. I am close to cutting this thing off and replacing it with the type noted by lickem66. It really should not be so hard!lol
A sharp knife will eliminate your frustration and is quick! (Use the knife on the strap only)
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:25 PM   #9
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If you plug your camper in to an outlet, the battery will charge. There is no need to remove the battery unless for replacement or storage. If you do not have access to an outlet, cut the strap and buy a new one.
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:27 PM   #10
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It looks like someone looped the strap back into the buckle. You'll need to pull the strap back out the top then twist the buckle up and this will disengage the teeth. 8 years later and mine is still hard to release!
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:32 PM   #11
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A sharp knife will eliminate your frustration and is quick! (Use the knife on the strap only)
Yup...then use a bungee. Sooner or later that plastic buckle is going to snap anyway. If you've camped long enough you use a bungee for everything. Probably using bungees as suspenders right now.
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Old 04-07-2015, 07:37 PM   #12
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At least yours has a strap,ours came with 2 pole barn screws thru it to hold it down.
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Old 04-08-2015, 06:04 PM   #13
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Don't feel bad, the first year we had our camper I struggled with that dang strap! When I went to install the battery last year I noticed on top of the battery case there were strap routing instructions. The dealer had our strap routed through the buckle in such a fashion I couldn't tighten or loosen it. Its now routed in the buckle correctly and its easy on easy off.
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Old 04-08-2015, 06:35 PM   #14
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Gonna give it one more shot this weekend using everyone's feedback if that doesn't work I'm done, straps coming off for good and I will move to plan b for how to keep battery case secure. Thanks to all of you for the feedback.
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Old 04-14-2015, 12:21 PM   #15
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Any luck getting the strap loose?
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Old 04-16-2015, 05:02 PM   #16
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Have been frustrated with the whole strap mess.

Our last trip of last year was to Ridgway State Park in western Colorado - about 340 miles/7 hours. Had a blast, but on the way back the crosswinds caused the battery box cover to go bye-bye somewhere along the drive.

Built a really nice, tight fitting replacement out of 1x2 and 1/8" plywood, finished with a nice gloss black finish. Last weekend took a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska (540 miles). Again, in 30MPH crosswinds, the cover departed (this time on the way there).

Never saw or heard the cover depart in either case. In both cases, the strap was still there at one end of the battery box or the other. Realized the single strap holding the cover down over a dual battery installation is not going to work in our situation. The battery box has cutouts at the top of each end for the wiring to go into the box under the cover. I figure the wind is getting under the box cover there, causing the cover end to lift and force the strap to slide off the other end of the cover/box.

So now I'm building the 3rd battery box cover. A makeshift cover I made out of a floor mat for the return trip was bungied with 2 bungies cross-tied to each other and frame survived 35 MPH cross winds on the return.

I thought about a hinged cover, but realized that would make it awkward to get batteries in or out. So the new cover will have 4 screw eyes for the bungies to attach to. Bungies seem to hold tension better and last longer than those polypropolene straps do, anyway (experience with boats). Will send pics when I get done with the mod.

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Old 04-23-2015, 09:00 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck1032 View Post
Don't feel bad, the first year we had our camper I struggled with that dang strap! When I went to install the battery last year I noticed on top of the battery case there were strap routing instructions. The dealer had our strap routed through the buckle in such a fashion I couldn't tighten or loosen it. Its now routed in the buckle correctly and its easy on easy off.
X2
I used two screwdrivers, one to get under the strap and one to pry on the plastic teeth. Once you get them apart, you can route the strap correctly.
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