Has anyone moved their battery/batteries to the back of the popup, say under the dinette in either a vented box or with sealed batteries? I've always thought about doing this to lessen tongue weight, especially if I could put in a baggage door large enough to access the battery from outside.
You are talking 60lbs per battery. You will have to run some heavy gauge wiring (preferably #6 or #8) from your converter and the tow harness back to the battery to avoid voltage drops under load. And use up inside storage space.
Filling/not filling the HW heater with water will make a 50lb difference. And depending on where the water tank is in relationship to the PUP axle, filling/not filling a 15-20 gal (as much as 160lbs) water tank could make more of a difference in tongue weight.
My 2000 Coleman Westlake swayed horribly at anything above 62MPH. My 2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame has a tongue weight of around 400lbs loaded. It doesn't sway at any speed. Since I tow with a minivan with a soft suspension, a WDH is needed to prevent tail dragging, and keep the minivan handling where it should be.
Interesting idea. I have two DC batts that weigh 60+ lbs each and with the other stuff on the front deck, my tongue weight is over 515 lbs. And like Fred W, I have NO sway when towing at speeds up to 80 mph.
How about under the rear dinette seat? Could even fit two under there, add the outside door and place the batteries on a slider. Just thinking.
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Trailer: Lifted 228BH, heavy duty springs and Yokohama tires DELAMINATED ROOF TV: 2016 GMC Sierra Z71 4x4 CC, SLT
Spare TV: Two Alaskan Malamutes
Living somewhere in ID; previously lived in Moab UT; previous to that, don't ask!
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