Battery compartment enlargement

[rotkopf54]

Got a 2016 Forester class C 2501-TS with battery compartment/tray under one of the coach entry steps. I want to swap out our Group 27 deep cycle 12v batteries for some Trojan 6v batteries, but found out the Trojans (and most/all 6v deep cycle batteries) are too tall to fit into the compartment under the entry step. The batteries are about 1.5" too tall for the current compartment as is. Has anyone looked into or actually modified the compartment to make it 2" deeper? I'm seriously considering cutting out the bottom of the compartment and welding on a 2" tray/extension to allow for taller batteries.

Thoughts/comments?
Thanks, Guys.

[CharSolera]

We just raised the step 1.5". We don't notice the difference and the two 6v fit just fine.

[rotkopf54]

Originally Posted by CharSolera

We just raised the step 1.5". We don't notice the difference and the two 6v fit just fine.

Happen to have any pictures? Curious what the final product looks like.
Did you add 1.5" mat'l/trim to step or to step lid?

[CharSolera]

Sorry for the delay -- had to clean the area before photographing! Batteries are below the second step. Rubber stair cover on top (that's a motion activated battery operated light on the riser).

[TitanMike]

If it doesn't prove feasible to enlarge, you do have the option of group 29 and group 31 batteries. Both are about the same size as the group 27, even fitting in the same plastic boxes used for tongue mounts on trailers.

A group 29 (Interstate SRM-29) is 120 ah, Two of them will give the same capacity as an average pair of GC-2's.

The group 31 Deep Cycle batteries yield another 5 amp hours and usually run close to the same price as the group 29.

[sask]

I choose to replace 2 group 27 with 3 group 24 from Costco.

[Jpontheroad]

Originally Posted by CharSolera

Sorry for the delay -- had to clean the area before photographing! Batteries are below the second step. Rubber stair cover on top (that's a motion activated battery operated light on the riser).Attachment 184350

Wow. You’re right, you can barely tell. We recently added solar and I really wanted to add some T105 6v’s as well, but figured it would be too big of a deal. I thought about raising the step but wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Thanks for sharing!

So if you just raised the step, does it still seal properly? Did you just buy thicker rubber weather seal and the step lays on top or did you actually relocate the step hinge?

[newRVer]

I went through the same thought process as you but in the end decided to go with a couple of 200Ah 6V AGM batteries. We don't do a lot of boon docking so increasing capacity was not a objective. However, I did want to go maintenance free, keep at least the capacity that I had, and do so without adding a lot more weight. I finally settled on on some 6V AGM batteries which so far have been doing the job nicely. I did not have to increase the battery compartment size and was able to mount the solar controller and battery monitoring shunt in there as well. The details are in this post with pics at the end.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...-147635-4.html

[AbdRahim]

Originally Posted by CharSolera

We just raised the step 1.5". We don't notice the difference and the two 6v fit just fine.

How did you raise the step?

[CharSolera]

Originally Posted by AbdRahim

How did you raise the step?

We added a 1.5" frame to the top of the step, then attached the new step top.

[Jpontheroad]

Originally Posted by CharSolera

We added a 1.5" frame to the top of the step, then attached the new step top.

Any chance you can snap a photo with the step lid open? Kinda tough to tell what you did with the lid down. Thanks so much as I’ve been questioning what I was gonna do for a bit now!

[gmclean]

Originally Posted by Jpontheroad

Any chance you can snap a photo with the step lid open? Kinda tough to tell what you did with the lid down. Thanks so much as I’ve been questioning what I was gonna do for a bit now!

Here is how I did mine.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...d.php?t=132525

[CharSolera]

Here's directly under the step.

[CharSolera]

And here is under the plywood frame. Hope this helps!

[Jpontheroad]

Originally Posted by CharSolera

And here is under the plywood frame. Hope this helps!Attachment 185567

Definitely helps, thanks so much!

[Jpontheroad]

Originally Posted by gmclean

Here is how I did mine.

Battery Upgrade Forester 2401R - Forest River Forums

Awesome, that definitely helps as well! Looks great!