Where to add batteries

[Jim Edwards]

Hi I have an 05 Monterey. We have the 4 chassis batteries but with added residential fridge and just lots of electrical usage I was considering adding 2 more. there is no room in the batter compartment or in the area next to it. I am thinking in the engine compartment accessible in the rear. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Jim

[Edward Buker]

Jim,

Batteries do not love heat, it shortens their life. Wherever you put them, it must be well vented if lead acid. You may get by without much service, if the area that you choose has limited access, by going with AGM type that do not need to have water added or require venting. Those are the design constraints.

AGM Info...

AGM Batteries. A VRLA battery (valve-regulated lead–acid battery), more commonly known as a sealed battery or maintenance free battery, is a type of lead-acid rechargeable battery. Due to their construction, they do not require ventilation, can be mounted in any orientation, and do not require constant maintenance.

It may be possible to have a small bank of AGM under the bed, in the closet, or in the storage bay. You should try and keep the wire run to couple these to the existing battery bank relatively short if possible. Wire size diameter grows with distance. Hope this helps.

Later Ed

[Bill Sprague]

Jim,

Marty Schenck converted to a household fridge.  He and Suzie have a four battery rig.  Marty did a careful study of the limitations after he completed the work a year or so ago.  Since then they've used the coach a lot, including a recent Quartzsite dry camp.   

Before you do a lot of work to add the extra batteries, you might call or email him.   My guess is that he may convince you that it is not necessary. 

Bill

[Rodney Luker]

I added 2 batteries on the shelf that has the air cleaner on it at the right side of the engine compartment.
I shortened the aluminum tube from the air cleaner to the turbo intake to move the air cleaner to the left.
I got some kind of plastic storage box and cut it down to about 1 1/2 " high & glued a drain tube / hose to drain the tray to below the bumper.
I don't have any hold down on it but the batteries have stayed in place for years.
I did this to have more capacity for my 4 solar panels to store power for the night
It's not easy to lift a 60 lb. battery into the tray so I try to find someone younger to do it now.

[Rodney Luker]

P.S.
The heat is a big factor on the batteries in the 05 Monterey as the muffler and exhaust is so close to the batteries. On one of the first few trips when it was  new we flat cooked the batteries on our way to a summer trip to Colorado .
The Beaver Co. said to have a insulated box built around the batteries and covered the cost to have it done local.
I still had inverter shutdowns due to high heat so i wrapped the muffler & pipes with insulation.
I still think I should duct some air into the stock battery area.


2005 monterey Laguna
C9

[Jim Edwards]

Has anyone tried the gc2H size battery? It has the same footprint as the gc2 but is an inch taller. Looks to have about 30to 50 ah greater capacity depending on brand.

[David T. Richelderfer]

What about carbon foam batteries?  They charge faster and last three times as long, but they're expensive.

[Bryan Schmidt]

Jim

When I had to change out the orig late year 2004 (4) Trojan T-105s in 2012 on our 2005 Monterey Ventura, I choose your suggestion back then to go with the slightly taller GC2H batteries to expand the battery bank capacity within the same battery slide tray footprint..   There was plenty of vertical height clear space for the taller units in our aft battery compartment.   Was able to reuse all existing interconnect battery cables without change.   Tray slide handled the the extra weight fine.  The extra amp hrs provided by the (4) taller GC2H gave us the extra bump I was looking for back then.