Need Battery Box for 1997 Jayco E250 Econoline Camper

[Jabauman]

I need a replacement battery box for the driver's side of my 1997 Jayco E250 Econoline Camper Van. It must have bolts which attach up toward the under-carriage, not sideways.

[JebTN]

I have the same type of battery box on my 99 Jayco built on E250 van. Mine is still in good shape but I plan to add a second battery to the opposite side. I haven't looked at the original box very close yet but it looks like a fabrication shop could make one. I have been to one RV shop that says they can make and install one but not till the Fall. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks at a different shop so I will see what they say.

Didn't realize how rare Jayco Bs were when we bought ours a couple of months ago.

[Jabauman]

I bought mine at an auction a couple months ago and had trouble finding an owner's manual. Jayco was no help at all. Closest I could get was one for the year 2000 from Cunninghamcampers in Indiana:
https://www.cunninghamcampers.com/do...-owner-manuals

The good news for your second battery is that the side-mounted battery box for the passenger side is much easier to find. I just bought a used one and currently have it at a custom welding shop where I hope they can modify it to mount to the under-carriage on the driver's side to replace the original battery box.

I don't know if you've had to repair any of your door cables, but it seems most of the kits available online don't fit the Ford E-250 without some modification.

I did find replacement cabinet latches which exactly match the original ones on my Jayco Leisure Van.
https://www.rvupgradestore.com/RV-De...-p/31-1502.htm

[JebTN]

I found the manuals you pointed to, better than nothing but not much. Really would like to find a rough wiring diagram. Some modifications had been made in the area above the ceiling panel above the drivers area, and doesn't make a lot of sense right now.

Hopefully I can find an already made battery box for the passenger side that should save some money.

My back door cable is bad the plastic end pieces crumbled. I was going to talk to Ford next time I'm over that way to see if they have replacements.

Thanks for the pointer on the latches, I have a bad one and was wondering what to replace it with. I had the same latches in our previous slide in camper and never could find a replacement. I have a new one coming.

We are taking it on our first real road trip and camping later this week, just a couple of days, to see what else we want to change before a more serious trip.

Hope we can trade ideas on what we find as we go.

[Jabauman]

Here's a link to a used battery box for the passenger side of your van. I bought one of these and hope to have it modified for the driver's side of my van soon.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-ECONOL...75.c100623.m-1

I also had screwy electrical issues with multiple cables stacked on the post of the starter battery. I found an "old-school" RV mechanic who installed a device that fixed the problems I was having. I doubt he used a schematic.

Auto parts stores have the door cables at much lower prices than a Ford dealership. I ordered mine online, but don't recommend it since it's better to see them in person to make sure they're the right size/length. There are also medal replacement ends for a more permanent fix, but the set I bought online were too large... Cheap, so I'm going to give them to the owner of a Ford F-150 pick-up rather than trying to return them for a credit.

*The screws in the replacement latch kit are longer than the originals, so they came through the back of the cabinet door slightly. I suggest you use the original screws or buy replacements of the same length.

[JebTN]

Thanks for the pointer but that battery box looks completely different than the one I have on the driver side. Mine is all steel and is more of a box bolted to the floor with one side that comes off to slide the battery in and out. I haven't actually opened it to see what it looks like inside yet, to many other things to do before our shakedown trip in a couple of days.

After spending some more time working under the drivers side couch today I'm wondering now if I shouldn't switch to AGM batteries and put the second one under the seat. I need to see what would fit and what I would have to change in the charging system to charge a pair of AGM batteries. Might still be cheaper than having a custom fabricated install. It would also keep the battery runs shorter. The Lifeline batteries look pretty good.

I have done my share of tracing out unknown wires but when they disappear into a harness that then disappears into the headliner it gets tough. There is also two coax TV cables that I have no idea where they go. One probably goes back to the connector on the side but where does the other go. Is there a hidden antenna up in the fiberglass area?

How hard is it to put in the door latch cables?

Thanks for the tip on the cabinet latches.

Maybe we should start a Jayco B support thread.

Jim...

[Jabauman]

I'm new to this site, but think a Jayco Class B support thread would be a good idea. If you start one, I will copy and paste my replies for others to read.

Yes, the cables were a complete pain to replace/repair, especially since the door lock actuator is attached with a rivet. I don't own a bunch of tools, so I had friend drill out the rivet. Some of the screws were metric and had a little star on the end, requiring a T25 or T27 screw driver. (Notice my very technical language... lol).

Your battery box sounds like the original one I had on the driver's side of my van. The brackets on mine were damaged and broke.