Roadtrek 190 aux battery tray

[Jon_K]

How far out does the house (auxiliary) battery tray slide? Mine only comes out a couple of inches exposing maybe 1/2 of the battery with the rest including the terminals tucked in and hard to reach.

Should it slide further out? It acts as though it is hitting a stop on the right slide but I don't see a stop or any kind of release.

Thanks

Jon

[Mike]

I had a similar issue on my 2002 190P. I had to spray a bit of WD40
on the sides of the slides attached to the tray, and work it in and out until
it freed up a bit. One of the battery cables was also causing it the stop a bit
short. I had to reposition the cable on the terminal slightly, so it didn't catch
on the roof of the compartment above the battery.
Another possibility may be a bit of road debris or rust caught in the slides
getting stuck when you try to pull the tray out. You might have to use a
bit of force to free it up.
Have a look at this thread. There's a pic of my aux battery tray in the
outwards position so you can judge how much farther you can pull it.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1544
When it's working, it should come far enough out that you can see behind the
back of your battery, to allow you to lift it up out of the tray.

It's also a tight fit for height for a GR27 12V. I've shorted the battery at least once
by scuffing the roof of the compartment when pulling the tray out, as the plus
post hit the edge of the upper part of the compartment, so when you
do get it freed up, be careful, the compartment itself will ground your positive
post.

[Jon_K]

Originally Posted by Mike

I had a similar issue on my 2002 190P. I had to spray a bit of WD40
on the sides of the slides attached to the tray, and work it in and out until
it freed up a bit. One of the battery cables was also causing it the stop a bit
short. I had to reposition the cable on the terminal slightly, so it didn't catch
on the roof of the compartment above the battery.
Another possibility may be a bit of road debris or rust caught in the slides
getting stuck when you try to pull the tray out. You might have to use a
bit of force to free it up.
Have a look at this thread. There's a pic of my aux battery tray in the
outwards position so you can judge how much farther you can pull it.
http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/viewt ... f=9&t=1544
When it's working, it should come far enough out that you can see behind the
back of your battery, to allow you to lift it up out of the tray.

It's also a tight fit for height for a GR27 12V. I've shorted the battery at least once
by scuffing the roof of the compartment when pulling the tray out, as the plus
post hit the edge of the upper part of the compartment, so when you
do get it freed up, be careful, the compartment itself will ground your positive
post.

Thanks. That worked. The right side was corroded so it wouldn't slide but it yielded to intense efforts and I didn't break anything. I put in an Optima D27M AGM battery which the Tripp-Lite claims it's happy to charge. It fit easily. It cost plenty. Here's hoping it's worth it. This is a 2008 190 Popular, BTW.

[Mike]

Mine are Deka AGMs Group 27.
Heavy, costly, and hopefully long lasting.
I've had mine in for a while, and after 2 trips, 1 long, 1 cut prematurely short by a dump pipe
hose spring, they seem to be living up to their hype as solid performers when called upon.
Mine's a 2002, same model. It appears that RT hasn't received enough complaints/comments
on the quality of the slide mechanisms of the battery trays they use, considering you had the
same issue 6 model years later. The battery tray and enclosure are vented and are open to a
combination of water/snow, road debris, and ultimately, corrosion.

[Photog]

It would be nice to have the battery compartments large enough for something beefier than a Group 27. I was looking at a friend's Sportsmobile the other day. He has a pair of 4D batteries. No trouble boondocking in that Class B rig.

[Mike]

Probably space related concerns, just like the aisle shower, versus the additional (3rd) seat
in my 190P. If I had a choice, I'd have opted for a 2 seater (2 captains chairs in the forward
cab area) and an extended shower/sink/toilet enclosure in place of the 3rd seat.
Personal preference, and that's the beauty of a Sportsmobile. You get the options you want.
I'm lucky enough to have 2 coach battery compartments, and have 2 GR27 AGMs with
decent capacity each, so I'm in pretty good shape to dry camp myself.