R-Pod 177 Battery Box Mod

We purchased our 2017.5 (blue/gray) R-Pod 177 in January and I have been doing some mods.....of course!

The first PodMod is upgrading the two plastic Group 24 battery boxes.  The lid of one was "modified" with a hacksaw by the dealer to fit on the factory battery tray since the Forest River builders decided to run the wiring harness on top of the battery tray instead of below.  This made for less room hence the hack job. 



I rerouted the wiring harness so it is below the battery tray and purchased a locking aluminum battery box from http://www.rvlockbox.com/
I chose this one since it is substantially less expensive than the Torklift battery box, better made (in my opinion),  and made locally here in Spokane.




I supported the new battery box using treated 2x6 lumber cut to size to fit the existing battery tray and attached it to the frame with two U-bolts and through the battery tray with two carriage bolts through the wood spacers.






Added the solar controller (black box at far end), battery switch (red box), and current shunt (in between) for the Victron Battery Monitor.







I made a plastic cover for the solar controller and battery monitor shunt using
Plaskolite from Home Depot.  I used a propane torch to heat the plastic to make
the bend.  And added a square of plastic to close the end near the battery switch.
I used 100% silicone seal to bond the cover to the battery box.



I used my small butane soldering iron/torch to make two small clear areas in the plastic
so as to better view the solar controller LEDs.  Heating the Plaskolite plastic makes it
clear.



The Victron BMV-702 battery monitor installed above the factory tank/voltage indicator panel.
This model of battery monitor can measure two battery banks....or one battery bank and
the solar panel in my case.



And the portable solar panel connector:


For the portable solar panel:





This is a lot of fun!

Really nice work!!

Thanks everyone.  I really like doing this kind of work.

Originally posted by Danielw1 Awesome job on the box! One question: did you add the solar plug on the front just for the ability to charge from there? Why not use the zamp plug on rear of trailer. That box is nice but a little spendy!

I added the solar plug in the front for several reasons.  I wanted a much shorter wire run to the solar controller to avoid any voltage drop.  I also wanted to use the mating Anderson connector to the one already on my solar panel rather than making a plug converter (Anderson -> Zamp).

The box is indeed spendy.  I wanted something that looked good, was lockable, and matched the black diamond plate on the front of my 177.  I happened across this box and decided to go for it.  Yes, I'll have to cut back on my espresso consumption for a while.