Battery box

[Malco1]

I have the same battery box and will be replacing the stock 12v with my two Trojan 105s hopefully this weekend. I am still uncertain about drilling a hole in the bottom of my new battery box. I understand the airflow reasoning, however isn't an additional job of the battery box to contain any liquids that may come out of the battery?

I just went by the original OEM setup. There shouldn't be any liquids running out of your batteries, but if they do, they should run out the hole in the box and out of the compartment using the original OEM hole.

[SKI367BHS]

I looked at doing something like this but just added a second 12-v group 24 battery after pricing out using 6-v batteries. Was concerned that your switch and meter may not be rated for installation in a hazardous location (due to off-gassing of hydrogen inside the batter box) but it looks like these devices have rating. Installing an AGM wouldn't do much for you, they aren't nearly as durable in deep-cycle use because you can't add water, most won't last over 2yrs in this service. The two 6-v golf cart batteries should survive many deep-cycles and if properly maintained by adding distilled water, should last over 5 years. Not sure what your saying about the factory cut-off switch. When I flip mine off there is no discharging of the batteries whatsoever but I haven't corrupted the system by wiring loads directly to the batteries.

The box is a marine rated box, but does not come with a vent. I fab'ed one up in the box lid to connect into the OEM vent system, and simply blocked off the 12X8 inch(or what ever the actual size was) hole in the decking. I'm looking at adding a seal to the lid that will seal that loose fit and deal with the relief cuts for cabling. My switch and meter are sealed in the inside where they penetrated the box.

In my 5th wheel, when I used the OEM factory battery cut off switch, there is still power to various systems, like the slides, lights, etc. So it isn't a true "cut off" in terms of shutting the battery completely off. I wanted a way to shut the battery off completely for storage or longer periods of inactivity. Obviously, when I go to use it, the battery would need to be on for safety etc.

I also looked at the AGM's and haven't had very good luck with longevity as I explained earlier in the post so that's why I decided to try this route.