Mounting two batteries

pemc4279 · 05-01-2018, 02:40 PM

Former owner added a battery, so I have two batteries where there's room for one. She made it work, but it feels akward. I'd like to re-mount them so that they're lengthwise parallel to front of TM. My question is, do I need to consider anything when/if I disconnect both batteries briefly?

**Kidkraz** · 05-01-2018, 03:27 PM

What version of TM do you have? That will help with answering your question.

tentcamper · 05-01-2018, 08:11 PM

are they 12v or 6v battries

pemc4279 · 05-03-2018, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kidkraz

What version of TM do you have? That will help with answering your question.

I have the 2006 TM 2720QB with two beds

pemc4279 · 05-03-2018, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tentcamper

are they 12v or 6v battries

I think they're 12-volt. Big, heavy, deep cycle batteries.

**Kidkraz** · 05-03-2018, 03:19 PM

My TM came with one 12 volt battery on the front tongue, just behind the two propane tanks. Last year I upgraded to two 12volt batteries.

Where exactly are your two batteries located on your rig?
Where would you like to relocate them?

You'll find some owners here on this forum have relocated their batteries to different locations which suits their needs, so there are several options you could think about. Before you do make any changes, make sure you know for sure on weather you have a either 12 or 6 volt batteries.

pemc4279 · 05-04-2018, 10:52 AM

Thanks for your replies! Forgive my ignorance, the camper is in storage right now so I can't look at it. Is there an easy way to tell if it's 6 or 12 volt?

I have two batteries on the front tongue behind the propane tanks. One in the factory tray, the other perpendicular to it off to one side. I'd like to put a tray parallel to the front of the camper that will hold both batteries. See pic.

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**Bill** · 05-04-2018, 02:59 PM

Assuming the battery isn't labelled, look at the top of the battery. A 6-volt battery has 3 cells, so there are 3 filler caps. A 12 volt battery has 6 cells, so there are 6 filler caps.

If your battery has two rounded-rectangle caps, then each cap covers 3 fill ports, and you have a 12-volt battery.

Take a look at your Jeep battery, which is 12 volts.

As for rearranging the battery boxes, I would put (bolt, tack-weld) a piece of steel L-bracket across the trailer's A-frame, under the new location of the batteries. Then attach a piece of half inch PT plywood across the L-channel, and mount the boxes on the plywood.

Bill

**Kidkraz** · 05-04-2018, 03:14 PM

Hopefully you can find a tag on one of the batteries which will tell you what size the battery is. As you can see on this picture where the two black wires cross the tag, which should give you the info to know which battery you have. I had a group 24 (SRM-24) and bumped up to two group 27's.
I'm really curious what size the previous owner installed.

**Bill** · 05-04-2018, 03:35 PM

Kidcraz -

I'm curious to know where the second black wire marked negative, came from. In 12-volt applications, the system negative is white or bare, while the positive is black or occasionally red.

It almost looks like the original owner of your trailer equipped it with a pair of batteries, "harvested" one when he sold you trailer, and cobbled up the connecting cables.

The negative cable should never be black. The consequences of mis-connecting the cables can be severe.

Bill