Under Body Battery Storage

[Chris Sherwood]

Has anyone tried one of these under floor battery boxes from New Wave Custom Conversions;

Under Body Leisure Battery Storage - New Wave Custom Conversions

Another vehicle specific product designed and developed by team NWCC. The T5-T6 under chassis battery housing designed to house two Leisure battery’s under the drivers side footwell fitting neatly under the vehicles chassis plastics. Manufactured using 2.5mm laser cut Galvanised steel, picking...

www.newwavecustomconversions.co.uk

I am considering using one to free up room in the van but I am concerned what would happen if I crossed a river?

 

[Higgidav]

The vast majority of diesel heaters are fitted in that location so best to avoid water like that anyway. It would also likely cause some serious damage to the plastic under trays.

 

[Chris Sherwood]

I have a gas heater under the rear bench which I am planning to move under the drivers seat once I have moved the batteries out. I am planning to replace the plastic under trays with aluminium sheet. I am just wondering what happens to batteries and their connectors if they go under water? Thinking about it more, a river crossing would ruin the camper interior so perhaps I should stay out of the rivers!

 

[Spazpecker]

Cool idea if you can keep your cab heater as well as the batteries.

 

[roooms]

Did you get anywhere with the underbody storage @Chris Sherwood ? I have emailed NWCC a couple of times but didn't get much information on which batteries are supported in the tray. It sounds like they use Odyssey PC1100 or Xtreme batteries but searching online they seem to be ~45Ah which is why they install two. I really want to know the dimensions of the tray to see if it can hold the batteries I have (Avon Leisure L36-100LCMF). NWCC said they only recommend it with batteries they list to guarantee the fit.

Has anyone else done this a different way? I'd like to have my leisure battery (one but ideally two) under the body as I need lower seat bases to accommodate a swivel plate. Placing the swivel on the existing bases makes the seats too high (in the lowest position) for my freakishly long back.

Thanks!

 

[Chris Sherwood]

Hi @roooms, no I haven't purchased the tray yet. Can't NWCC just give you the internal dimensions of their tray and let you decide?

 

[roooms]

I asked for the dimensions but guessing the reply was from someone who didn't have them to hand and wasn't able to get them easily, so they just said you should use only the batteries they list. Put me off a bit, but I have heard they are a great conversion company and maybe just super busy.

I'm following up one more time to see if they can provide the dimensions.

 

[DXX]

I’ve had the NWCC underslung battery system for years with the Odyssey Xtreme batteries, 100% reliable to date.
As the name suggests they are rugged, marine batteries, not an area to compromise on IMO.

 

[roooms]

Thanks for the reply DXX! Do you know the exact battery model or the dimensions? That would be really helpful.

 

[DXX]

Thanks for the reply DXX! Do you know the exact battery model or the dimensions? That would be really helpful.

2x PC1100 according to my records.
I’ve never seen them, installed Feb 2018, parked outside and have been through some deep water.

 

[roooms]

Thanks for providing that info! Those batteries didn't match the ones in the pictures on the NWCC website which added to my confusion. The ones on the site look like Leoch Xtreme XR batteries but I couldn't see the exact model and it got me wondering if it was the XR1750 (a 110AH battery) which you might get under a seat.

So to clarify... these are Odyssey Extreme PC1100 that are 45Ah and 250mm L x 97mm W x 206mm H, which means the tray wouldn't support any batteries that are typically installed under the driver or passenger seats, as they tend to be 100-100Ah and designed to make maximum use of the space available. For reference my battery under the passenger seat is currently 354mm L x 175mm W x 175mm H.

So I need to keep searching for a solution if I want to put a larger battery or two under the body.

Jerba Campervans install a battery using their own tray/cage (see attachment) but I'm not sure if you can buy this separately and install yourself. They mention it is a second battery to match the VW factory install one, which I'm also not sure of the size, but assumed more like 100Ah as the factory install is under a front seat. Source: Jerba YouTube video.

 

[DXX]

Yes I have 2x 45Ah batteries, until recently I thought it was 2x 55Ah.
I think I’ve used EHU about 3-4 times, otherwise we just stop in aires, roadside, carparks, etc. No issues for overnight even mid winter running the lights, fridge, diesel hob and heater. 140W solar fitted.
The tray is slim as it’s designed around the vans body, therefore two batteries.
Unless you have some large consumers on the van I don’t think you would more capacity.