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Old 07-18-2016, 06:23 PM   #1
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storage box?

Thanks Jim B for leading me in the right direction.

I've looked at our build sheet and took dimensions of the storage box that ETI sells For $700 CD about $550 US. I've been looking at Northern Tool and for $300 one can get a little smaller alum box .Or have one built same as ETI at the vo tec school. for a lot less . It gives the welders students something to build and it would be stronger then the fiberglass one that ETI sells . Your thoughts also no need for rock guard .Jim
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Old 07-18-2016, 06:27 PM   #2
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storage box?

Just watch the weight in the materials used. It will directly affect your tongue weight.


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Old 07-18-2016, 06:32 PM   #3
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Also, depending on which Escape you are planning on getting, where your batteries will be located.In the 19 they are put in the storage box or on the front tongue, something you may have to work around if you are getting the 19 Escape.
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Old 07-18-2016, 09:39 PM   #4
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We bought the 21ft it has batteries in the back we are going to have solar also I might just go with standard battery and see if I need bigger and buy at home delivery in November I think
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Old 07-18-2016, 11:04 PM   #5
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If you get the standard Group 24 it may have a box not big enough to upgrade to dual 6V. Maybe you could request the box large enough, however we upgraded to Group 29 and found it wasn't quite enough even with solar so bought dual 6V @ Costco for about $80/ea. Had to buy a ground cable for about $20 to make them work. With the exchange rate currently all US buyers should just get the dual 6V option unless they mostly use shore power.
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Old 07-18-2016, 11:08 PM   #6
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If you get the standard Group 24 it may have a box not big enough to upgrade to dual 6V. Maybe you could request the box large enough...
Good catch. Some 21' owners have reported that they were able to buy the larger (sized for the dual 6V option) battery box as an option, without getting the dual batteries, so that later upgrade is relatively easy.
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Old 07-19-2016, 05:16 AM   #7
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If you get the group 29 battery option, the battery box is the same as the dual 6 box and it is ventilated in the 21 model, I did this in BlackJack.
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Old 07-19-2016, 06:23 AM   #8
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Here is how they look inside
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Old 07-19-2016, 06:55 AM   #9
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I also had a group 29 battery, but had to buy individual boxes for the 6 volt batteries.
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Old 07-19-2016, 07:10 AM   #10
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batteries

The standard is a series 27 should be at least a 100 amp hr. .I will ask to have the bigger box .What I can do if I find this is to small, I can use it in a boat that we have and just buy 6 volt batteries in fl. I'm trying not to go over 30,000 $ us .
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Old 07-19-2016, 07:16 AM   #11
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Here is the thread where I covered the group 29 to dual sixers using the stock factory box
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...olts-5240.html
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Old 07-19-2016, 08:21 AM   #12
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I bought a group 29 battery to start the season in 2015. In June 2015, we had the solar panel installed and got the dual 6's. I have the 29 here at home for the trolling motor or to use for the outboard as a starting battery. The dual 6's are great with the solar.
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Old 07-19-2016, 09:23 AM   #13
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I like the idea of a custom box on the hitch if you want/need a storage box. The one advantage of doing it yourself, is that you can camp for a while and see what your needs really are.

I know lots of folks don't care for my opinion on the storage boxes, but unless you want to bring a horde of stuff along in your trailer, you might find you don't need one at all. We never in 6 years with our 19. I like the look of the trailers way better without them too, it just seems cleaner.

Lightweight aluminum would work great for a box, but it is not that tough, and could damage fairly easily. I might be tempted to build it for the most part out of 1/8" ply, and add a layer of glass to at least the outside, and maybe the inside. You could likely build something in the neighbourhood of 30 lbs.
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Old 07-19-2016, 11:31 AM   #14
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storage box $

I've thought of maybe 3/8 in ply and glassing it inside and out Jim do you htink 1/8 will hold up if glassed in ? . or go with the diamond plate and have it welded up .tougher then just alum box . Whatever it is it has to weigh a lot less then 100lb the total weight is about 150lb as far as ETI is concerned with tongue weight
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Old 07-19-2016, 12:02 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
I might be tempted to build it for the most part out of 1/8" ply, and add a layer of glass to at least the outside, and maybe the inside. You could likely build something in the neighbourhood of 30 lbs.
If you 'glass over plywood on both sides you've essentially made a cored composite, which is a pretty good way to go. For the lid, which doesn't need as much impact strength, you can start with rigid foam (such as extruded polystyrene, e.g. Styrofoam) which lets you carve a slightly domed shape so it would shed water better.

Entire light aircraft (and at least one very nice small custom travel trailer) have been built almost entirely of carved foam with fiberglass cloth hand-laid over it.

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Originally Posted by jennykatz View Post
I've thought of maybe 3/8 in ply and glassing it inside and out Jim do you htink 1/8 will hold up if glassed in ?
If you put on enough fiberglass then the fiberglass becomes the major structural component, and the plywood is just a core the way the web of an I-beam is just a spacer. The shell of Escape's optional front storage box is just fiberglass, without a core at all, and it works, so the core can be as thin as you want if you're willing to add enough fiberglass. The right plywood thickness depends on what you're adding to it, but 3/8" plywood plus any significant layers of fiberglass inside and out sounds like more weight than needed, to me, at least for the box walls.

I would consider thicker plywood for the floor than the walls of the box, and likely something to build up the edge around the opening for better stiffness and strength.
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Old 07-19-2016, 12:18 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jennykatz View Post
The standard is a series 27 should be at least a 100 amp hr.
Right - the base battery is a Group 27 size, not Group 24.

From a previous discussion of the capacity and weight of battery choices:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
- to find the right batteries in the Interstate data listing...
  1. Group 27 (so presumably SRM-27 or SRM-27B) [54 lb; about 102 A-h]
  2. Group 29 (so presumably SRM-29) [61 lb; at least 105 A-h]
  3. GC2-XHD [2 x 62 = 144 lb; 232 A-h]
And from a previous discussion of the optional 6V batteries (with links to the battery specs from Interstate):
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
...In various discussions it has been described as the Interstate GC2-XHD or GC2-XHD-UTL. Interstate U2200 were used previously. The stock battery is a single 12-volt Interstate Group 27 sized RV model (SRM-27), and the other option is a single 12-volt Interstate Group 29 sized RV model (SRM-29).
Note that Interstate does not provide industry-standard capacities at 20-hour discharge rate ("C20") for the SRM-27 or SRM-29 so those capacities are estimates from other data.
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Old 07-19-2016, 12:38 PM   #17
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Honestly guys, I've made cored layups and they have their place. But to go to that much work for a one off tongue box that can be made much more lighter and easily with aluminum.

Sturdy 3/4" base to support 2 batteries and all the other stuff that I find useful to have with me.

Simple interior frame to support the aluminum. Wrap .062" aluminum around and the box gains a lot of strength.

This box has gone from Alaska to Baja without incident. You don't need an armour plated box.

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Old 07-19-2016, 12:47 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
Honestly guys, I've made cored layups and they have their place. But to go to that much work for a one off tongue box that can be made much more lighter and easily with aluminum.
Sure, but what does one use as an excuse to try another type of project?

This is the same custom box by Ron that I have linked to in other recent discussions. If you don't mind the metalworking, I think this is a great solution.
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Old 07-19-2016, 01:24 PM   #19
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Wow Ron! You make it look so easy, and it's beautiful too.
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Old 07-19-2016, 02:25 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by jennykatz View Post
I've thought of maybe 3/8 in ply and glassing it inside and out Jim do you htink 1/8 will hold up if glassed in ? . or go with the diamond plate and have it welded up .tougher then just alum box . Whatever it is it has to weigh a lot less then 100lb the total weight is about 150lb as far as ETI is concerned with tongue weight
Though the wider the plywood core, the more structural strength it would have (like the two flanges on an I-beam), you really are looking only for rigidity and toughness, and this you could easily get with 1/8".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC View Post
Honestly guys, I've made cored layups and they have their place. But to go to that much work for a one off tongue box that can be made much more lighter and easily with aluminum.

Sturdy 3/4" base to support 2 batteries and all the other stuff that I find useful to have with me.

Simple interior frame to support the aluminum. Wrap .062" aluminum around and the box gains a lot of strength.

This box has gone from Alaska to Baja without incident. You don't need an armour plated box.

Ron
Glass work is actually quite easy, and the finished project could more easily match a fibreglass trailer, rather than an Airstream. You also have the opportunity to make it smoother looking by rounding over the corners of the box, and the lid. These rounded corners can take a lot more abuse than a square one.

Don't get me wrong, your box is great and anything along that line would work fine for anyone, but you do have to be careful with it, though it is half the thickness of what you used. My aluminum skinned cargo trailer gets scrapes and dings quite easy.

Plus, give me wood, plastic or fibreglass and I am at home. Other than a rivet cut, and a cutting wheel on a grinder, I have no metalworking tools.

All I was doing was making a suggestion in response to the OP's query.
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