Front Storage Box

kathytony1985

kathytony1985

Senior Member
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Mar 16, 2021
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538
Location
Mesa
Does the front storage box offer any protection from temperatures outside? If not, would adding some kind of insulation help with temperature control? Our 2 Lithium batteries will be installed there per specs on 21NE.
 
I think it would be easier just to have the batteries inside the unit vs trying to heat the outside box. It is single ply fiberglass, maybe 1/4" thick and not insulated at all.
 
I agree, but they won't install them inside the trailer. We asked before the trailer went into production.
 
Was there a reason given for not installing inside? You can always do that after wards as long as it is safe.
 
None given I assumed there would not be sufficient room under the dinette seat since all the other electrical is under there. We are going to look into it when we get the trailer. Do you know what is under the dinette in the 21 NE?
 
According to the brochure, the converter is in the front part and displays on driver side. The displays do not take up much space but if you request they move the converter to the driver side it will open up a lot of storage for you.
 
Thank you! I have read through the brochure, the 5 page one you can download, and I can't find where it says that. Must have overlooked it.
 
kathytony1985 said:
I assumed there would not be sufficient room under the dinette seat since all the other electrical is under there. We are going to look into it when we get the trailer. Do you know what is under the dinette in the 21 NE?
Click to expand...
Just judging from photos and the floorplan on the Escape website's 21NE page:
  • the black tank and some electrical equipment is under the dinette seat on the driver's side with some outside accessible (with an optional hatch) storage space ahead of the tank (but perhaps not enough for two batteries),
  • the power centre is under the front part of the U-shaped dinette seat, and
  • there is nothing under the passenger side of the dinette seat.
The WFCO 8955 Power Center is nowhere near the depth (face to back) of a typical dinette seat, so there should be substantial room ahead of it, but perhaps not enough for batteries. It seems like the passenger side would be a better target, although it is also valuable outside-accessible (with another optional hatch) storage space. From a drawing in the configuration guide, it appears that the side benches are 24" deep while the front bench is 18" deep, but the front wall is not vertical so it's not clear how wide the strip of floor space under the bench might be.

Under the bed there's a huge area (even after allowing for the water heater and plumbing on the driver's side), but for a battery compartment access would be an issue. Batteries could be placed on the passenger side with outside access, but there isn't enough height between the bed platform and the raised rear section of the frame to get at the top of the batteries, and if they were placed on a slide-out tray to fix that issue then a tall enough access door might be an issue.
 
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed explanation. We did not opt for any additional hatches other than the one that comes standard with the trailer. :)
I think we will be exploring moving them to inside under the passenger side of the dinette.
 
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Battery heater

In the old days, I used a 110V AC "blanket" wrap around resistance heater on my car battery as I had no garage. It was retail available. I'll bet there is a 12V version available....look around. You don't need to heat the whole box space, just the battery. Some Reflectix insulation wrapping the interior would not hurt.
 
HABBERDABBER said:
In the old days, I used a 110V AC "blanket" wrap around resistance heater on my car battery as I had no garage. It was retail available. I'll bet there is a 12V version available....look around. You don't need to heat the whole box space, just the battery. Some Reflectix insulation wrapping the interior would not hurt.
Click to expand...

Had not thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into that.
 
I put my lithium battery in the tongue box, but inside an insulated box I made for it. But - I only made that box so the expensive battery would be covered with other stuff and not out in plain sight. Really not concerned with extreme temperatures harming it.
 
rubicon327 said:
BattleBorn makes a heating pad specifically for lithium iron phosphate batteries. They are pricey. Just an example. Probably other sources for something like this these days.
https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/heat-pad-for-bbgc2/?afmc=rvt_01/
Click to expand...

Yes pricey! The batteries that Escape installs are Go Power. They don't sell a heated battery that I can find. I'm pretty sure we'll just be able to move the batteries inside under the dinette. We'll just have to play a little Tetris
 
kathytony1985 said:
Found this. Might work to keep the batteries warm.
https://www.amazon.com/152X304mm-Si...ywords=12v+heating+pad&qid=1627686342&sr=8-14
Click to expand...
The stick-on pad format is good, but this heater is designed and controlled to maintain a far higher temperature than wanted (the thermostat is set for 65 C or 149 F) - it's appropriate for hot food, not a battery.

Any of the low-power freeze protection heaters are about right; if anyone doesn't want to spend $220 USD, an RV tank heater is a possibility.
 
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