Being short on battery power while dry camping,I removed the 12v battery which gave me 55 amp hrs .I replaced it with 2-6v batteries(in series)which gave me 235 amp hrs.I fabircated a custom vented battery box using heavy sheetmetal with a hold down bracket and rubber isolators for the batteries.I also added a solar panel (I fabricated my own stainless steel brackets so I didn't have to penatrate the roof) to keep the batteries charged.The factory pump encloser(plastic)at the front of the trailer cracked and was falling apart. I rewired ,soldered all connectors & used heat shink tubing.I fabricated an insulated heavy sheetmetal box for this & used liqiud tight electrial conduit for all the wiring.Our HI-LO is a 21ft.1997 Towlite.We tow with a toyota tacoma.

I would love to see pictures of that . Sounds like what I'm about to do myself. The plastic battery box is toast on my 1993 19' that we just picked up

I'll try to get you pictures but it may take till the end of april.

Works for me just fine,Thank You

Here are pictures of my change over to 2 six volt batteries and sheetmetal boxes to hold the batteries and hydrolic motor.

Les

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Excellent Les, Thank-You

Les -

Very professional work, great job!

Neal

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2001 Hi-Lo 22TL
2010 F150

I had a similar battery box challenge when I realized that the 55 Amp original battery in my 2007 22ft Towlite would not reliably provide sufficient power for any thing more than raising and lowering the Hi-Lo.

I opted to purchase two 6 Volt Golf Cart batteries from Costco which gives me 220 amps at 12 Volts connected in series. The problem I had was the battery box was not deep enough to allow clearance between the battery box lid and the batteries, in fact the lid would short out the batteries with 4th of July effects! My solution was to have a local welder drop the battery box bracket 2 inches ... and while he was at it I had him reinforce the bracket. The front post was changed from a 2 inch by 1/4 inch strap to a 2 x 2 inch post with the original strap welded to it ... I also had him extend the sides to include braces up to the hitch. The bracket is now absolutely SOLID!

My expenses? I got the two Costco batteries for about $175.00 and the fabrication cost me $200.00.

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John

2007-22T TowLite 50th Anniversary, with Valley Towing Equalizer Hitch
2008 Nissan Frontier SE 4X4 Crew Cab, Snug Top & McKesh Mirrors
Cooper AT3 LT265/70R16 All Terrain w Slotted Rotors, Ride-Rite Air Springs

Nice job, but remember the more battery the longer it takes to recharge from a discharged state. I went the 2 battery route, even went to a fully electronic 80 Amp charger, But we only use the battery power with a 110 volt, 400 watt converter for TV and a DVD player, and a light only when needed, we use candles when boondocking, a good 12 volt would play 2 DVDs, I ran the generator each day for a short period of time with one battery, or every other day for a long period of time with 2 batteries. Didn't do us much good, however may try it again with the new trailer and a larger 110 converter. If you use a large 110 converter for other appliances or run a lot of lights at night then it is worth it, HI-Lo battery chargers are pretty good, the old one was 30 AMPs and the new one is 45. I have seen many people that the charger in their trailer was very small and they couldn't understand why it took so long to recharge the battery, even saw a guy trying to use a 2 AMP charger, this would take days to recharge. Just my two cents worth.

Good Point! I have a 75 Amp electronic charger that I use when we get home and I will be increasing the tow cable charge circuit to 10 gage and 30 Amp fuse real soon. Currently the only 120 v appliance in the Hi-Lo is the AC and we never have shore power connected so it is not used, and we haven't succumbed to the temptation to bringing a TV ... yet. I just installed a 900 cfm MaxxAir fan at the entry and hope it meets most of our needs.

Thanks

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John

2007-22T TowLite 50th Anniversary, with Valley Towing Equalizer Hitch
2008 Nissan Frontier SE 4X4 Crew Cab, Snug Top & McKesh Mirrors
Cooper AT3 LT265/70R16 All Terrain w Slotted Rotors, Ride-Rite Air Springs