Battery Removal

I have a new Fleet (March 2018) and this is my 1st time winterizing. Everything went well until I attempted to remove the dual 6 volt battery’s in order to bring them inside and place them on a trickle charger. I couldn’t get the battery’s out. Tried to slide the left battery to the left so I could get out the battery on the right but it wouldn’t budge because of a hose and wire conduit on the left. I gave up and hooked it back up to solar. Anyone else have a problem getting dual batteries out? Is there a trick to removing batteries?

A quick search for 6v lead acid golf cart batteries showed 60 to 100 pounds each. In addition to friction due to tight fit, is it possible that gravity is the glue holding the batteries in place?

My 12v AGM batteries also had webbing straps anchored to the floor under each battery.

Paul

I don’t own your particular camper, but I did just replace the 6v GC batteries in my motorhome. Similar challenges, tight box with stiff cables around the perimeter. As mentioned by PaulT, these are very, very, very heavy due to the nature of their design. Perhaps you can slide a thin piece of “material” you have on hand between the battery and the hose you mentioned, for protection. Looks like you have straps, you’ll just need to put your legs into it (not your back) and lift vertically. That’s how I have to do it standing on the first step into the MoHo. Good luck with that!

Note: I’m a big fan of these batteries for certain situations. In our MoHo I got over six years of service out of the last two…without any maintenance whatsoever on my part. 210 ah (105 safely usable) for $99/ea from Costco. I use a portable 100ah LifePo4 in the truck, though.

I think the OP is saying that, setting weight aside, there does not appear to be any way to shift the batteries around so that he can get the first one to come out the door opening.

That might actually be the case. FWC might have installed the batteries before installing the cabinet front piece. Maybe Stan knows?

My error in assuming he had to lift vs slide the batteries out. I’ve used a thin piece of flexible plastic as a “sacrificial” barrier to protect other components and aid in sliding when there’s a tight fit. Your suggestion of calling FWC makes the most sense, of course.