drako Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Hi, We have had our very first van for a couple of weeks only - steep learning curve ! It's an Adria Sport 572 SL The battery sits under a seat in the dining area, just below the charger. It is boxed in on 2 sides (including the side facing front, so it won't move under heavy braking) but otherwise just sits on the floor not secured by anything else. I have added a sheet of non slip material underneath it to give it extra grip which I figured, combined with the weight of the battery, should hold it in place. There are a number of wires around it, including quite a thin looking one with little give running just behind it. I am slightly concerned that if the battery was to move back whilst on the move it might strain the wire and do some damage - e.g. going up steep incline in mountains It is an Exide Gel battery so no worries about spillage There doesn't seem to be much space to fit any kind of securing mechanism. Has anyone out there come across something similar: I am worrying for nothing (the lady seems to think I am) ? Should I secure it in some other way ? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 my twin batteries (adria twin SP) are in same position, but sit on heavy duty double sided tape... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 In a decent crash, I would not want anything as heavy as a battery free to start flying around. Personally I would be looking at some form of tie-down fixing and not just relying on a non-slip mat. Motor accessory shops do sell battery securing bars etc and I am sure that you could adapt one to suit your van. It seems strange that a motorvan manufacturer would produce something without proper security for such a heavy item; what would happen if the van turned over on its side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I have secured my leisure batteries with polyester webbing roof rack luggage straps like these (wrapped round twice if you can as they are quite long) http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/9792385754/ref=asc_df_97923857547502327?smid=ATWQPOD3N26U3&tag=shoppingmp34495-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22218&creativeASIN=9792385754 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Slow hand clap to Adria for a half-a*sed job, and they aren't usually too bad. It needs fastening down. There are loads of different types of bracket available, including discreet ones that just trap the bottom lip (if your batt has one). I use boxes like this: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/pennine-leisure-small-battery-box-caravanning-electrical-set-p141365 which screw to the floor and then a strap holds the lid on and everything snugly in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 If you believe your battery has the potential to move in a scenario when your motorhome is being normally driven, but just on a steep incline, then you really need to do something to prevent that happening. How best to retain the battery will depend on the present installation. You could perhaps contruct extra bulkheads so that the battery is boxed in on all 4 sides, or obtain/make up a suitable securing system as spospe suggests, or follow Peter's luggage-strap approach. As your Exide battery has a flange around its base, a simple 'hold-down' that screws to the floor and clamps on to the base-flange might work well if space is tight. A (US) example is shown here, but fabricating a bespoke clamp should be a straightforward DIY task. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SS01/01329/N0363.oap?ck=Search_N0363_-1_-1&pt=N0363&ppt=C0005 Non-slip material or double-sided sticky-tape beneath a battery may inhibit it from sliding about on a smooth floor but, if a 25kg battery is subjected to high g-forces and isn't solidly secured, it's going to move. My Hobby has its batteries housed beneath the cab seats and both batteries are held firmly with strong metal retainers that prevent movement in any direction. Even if my Hobby somersaulted over Dover cliffs, I'm confident its batteries would stay in place on the way down - though I guess there might be a bit of movement when it reached the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Thank you all for your helpful comments, I think the chances of battery moving under normal circumstances are low but like most of you I don't like the idea of an unsecured battery. My DYI skills being limited, I like the clamp idea and will look for something to achieve that. Sorry for the naive question but can i safely assume that screwing something directly to the floor is ok as all the electric cables / pipes seem to run either exposed or along the sides / inside cupboards ? i.e. there should be no vital components embedded within the actual floor itself ? And derek, i hope your van never sommersaults over Dover cliffs, if it does my advice is to jump out first... (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 drako - 2012-04-23 2:38 PM ...Sorry for the naive question but can i safely assume that screwing something directly to the floor is ok as all the electric cables / pipes seem to run either exposed or along the sides / inside cupboards ? i.e. there should be no vital components embedded within the actual floor itself ?... It's a fair question and you are wise to ask it, but it's not simply answered. If Adria has adopted a construction policy of running electrical cables, water pipework and heater air-ducting fully exposed, then it would be reasonable to assume that it's unlikely there is anything just under the floor that you might damage if you screwed something to the floor's upper surface. What you might do is carefully and progressively make a small hole (with a hand-drill or bradawl) in the floor where you'd be positioning the clamp until the floor's top layer is just pierced. Then (carefully) push something like a small bluntish screwdriver through the hole down into the insulation below the floor to check whether there's any firm resistance. If the screwdriver goes into the insulation easily, then you should be safe enough. The top surface of a motorhome floor is usually pretty thin, so (if you fancy the clamp idea) it might be a good idea to glue and screw (using short screws and several of them) a piece of plywood (10mm thick?) to the floor and then use screws that pass into and through the plywood to hold the clamp in place. Not easy to advise definitively, as I normally approach this sort of DIY project based on what junk I've got hoarded in my garage. As I've always got plenty of plywood, bits of metal, screws and adhesives, what I've just suggested would be straightforward for me to do (and cost nothing!) The objective is more to restrain your battery from moving about on the floor, rather than securing it so that it can't fly about even if the motorhome loops-the-loop. So just a suitable length of metal with a right-angle profile (or even a length of 1" x 1" wood) screwed to the floor so that it runs alongside and tight against the battery's base-flange may well be sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted April 23, 2012 Author Share Posted April 23, 2012 Thanks, I was thinking along the same line as you with regards to a right angle profile. I may have to go to the dealer, I am not totally useless with DIY but a bit nervous abour drilling holes in my first and very shinny motorhome. Very good build quality on the Adria and very very pleased with the van, but frankly quite incredible that there should be no provision for securing the leisure battery... :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Drilling holes through the floor presents an almost iresistable challenge to Mr Murphy to stick his oar in. The tales of holes in tanks, through wires and pipes are many, even by factories. Its something to do with getting disoriented by laying on your back looking upwards and trying to measure at the same time, then going topside and mixing right and left and fore and aft. An excellent supply of clamps is usually available at you local car breakers. Some clamp the battery on a ridge at the bottom and others down onto the top usually via a pair of long threaded rod to the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 drako - 2012-04-23 10:08 PM Thanks, I was thinking along the same line as you with regards to a right angle profile. I may have to go to the dealer, I am not totally useless with DIY but a bit nervous abour drilling holes in my first and very shinny motorhome.... While I might be concerned about drilling a hole in a motorhome's floor, that's nothing like the concern I'd have over letting someone else do it. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 .....I have in the past had a second leisure battery fitted successfully (not by myself, I would add) secured by the use of small plastic "furniture connector blocks" butted at each of the four sides. (as in http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-WHITE-MODESTY-FIXIT-FURNITURE-CONNECTOR-BLOCK-/260554257191 as an example). This was combined with a buckled webbing strap passed over the battery through an anchor base plate, or cleat, secured to the floor on two opposite sides, and tightened at the buckle. (as in http://www.tridentuk.com/sailing/product-Nylon_Toe_Strap_Bridge-AL_A_238.html as an example) Hence, the battery was both horizontally and vertically restrained. An adaptation of such a solution might fit your restricted space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 I quite agree :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Thanks Robinhood. It's great that there is so much knowledge out there and helpful people prepared to share it. i am rapidly discovering that with a van you can't just rely on the industry itself but that there are enough people out there with experience to find a solution for everything... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod_vw Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 The following from the AA website http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-servicing-repair/mot-changes-2012.html (I can't find the VOSA version) about MOT changes as of 1st April 2012 may be food for thought... "Electrical wiring and battery An insecure battery will be a reason for failure as will a battery that is leaking electrolyte. Visible wiring that is insecure, inadequately supported or likely to cause a short will also result in a failure as will wires bared by damaged insulation." Perhaps your Adria should go back to the dealers for a retro fit!! Found the VOSA version now.... http://www.transportoffice.gov.uk/crt/doitonline/bl/mottestingmanualsandguides/mottestingmanualsandguides.htm - Inspection Manual for Classes 3, 4, 5 and 7 Vehicles - Section 1.9 Page 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 MOT testers will not inspect a motorhome's 'living space', so a leisure battery inadequately secured beneath, say, a dining-area seat would not be an MOT issue. In fact, it's a good thing that MOT testers do not inspect motorhomes' habitation section given the standard of 'engineering' sometimes seen there. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-04-25 10:00 AM MOT testers will not inspect a motorhome's 'living space', so a leisure battery inadequately secured beneath, say, a dining-area seat would not be an MOT issue. In fact, it's a good thing that MOT testers do not inspect motorhomes' habitation section given the standard of 'engineering' sometimes seen there. ;-) ....whilst I agree on the subject of the leisure battery, Derek, I'm not sure that your statement is entirely correct as written (though I suspect it is not exactly what you meant). ;-) The seatbelts in the habitation area of my 'vans have always been tested during an MOT (evidenced, as is customary with my car, by the fact that they have been buckled during the test and left in that state). I suspect that is about the only thing in the habitation interior that has been subject to MOT testing, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Yes, I thought as much :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Given half a chance, I would also mount the battery on a tray or in a plastic box. You can buy battery boxes, although they tend not to be useful sizes, but Google "Really useful Boxes" come up in a range of sizes. I would add check if your battery needs a breather pipe to vent the battery. The pipe should discharge to the exterior of the m/home. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Robinhood - 2012-04-25 10:26 AM Derek Uzzell - 2012-04-25 10:00 AM MOT testers will not inspect a motorhome's 'living space', so a leisure battery inadequately secured beneath, say, a dining-area seat would not be an MOT issue. In fact, it's a good thing that MOT testers do not inspect motorhomes' habitation section given the standard of 'engineering' sometimes seen there. ;-) ....whilst I agree on the subject of the leisure battery, Derek, I'm not sure that your statement is entirely correct as written (though I suspect it is not exactly what you meant). ;-) The seatbelts in the habitation area of my 'vans have always been tested during an MOT (evidenced, as is customary with my car, by the fact that they have been buckled during the test and left in that state). I suspect that is about the only thing in the habitation interior that has been subject to MOT testing, however. Mea culpa - I'd forgotten about seat-belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 tonyishuk - 2012-04-25 5:28 PM ...I would add check if your battery needs a breather pipe to vent the battery. The pipe should discharge to the exterior of the m/home. Rgds Battery in this case is an Exide gel-type, so no venting needed or possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drako Posted April 25, 2012 Author Share Posted April 25, 2012 Derek beat me to it, it is a gel battery but thank you for your suggestion Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Have you asked the supplying dealer if the securing strap/clamp has been left off your van in manufacture, and pointed out to him that it is normal for a leisure battery to be secured in place for obvious reasons, and you are unhappy with the arrangement as supplied? Adria sell a lot of vans in Germany, and I somehow can't imagine the average German tolerating the concept of a wandering 25kg battery, so it surprises me that this is the case. Maybe an error in adapting to the RHD cab? Better to check while all still under warranty, than to wade in and start making modifications that it should, really, be someone else's responsibility to remedy. After all, you have paid for a properly constructed van, and this sounds to me a bit like a production error the manufacturer should at least be made aware of, and ideally should remedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 .....seconded. Though before I replied with a suggestion, I noted Eddie's reply about the use of double-sided tape on his - which makes you wonder. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Robinhood - 2012-04-25 8:56 PM .....seconded. Though before I replied with a suggestion, I noted Eddie's reply about the use of double-sided tape on his - which makes you wonder. :-S Thank you! Also, if Eddie's tape is really up to the job, I hope he gets rid of the van before the battery croaks. Otherwise, I see trouble ahead..........................................tra la!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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