Installing a locking battery/storage box on the tongue of a travel trailer

[@CampingwiththeColes]

The Princess Auto link for the truck box is not working. It worked two days ago. I found some on amazon but they are almost twice the cost. Hopefully Princess Auto restocks them.

[@donmcconnery5080]

Now I have a new spring project for our trailer. Great job installing and recording the project. Keep them videos coming 😊

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks! Will do!

[@markyeo2238]

I did the same thing with my last travel trailer,,great idea!! Until I towed on the highway in the rain,,,the force of the water spray coming off the road and tow vehicle filled the box with water,,,i end up in having to add a rubber seal and a extra latch to keep the lid tightly closed to keep the water out

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Excellent point! One thing I didn't mention is that about a week later I added a rubber seal. It keeps the water out and the noise down from the lid rattling. Thanks for mentioning it.

[@barbgilbart7945]

Thanks Ben, exactly what my husband wants to do to our trailer. Great tutorial!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jdanoliver]

Super helpful! Thanks for all the care you put into making a clear video.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks

[@gideonkumar8105]

Hi I am Jude This video was very helpful! Thank you and God bless

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thank you very much.

[@Dave-he7js]

Great tip and thank you!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

You bet!

[@josephcaloger366]

Super helpful video. Liked, Subscribed, thank you for taking the time to share. I commented before with a link to another similar box. I think the link prevented my comment from posting.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Hey, thanks for letting me know that you liked it.

[@01AceAlpha]

Nice project!

[@RS-CDN]

Awesome video! Extremely helpful! Thanks a bunch!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Glad it helped!

[@patriciadelorme9006]

Thank you for sharing.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Our pleasure!

[@atk1da]

I hope this finds you well. Now that you have the lifepo4 in, parallel I think, 12v 200ah. How did yous manage with the fridge? Is the fridge duel source...l.p and electric? We have just purchased a single lifepo4, considering a second, however our fridge is only 12v. Thank you!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

It seems that almost all new trailers coming out now have 12v fridges now. Ours is a propane/electric. When not plugged into power I have the fridge on propane. It has very little draw then. I assisted a friend who was trying to run his Trillium trailer with a 100ah AGM battery and solar panels on a cloudy weekend. I had him plug into my portable power station and saw a draw of over 300 watts. I couldn't believe it until he told me that his fridge is 12v only. That kind of draw can eat through a battery pretty quickly. Granted the draw will go on and off as the thermostat on the fridge reaches temp. The price of LiFePO4 batteries has really come down over the past 6 months. You can get a 100ah battery for around $300 now such as the AOlithium for $339 right now.

[@atk1da]

@CampingwiththeColes Thank you for the quick reply, you're right I paid 329 for the lifepo4...we also have a single 100w panel on the roof, and a 30amp generator...was considering Killarney for an August trip. But an extra 300(batt) and your recommendations..our 25ft plus trailer will be to large. Perhaps Killarney will have to wait. Thanks again!

[@willymueller4587]

Good job Ben

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks. I'm very happy with how the project turned out.

[@gideonkumar8105]

Hi, my name is Jude. What size is the waterproof cable gland? Thanks for the video!

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Hi Jude. I used two PG9 cable glands.

[@JaKe-bd2fq]

Great video. Did you add a vent in the box for airflow ?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

I didn't put a vent in it because LiFePO4 doesn't off gas. Lead acid batteries definitely would need a vent.

[@JaKe-bd2fq]

@@CampingwiththeColes interesting, I am using a black metal box and thought for my LiFeP04 battery could use some venting for possible heat. Thank you for your feedback, very much appreciated. We both love the channel and your videos.

[@devintimmins-litt748]

Sorry this is unrelated to the video, I was just curious if you guys had stayed at Balsam Lake provincial Park yet? I didn't see it in your list, but I could have missed it. I want to start taking the kids further from home. But I'm not ready for the near north drive of 3+ hours with the little ones and a trailer behind me. If you've been to Balsam lake is it good for little ones? 6 and 4 year olds

[@CampingwiththeColes]

We went to Balsam Lake and it had a great beach and playground at the beach for the kids. Here is a link to our video on it kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5OpaWqsbcZ-e7c. I think you'll have a great time with the kids there.

[@devintimmins-litt748]

@CampingwiththeColes thanks for linking the video for me. It does look quite peaceful there. If I can figure out the ontario parks website (it doesnt seem to be working for me at the moment) I think we will be checking out Balsam lake. Thanks again

[@ronarempel9081]

That's exactly what we want to do, but Ben the link for the box at Princess Auto is broken.😢

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for pointing that out. It was working as of two days ago. I don't see the product on the Princess Auto website anymore. I found similar boxes on Amazon but they are almost twice the cost. Hopefully Princess Auto restocks them. I pinned a comment mentioning the broken link. Thanks for letting me know.

[@KathyPare-d2s]

Lithium batteries produce heat when charging i suggest not covering them but use plastic terminal guards on the connecters

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the tip.

[@jeffhelsdingen4354]

You really, really, really need to add a fuse to the power wire at your battery post.

[@CampingwiththeColes]

Thanks for the suggestion. The fuse is further down the line, not seen in the video.

[@jeffhelsdingen4354]

@@CampingwiththeColes it really should be right at the battery. If your wire accidentally gets nicked or worn 200ah of lithium can make for a really ugly day.

[@fraserherman8754]

Question about winter storage. Do you bring the lifepo batteries inside over the winter the same way you would flooded ones?

[@CampingwiththeColes]

@@fraserherman8754 yes I do. No sense in having them freeze up. I store them inside the house. They don't give off any gases like lead acid batteries do, so you can store them anywhere.