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Here is a better way to have batteries mounted...
From day one, I did not like the inside closet battery position. The rear of the T-160 bounces so much that battery electrolyte bounced out the cap vent holes and into the box. The screws holding the box to the floor allow this acid water to follow the screws and seep into the floor structure.
Getting at the battery is not convenient either. You must use a screwdriver to get the battery case open, and then it is very difficult to get in there to see what the elecrolyte level is.
I also wanted to have two batteries, since we do mostly boondocking, and with the heater running during the cold nights in the Rockies even in summer, we need the extra battery capacity.
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I used three light weight angle iron pieces, primed and painted before installation, two the same length as the battery case, and one the full width across the tongue from the outside edge of each battery case. The rear piece provides the solid stability. I screwed these fast to the frame with large self taping screws, then screwed the battery boxes to the angle iron with four smaller self tapping screws per box.
For the wiring, I pulled the existing wiring out all the way to the converter, then routed it down through the floor and backup into the water tank compartment under the dinette seat. There I placed the circuit breaker that was in the little closet, then running a new (positive) cable from the circuit breaker down under the floor to the batteries, using existing holes in the frame members. I used the same guage wiring as the original wiring. I also spliced a new piece to the relocated negative wire (now also in the water tank compartment) and routed the new piece of cable also down under the floor and to the batteries. I clamped this wiring in place to the underside of the floor, being sure to use screws short enough that they would not come through the floor inside. Of course there is also wiring connecting the two batteries in parallel, from battery to battery.
I never disconnected the original wiring from the converter using this method. Make sure though that there is no shore power hooked up so nothing shorts out while doing the wiring. The batteries are now easily accessible, add some tongue weight that can help with sway, and freed up space inside.
The cases do not rub against the trailer and are very close to the propane tank. This actually centered each battery right over the frame tongue member. I did have to put a 90 degree gas fitting on the propane pressure regulator, which allows the propane hose to go down instead of out the side, to the propane tank, but more importantly, got the hose out of the way for mounting the battery case on that side. The propane tank was not moved.
I used Trojan model SCS150 (150 amp/hr) deep cycle batteries since I had the luxury of not having the dealer install the original battery, instead, he gave us a check for the value on one battery.
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