Date:         Tue, 20 Aug 2002 23:08:36 EDT
Reply-To:     JOE65@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joseph Angrisani <JOE65@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Battery Location - Rear Behind RR Taillight
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I've been reading through the archives about installing a house battery.
Electrically, I know what I want to do.  My question involves the physical
location of the battery.

Has anyone installed the battery in the dead space behind the passenger's
tail-light?

It seems a good location.  It is very near the alternator for the main lead
as well as the field/trigger lead...wiring would be simplified and short
power leads are good!  It is on the right side of the Westy, which is
certainly the light side.  It is outside (from a chemical point-of-view).  It
takes up no interior storage space.  Even the "weight way out back" is less
of a lever arm than that of a spare tire and rack (or two bikes on a rack)
hanging out rearward of the bumper.

The "box" back there measures 8" top-bottom x 8" front-back x 11.5" side-side
inside of the fiberboard cover of the intake tract.  The area is enough to
gobble up a 9.94"x 6.88" x 7.81" Optima easily.  A hold down is simple
too...100% access to the bottom of that box.  For those inclined, some work
involving a new brace, some 3M 5200, and a different air intake duct even
opens up the possibility of a ~100Ah (Group 29) Absorbed Glass Mat battery.
P-p-power!

What am I missing?  This location seems superb.  Why isn't it being used?

Inquiring Minds Want To Know......
Joe in CO
84 Westy
77 Targa

ps...Please respond with your comments and thoughts to
"vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com" too (with the same Subject line) so this thread
will be archived.