Battery compartment corrosion - Options?

Wash with baking soda/water mix
Then flush with lots of clear water (garden hose)

Then paint use a chemical resistant paint (Epoxy???) and let dry
Apply multiple coats

Would need to see it but I would be thinking to build a box from stainless and bolt it in as a replacement. Or move to non gassing AGM or lithium.

If the battery tray has rotted from battery acid, use Baking Soda and water on the metal, leave it on for a few min or untill it stops bubbling, and repeat till it stops foaming.. it will kill the acid, POR15 is great stuff, and not affected from Acid, could add a chunk of 1/8 plate over the original base as well and paint it as well both sides with POR15 to seal it from Acid

Either replace or reinforce. The bottom/sides are thinned and I’m concern they will give way... This has given me several ideas to evaluate. Much appreciated.

Do you want to clean it up and protect or repair/replace?

To clean: spray with water for a full 20 minutes. Allow to semi-dry and apply some spray on battery terminal cleaner and let it sit as directed. Rinse for another full 20 minutes. Fully dry the area, clean up the rust and paint with a good protectant paint like Rustoleum. Apply three+ coats over three+ days.

You could make a plywood inner box bolted to the existing metal one. Myself I would then line the inside of the box with fiberglass. A fiberglass job like that is easy enough to do, there would be plenty of youtube videos showing how its done.

In Wal-Mart you'll find spray paint Rus-O-Leum bed paint for pickups.

After you fix the box, apply two or three heavy coats of this stuff, and to steps appliances and whatever else is vulnerable.

Liquid acid can slosh over this stuff without hurting it.

If there is room line it with wood and secure the wood to the RV.

You can use a bench vice as a crude way to bend sheet metal flanges, in a pinch.

Crude sheet metal fabrication could go a long way here.

I bet the battery compartment is made of 18 gauge galvanized steel. You could get yourself some from a place like onlinemetals.com. Then, with some good metal snips, you could make yourself a new bottom, and screw it in place.





You would not even possibly need to cut out the old bottom. Just drop the new bottom in, drill holes, and then screw it in place. Might get away with self-tapping sheet metal screws if you put in a bunch of them, though I would use machine screws with nuts if you can access the side walls of the battery compartment.