I assumed that my post would cause a fair amount of discussion and I have not been disappointed. The ideas that have been tossed around are just what a group of engineers would do in a brainstorming session.
I was not aware that skipro3 had also written to Lance; that pleases me greatly. I have little doubt that we have their attention.
Here are two thoughts on the battery compartment venting that tend to make me less concerned about the possible build up of gases . . . I throw these out for you guys to consider.
First, regarding the forward facing vents, is it possible that there is actually a low pressure area created in the space between the cab of the truck and the camper? I have not had enough experience with the camper on the truck, going down the road, to know. I do know that if you want something to stay put in the bed of the truck when it is empty, you place it as far forward as possible. Perhaps the battery vents are actually OK facing forward. I propose that an experiment needs to be performed where someone rides in the camper and sees if the pressure on the vents is positive or negative at speed.
Second, the AC-DC converter has a large cooling vent on the cover that faces outward into the living area. If the battery vent pressure is positive at speed, then perhaps gas buildup is mitigate by it simply flowing out the converter vent such that the percentage of hydrogen is kept low enough in the battery compartment that it can't become explosive.
To answer those who have asked if an explosion has ever occurred, I have never heard of it and I hope that I did not somehow imply that I had. My reason for the post was to make others aware of my concerns and to get them to consider the validity of those concerns. I am definitely going to sealed AGM batteries. I hope others do too.
Thanks to all for the feedback and commentary. Be safe!
