Roadtrek house battery cover

[nbking]

On my Roadtrek, the cover,behind the back wheel, and hiding the house battery seems to be always coming unfastened from the velco at the bottom causing the cover to rattle quite a bit. I don't think it will become dislodged but it makes a lot of noise.

Has anyone discovered a way to keep the cover in place. We have enough things within the motor home that rattles. I would like to make this cover much quieter.

Thanks.

[nbking]

The spare tire is a noise maker. I had mine replaced after an accident and the newer one is much noisier. I will try the lubrication technique and see if it solves some of the problem.

I can try the electrical tape as well. It might help somewhat.

Thanks for your input.

[senf]

The cover on our RT has a section that sits in front of the rear wheel arch. The wing-nut is screwed into the wheel arch through a hole in the section. This prevents the cover from separating from the van. However, we also have a handle that is spring loaded and pulls down to engage the bottom edge of the cover against the van body. The velcro strip works, but I am not sure how well. If you were to fasten the bottom edge of your cover to the underside of the battery tray, on a removable basis, the cover would not come off, inadvertently.

I did a lot of experimenting to eliminate rattles. One was to put a strip of electrical tape along the edge of the upper and lower metal flanges. Another was to put a strip of electrical tape on the body of the van at the level of the top edge of the cover. Another was to wrap all of the door latch bars with electrical tape to minimize rattle and play. The worst offender turned out to be the spare tire vertical shaft which could be cured by lubrication for a short while. The solution was to put shims on either side at the hinge bolt.

[Arizona_Kid]

All I know is what the Manual says, maybe yours was changed by a previous owner.

The auxiliary battery is located behind the passenger access door behind the rear wheel, (see Picture B-P46). Under heavy use it is recommended to check once a month, see maintenance section.
In order to access the auxiliary battery one must do the following:
1. Unscrew wing bolt, (see Picture B-P50).
2. Pull down on release handle above the exhaust pipe, (see Picture B-P51).
3. Lift barrel bolt.
4. Slide out battery tray.
CAUTION: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE BATTERY COVER WHILE ENGINE IS RUNNING / EXHAUST IS HOT. HOT EXHAUST CAN cause SEVERE BURNS.
To reinstall reverse steps above. (Ensure cover is engaged with flange above battery).

[nbking]

I checked the manual as suggested. Mine is a 2010 Roadtrek 17 Versatile. It does not have a release handle. The top has a metal bar that sits in, but does not attach to, another piece of metal. The bottom has a velcro type material which works if we press hard on the bottom to engage the velcro. Over a very short period of time it comes loose.

[Arizona_Kid]

Look at page 36 on the owners manual.
2010 V. Owners Manual

There should be a wing nut, and release handle, I don't think Velcro was part of the original design.

In the future please post year, model, chassis, this would help you get a better answer.

I would ignore the post about the bungee cords. :@

[Handbasket]

I assume this is the Chevy chassis? After losing mine on the road and paying my 'local' RT dealer $450 to source and paint (_not_ with gold plating) another, I resolved not to lose the not-gold-plated one. BTW, that price did _not_ include the rubber trip strip.

I drilled three small pairs of matching holes, in the cover and the surrounding structure. Every time I removed the cover to check the battery or wiring, I sacrificed three cheap small zip ties to re-secure it fully. Not too attractive, but you had to look to see them. I always carried a small batch of ties anyway.

One of my few bad experiences with that Roadtrek, but it left me with a strong bad taste for their way of doing business.

Jim, "Darn! My car's not old enough for Medicare!"

[nbking]

Now you have me worried. Where did you secure the bungee cord and how did you wrap it around the cover? I am very interested in solving this problem. Thanks.

[rockhillmanor]

nbking wrote:
On my Roadtrek, the cover,behind the back wheel, and hiding the house battery seems to be always coming unfastened from the velco at the bottom causing the cover to rattle quite a bit.

I don't think it will become dislodged

but it makes a lot of noise.

Has anyone discovered a way to keep the cover in place. ....

It can and will. Mine did.

After having to buy another cover I just ran a bungee cord around it. No more rattling and I haven't lost it yet.