We purchased our 2007 Troll 540GT in late August, having previously owned a Bailey Pageant, and we're very, very pleased with it. It is currently fitted with the '240v automatic circuit breaker with power pack', as shown in the manual, as opposed to the 'Power Pack SE'. There is no circuit breaker for a battery charger (see attached picture)IMG_1177.jpeg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte).

We would like to add a motor mover to our van, as both of us, unfortunately, have issues with our backs! Having looked through the forum, it would seem that Reich movers are very strongly recommended for Eribas. I'm really interested to hear members views on what other choices there are for fixed movers. We've looked at the e-go Plug & Play and have decided against the idea of constantly connecting and disconnecting the motors from the van. We've also decided that we don't want to use any movers that connect to the hitch. In our choice of motor mover, we're concerned about minimising any additional weight and maximising road clearance. Not too bothered about manual vs powered actuation (except regards price and another electronic system that can go wrong) but I notice the Reich EasyDriver Active 1.8 sits considerably lower than the EasyDriver Pro 1.8. Do any members have experience with these products? I notice also that there are a couple of second-hand Reich Move Controls on eBay for about £300 - they're approximately the same age as our van - any thoughts on the pros and cons of buying second-hand refurbished?

As far as fitting is concerned, we've approached Midland Motor Movers and two local mobile caravan engineers. We've had quotes around the £1,000 to £1,200 mark for fitting a new motor mover however, two of the fitters will only work with their 'set' motor mover brands - respectively EMove and Magic Movers. I haven't seen either of these brands mentioned in these pages but I'd be very interested to hear if other members have knowledge of them.

I'm going to check the axle plate later this week to see if the van has had an upgrade so currently I don't know whether our potential payload is 295kg or 385kg. Does anyone know whether the GT package in 2007 included a chassis upgrade? (Indeed, I'd be very interested if anyone had the full list of the 2007 GT package upgrades!)

Our real problem, however, is having a battery fitted. We received a quote from one of the fitters for a further £2,000(!) to have a battery and charger added to the van. Another fitter said they'd fit a battery and charger but they'd only connect it up to use with the mover, they wouldn't be willing to set it up to work with the van's 12V system or make it chargeable from the car. We would like to go off-grid quite frequently and definitely want the battery to be fully integrated. I'm now wondering whether it would be better to split the two jobs and have a battery and charger fitted by an auto electrician (at a workshop maybe rather than a mobile fitter?) and then ask someone to fit a motor mover.

Q's:
1. Any ideas about costs of having new battery and charger retro-fitted for the first time?
2. Would it be better to have the 240v automatic circuit breaker with power pack replaced with the SE or just add a free standing charger to the existing power pack?
3. The jury seems to be split between habitation gel batteries and sealed lead batteries with venting through the floor - Lithium seems to be very expensive - any views?

Looking forward to hearing from people!
Pete

Hi Pete

I supply and fit Reich movers and the price you've been quoted for the Pro1.8 is in the right ball park. Special mounting brackets are required for Eriba models, at an additional price.

To fit a battery charger as a retrofit requires modification to the existing BIP unit with the addition of cables, relay and fuses to enable the system to be fully integrated, and to enable the battery to be charged when connected to the tow car.

There is also the option of replacing the BIP unit completely with the Schaudt CSV409 as fitted to current vans.

I have completed both types of modification over the past 10 years or so and your quote of £2000 is rather excessive for the work required.

If you'd like to discuss the various options further, please get in touch via the email shown on my profile.

John

Thank you to both Aaron and John for their quick replies - much appreciated. I will message you tomorrow John. In the meantime I have had a conversation with a local workshop (rather than mobile fitters) looking at the electrical job first and subsequently the motor mover. Again, they will only supply and fit eMove products however, he will fit any MM supplied by the customer.

While I'm here, does anybody have a view on external battery compartments being fitted to an Eriba vs fitting the battery under one of the beds? No go because of the size of the caravan?

Almost all continental vans are configured to operate from mains hook up via a 12V power supply and generally there's no requirement for a battery - hence no dedicated battery locker as fitted to UK vans.

It is possible to fit a battery compartment but that would take up more room than just a battery properly secured in a floor-mounted frame, and held down by a nylon strap.

After (too) much deliberation, have finally had a Reich motor mover fitted by reputable company along with a battery. Thank you to all for help and advice so far. The battery is currently set up just to supply the mm. Can anyone offer thoughts on the best way to have the battery secured? I’d prefer that it was clamped to the floor but also had some protection against spillage or leaks - any recommendations for products that do all of this? Also, how thick is the flooring (plywood?) that a clamp would be screwed into - would that be appropriate/safe?

If your battery has tabs protruding from its base at the sides then simply screw metal plates/large washers to the floor at a slight angle with the screw tip close to the battery tab so the whole thing clamps down at a slight angle. One of these along each edge will hold the battery. Use an M6/25 screw.

This length of screw shouldnt exit the floor the other side but to be safe make sure there are no pipes or cables under where you plan to fix the battery.

Regarding question "is it safe?", this was how the battery in my new van was fitted

If your battery doesnt have tabs then you will need a U shaped strap (eg metal or flexible nylon) to go over the top of the battery and down each side, both along and across the battery, and fix using the screw/washer method described above.

Very helpful - thanks. Not concerned about a tray or method of dealing with spillages? Is this a thing of the past now with current battery manufacturing techniques?

A tray or battery box is additional leakage security but modern day gel batteries and sealed for life batteries don’t leak like old style wet cell batteries. Even so you would still be better off fitting a vent pipe that exhausts hydrogen to the outside through a (sealed) hole drilled in the floor, again a belt and braces fitment

So, while I've been casually asking about preventative measures for managing potential leaks from batteries, I've sadly discovered that we have a battery leak!! 😱

Really frustrated as the battery was fitted as part of a motor mover installation by a well established and recommended professional company only this March and we've had just one trip of five days away since then (I know, not bad considering Covid restrictions and all).

We discovered the leak upon returning to our van in storage to clean up following this short trip. The battery is situated under the nearside bed, directly in front of the BIP unit (not sure why that was done either as it completely blocks access to the fuse panel on the BIP!). The pool of. initially, unidentified liquid was all around the battery and flowing towards the back and centre of the van. Clearing it up was no great issue but further damage had been done to the baseplate of the BIP which was covered in 'salt' crystals. The small wooden blocks that the fitter had used to secure the battery in place were completely soaked in the fluid but the screws that held them down showed no sign of corrosion. Clearly, the battery had been leaking for some time but the tilt of the van in a previous location would have been sending liquid towards the nearside of the van. This was important as, previously, we had found that our rear, nearside corner steady was covered in salt crystals.

At the time we noticed the crystals/corrosion on the corner steady, we had, as yet, no idea about the leaking battery. To be frank, after we discovered the leaking battery I'm embarrassed to say it took us far too long to put two and two together and come up with five. What we are concerned about now is that battery fluid appears to have leaked down the length of the nearside form the BIP to the rear corner and found its lowest point above the corner steady. If this is correct, it seems likely that the fluid will have 'capillaried' its way between the outer skin of the van and the plywood floor as well as possibly between the floor covering and the plywood below. presumably, the chance of delamination is quite high. :-(

The battery was disconnected and removed from situ and placed on a flat surface in an open plastic box with some absorbent paper underneath. Inspection the next day found the bottom of the box completely soaked, confirming that the fluid came from the battery. There's no sign of any cracking of the battery case and certainly no sign of leakage around the 'sealed' caps of the cells - I assume that the weakest point would be the join between the lid and the main box of the casing and certainly that felt damp to the touch.

I've contacted the installer who, in turn, is contacting either the battery manufacturer or his supplier. He's entitled to do this of course but our issue, I believe, is with him not his supplier. I've also contacted our insurer as I I would think that we'd need to get the van independently inspected to assess any damage at the very least.

I'd be interested to hear anybody's thoughts on this misadventure, whether from a technical point of view about batteries, acid damage, floor delamination etc., or regarding procedure on how to manage repair of the potential damage to the van. Having previously owned a BWWB that suffered from water ingress, we're really frustrated to find ourselves dealing with a problem like this on our 'new' (to us) Eriba.

Needless to say, the replacement battery will be in a tray and/or Thetford, soft battery bag.

Commiserations Pete.

Not sure what the potential for damage to wood floor, structural members, aluminium skin or paint finish might be.

No, me neither, can't believe this has happened. That's why I'm assuming the best bet is to get a full, professional and independent inspection completed as soon as possible regardless of what the motor mover fitter's response might be after the bank holiday.

Unfortunately battery (sulphuric) acid reacts with aluminium to form aluminium sulphate and hydrogen gas so if the leak finds it way on to the skin of the van then it could do some serious damage.

As far as the plywood floor is concerned, the acid causes severe dehydration as it will react with any moisture. You may think this could be a good thing by removing any damp but I suspect this is not the case as contact with concentrated acid rarely is rarely beneficial.

The steel frame will probably bare up better than you imagine since carbon steel reacts to form a protective layer of iron sulphate. Since you have removed the source of acid, no further corrosion should occur once this initial reaction is complete.

If it were my van then I would be having serious words with whoever supplied the battery especially as it was only installed in March.

Rob