Anyone have a mod to prevent debris from collecting in front LP/Battery storage bin?

AldebaranJill

My T@B has a standard plastic rounded bin, with the LP and Battery (and my sewer hose). My driveway and house are surrounded by extremely tall pine trees. Since the lid is offset from the trailer and needs to rotate to lift, there is a large gap. Everytime I open the lid, I am greeted by a large collection of small branches, pine needles, pine cones and spider webs and wet sogginess. I am curious if anyone has done a mod to prevent water and debris from falling into the gap. (I don't want to replace the bin, just figure out how to divert debris and rain)

I've been pouring (no pun intended) through the forum and haven't seen this issue mentioned yet, if it is somewhere, please send me a link.

I tried wedging some pipe insulation into the gap, but then I had to remove it each time I opened the lid, and it gradually lost it's compression and fell out.

I've also thought of attaching some fabric between the trailer and the lid, that would divert debris but still allow the lid to open, or perhaps some kind of seal to the bottom edge of the lid, that would make contact when the lid is closed, but swing away when open.

Thanks!
Jill

Verna

I use a leaf blower to blow out the winter Arizona sand, the oak and sweet gum leaves and call it good

Sharon_is_SAM

Is it blowing in just from the top?  Is there some way to attach a curtain of landscape fabric on the back of the tub?  

AldebaranJill

It is falling into the gap, as the front of the T@B is curved, as the debris falls from the trees, it pours off T@B and right into the compartment, like a constant pine tree waterfall. A curtain is definitely one good idea, it would have to be attached to tub lip and to trailer wall, and be waterproof because it will fill with water.

ericnliz

AldebaranJill, Could you remove the lid, and velcro some fabric on the inside of the lid, and to the inside of the tub [leaving enough slack to open the lid] to eject the debris? Or how about a trailer cover? I opted for the cover as mine [T@B] is parked right below a really big Maple tree, so I can absolutely relate to debris!

AldebaranJill

I had been avoiding a cover because it's so darned cute to look at :-) And when I do mods, it can literally fill with debris in a single afternoon if it's a little windy. I like this idea of velcroed waterproof fabric curtain (the tub has no rear wall, so I'd have to velcro to the trailer metal). I have a new mission! 

ericnliz

Totally forgot about the no rear wall. Is there enough room to velcro it to the insides of the tub and inside the lid between the trailer and tub? 

AldebaranJill

You mean, in essense creating a rear wall for the tub out of the fabric?

ericnliz

That would be it, don't really see any other way you'll be able to keep that stuff totally out otherwise, except to cover it.

AldebaranJill

Here are some photos, just in case I've got a "special" version. You can see the large gap and how the debris simply gets washed directly into my battery cover, which is directly under the gap, so literally, my battery cover gets rained on. @ericnliz @SAM Is this also how you have it?

ericnliz

I'll go look at mine, have to remove part of the cover first. Ok, I went & looked. My gap does not appear to be as large as yours, but the back is, in fact open. The other thing I noticed is that your battery box sits back more towards the trailer than does mine. if I look straight down between the trailer and the cover, I can't even see the battery box at all. I'm wondering if someone prior to you put a larger box having to re-position it, and that's why you're having water and debris collect there. Do you have a front window on yours? If so, could you place a "curtain" under the window, shut the window, then run it under the lid to stop the debris? You would have to leave it loose to hang down just a bit to drain the water, but it might work. I guess my other question would be: Aren't you afraid of getting a lot of pitch from the tree on the rest of your trailer without it being covered? I covered mine under the maple tree just for that reason. Let me know what you figure out, thanks.

AldebaranJill

Very interesting! I'm the original owner, so my battery position (like my AC wiring) must just be, uh, unique. :-) No front window. Nothing has fallen on the trailer that can't be washed off with a hose and a soft broom brush. Maybe my trees are pitch-less?

But your question has given me another idea, I could also add a flap to the cover that would rest on the trailer wall when the lid was closed, like a little ramp, and if it was hinged, maybe it would fold up against the lid when the lid was open. Hmmm.

Sharon_is_SAM

Jill, can't help you there.  Just ordered our Tab!  I would not like that collection of tree debris either.  Can the battery be shifted forward in the tub at all?  I like Eric's idea of using the front window to sandwich maybe a shower curtain to keep your tub clean and dry.  I think I would let it drape over the tub and maybe weight it down along the lower edges.  Just need to make sure you don't get any mildew growing under whatever you place there.  That is why the custom PaHaque covers are so nice- they keep the trailer clean and the material breathes.

Sharon

AldebaranJill

Hi @SAM, the battery is in a holder that is welded or bolted on, not trivial to move. It is only a two inch gap, so am going to mock up a few of the ideas. I like to be able to go in and out of the trailer without removing a cover. Lots of mods to work on

RollingLagrima

@AldebaranJill I too have a large gap, so large that when camping, it stores my broom used for mat sweeping. When not camping, my tub fills with sand, lots and lots and lots of sand and silty sandy stuff that covers the battery, power cord, chocks and whatever else I have in there. I would also like to find a solution, so thanks for bringing it up and hopefully the T@B geniuses out there will hook us up with one.

ps. Yes, she needs a bath

Sharon_is_SAM

If you can't find a diversion for the debris, what about directly covering the battery with a large piece of Tupperware to keep it cleaner.  RollingLagrima, does it come up from the bottom, or mostly from the top?

Photomom

What if you had a piece of styrofoam sized to fit snugly between the front of the T@B and the back of the propane/battery cover? Take a look at the sheets of styrofoam insulation at Lowes or HD and see if you could use that. Might have to use multiple layers of styrofoam to fit.

ericnliz

Jill, You do realize that the cover made by Paha Que has a zippered door, right? No cover removal involved, just open it up, go in, go out & zip it back up! I use mine a lot.

AldebaranJill

@ericnliz Yes, but part of the happiness I feel ever day is looking at the T@B in the driveway. It's easy enough to wash. The cover would get equally dirty but be impossible for me to easily wash. 

@Photomom I actually tried a piece of pipe insulation for a while. I wedged it in the gap. The issue was that it lost it's compression eventually, and I had to remove it before driving. At the time I was doing battery testing, and it was just too much of a hassle taking it in and out of the gap. 

@SAM Adding another cover to the battery would work, like adding a cover to the entire trailer, but from an engineering standpoint, it bothers me to add redundancy because a primary design has a flaw. I'd rather figure out how to modify the bin itself, because honestly, when I bought it, it appeared to be an actual bin, not just a two sided faux bin. In my heart of hearts, I feel duped by this fake-bin design. What also pokes at me, is that the bin has seals on the vertical edges, that clearly were intended to press against the trailer surface. However when I tried shifting the bin back so that these seals made contact, then the lid would not open, again, because a design flaw has it pivoting such that it needs more clearance behind itself. When something has a fundamental design flaw (ie, the bin's only job is to shelter the LP and Battery) and it fails, I want to figure out how to correct that flaw with some elegant solution, that does not require me to do anything extra to actually go camping (ie, removing a cover, remove a tub, pull out styrofoam, etc). At least, that's my vision of a perfect mod :-)

AldebaranJill

@RollingLagrima - Do you think it would be possible, to change the rotation point of the lid, so that we could slide the bins toward the trailer surface? This way we would be engaging the seals on the bin that were clearly made to make contact and "seal" the vertical bin edges? 

Just totally brainstorming - what if the bins were moved backwards (which I've done before but gave up because the lid wouldn't open) - and what if the bin cover was hinged to the trailer wall? (Using a long hinge, which for me would totally block the debris adequately). For example, Home Depot has a 48" Continuous Hinge for $10-$20 range). Let me know if this idea makes sense.

(And so much gratitude for everyone for discussing this, the more we discuss, the more ideas I get to review, so much better than pondering alone in my driveway in the rain!)

ericnliz

Jill, I'm gonna give this one more shot... How about using two metal pieces of 90* corner edging, cut to fit for the vertical sides, using two smaller pieces for the angle up to the lid,[inside the lid to allow for the rotation of the lid upwards] riveting them on, then cut two pieces [one for the vertical, one for the angle fitment under the lid] of flexible plastic/vinyl to fit the back space and rivet it in to the metal as well. you would have to drill a hole in the back piece to allow for the propane hose to go through, but it would cover the back space. Just a thought from a fabrication standpoint.

ScottG

AldebaranJill said:

...
You can see the large gap and how the debris simply gets washed directly into my battery cover, which is directly under the gap, so literally, my battery cover gets rained on.
...

While my battery box doesn't sit quite as far back as yours, I also get water pooling on top of it when it rains. Clearly this was a problem somebody was aware of, as when I got my T@B I noticed the rearmost vent on the top of the box lid had been sealed up with silicone caulking. When I upgraded to the larger group 27 battery, I did the same thing to the vent on the new box and have had no problems.

Aside from water getting in the battery box, it seems this is otherwise just a cosmetic problem. A few people on this forum have replaced the cute little "faux" cover with larger diamond plate tool boxes that seal up tight. That's a pretty involved project, but if the mess is really gettin' you down it might be the only truly elegant solution.

It also helps to remember that most travel trailers have a chintzy shell over the propane tanks, and a battery box right out in the open. Even the faux cover is good cut above that arrangement. 

AldebaranJill

Here's a sketch of the idea I posted earlier, adding a long (piano) hinge to the rear of the lid, and moving the whole bin back until the seals make contact with the trailer surface. Again, I did this once to reduce the gap, but the lid wouldn't open because of where the lid pivots. If I removed the current lid hinge pin, and used a real hinge that spanned the rear of the lid, this would effectively seal both the top and the sides.

This is a cross-section of the idea, the hinge is in black.

Sharon_is_SAM

Wow Jill- I see a new idea for the factory here!  Extend the diamond plate higher on the front and hinge the lid to the diamond plate.  That way maybe the Tub can be closer to the front of the Tab.  But, does debris still come up from under the open area of the tub?  You are giving me tub envy

AldebaranJill

@SAM - yes, you totally get the idea. I may have to slightly modify to accomodate the transition bump from diamond plate, but yes, that's the idea. When I tried out wedging foam to close the top gap, there was no debris at all, so for me, closing the top works. I'm betting if folks who have sand closed the sides too (by moving tub back into contact with rear wall) that might be enough. 

AldebaranJill

I was mistaken, the side seals end just below the diamond transition bump, there's clearance.

ScottG

Any concern about differential movement between the frame and the cabin possibly cracking the plastic cover? There may be a reason the cover is set forward and separate from the wall.

AldebaranJill

@ScottG - Great question. I suspect the offset is to allow for cover rotation when opening, and at least pushing on the front bin, it feels more likely to sway from side to side, versus front to back. I have ordered a long hinge and will be experimenting with this mod this weekend if it's not raining.

AldebaranJill

I wanted to share my logic trail...the reason this mod is important to me, is because I can't add any type of flooring to the inside of the bin since I now rely on it being totally open to allow all the debris (including small branches and pinecones) to be swept off and fall to ground. If I can solve the gap issue, then I can add a mesh floor, and start using the front bin for storage of other items. So it's more than just a cosmetic issue for me. I'd love to add some of the stuff ot the bin I see others storing there. :-)

AldebaranJill

@ScottG - your concern about cracking due to movement - well, I've got good news and bad news.

The good news is that your concern about cracking really caused me to clean in out and remove the screws and look for cracks where ever the bin was under stress when it flexes, and near where cracks usually start propagating from, in this case, screw holes.

The bad news is that my inspection has revealed that my front bin is severely cracked on both sides in four places. The movement of the bin, as designed, is too much for the plastic bin to accommodate and stress fractures have started. I am posting photos here but now my anti-debris issue has turned into a front bin stress crack failure issue, and I'm not sure what to do next. Clearly this is a design issue.

@verna @PXLated @ericnliz @OutbackAZ should I start a new thread for front LP/Battery Cover Cracks? I've searched the forum and don't see a mention of this issue. Eventually, the entire front bin would separate from part bolted down and come flying off, probably as I was driving.

There are four cracks running through the bin, one for each of the screws holes.

This is what they look like:

Verna

@AldebaranJill. Try this one:  http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/15298/#Comment_15298  Just add to this existing discussion. It has some solutions in it.