Any other 20' BFT (Mini) owners out there?

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bbwolf
Posts: 163
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:07 am

Any other 20' BFT (Mini) owners out there?

Post by bbwolf »

Just thought it would be fun to exchange ideas and observations from other Mini BFT owners.

As a recent modification, I added (3) Optima Coach batteries; D31M model.

We took a trip this past summer to Southern California and found the single coach battery to be insufficient. So, I had a custom battery box constructed and recently attached it in an open cavity under the floor. (just opposite of the muffler). Really was a lot of fun to figure this one out and get it secure and installed.
Alan and Jeannie Wolfe
2014 Born Free Freedom
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bcope01
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Post by bcope01 »

Alan, do you have any photos of your battery modification?

Thanks, Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
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bbwolf
Posts: 163
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:07 am

Photos

Post by bbwolf »

Hi Bill, here are a couple photos. There were a couple options on installation. I decided to put all three of the Optima batteries in the new battery box. You can see from the first photo where the first battery is installed. I used a battery "holder" designed for Optima batteries. This will keep them from sliding or bouncing. They are secured to the metal box frame with small bolts.

Again, it was just a fun project to add more battery capacity where I only had a single one, but most of you already have multiple batteries, so probably not something others would consider.
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Alan and Jeannie Wolfe
2014 Born Free Freedom
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

Slick install Alan. Thanks for posting the pics. Is the battery tray hinged on one end, and they you lift the other end and secure it?

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
User avatar
bbwolf
Posts: 163
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:07 am

Post by bbwolf »

Yes, that is exactly the design. I drew up designs for a single additional battery, two battery, three and then a four battery configurations.

The batteries are "zero" maintenance that supposedly handle heat better as well as claim to last 2 to 3 times longer than conventional deep cycle batteries. (others on the forum are better equipped to know if these claims are true than me).

We will get to start testing these out starting May of 2012. I don't know of any reason that it shouldn't provide maximum Amp Hours though.

Thanks for the response on this Bill.
Alan and Jeannie Wolfe
2014 Born Free Freedom
JanetG

95 BFT 21'r

Post by JanetG »

we are the new proud owners of a 95 new-to-us BFT sweetheart of a camper!

we love it and are fixing to take to the road to Montana in a few days. Having new ball joints installed Monday,, along w/ an alignment. That should do the trick for the play in the steering. That is all we could find wrong w/ this beauty. Will try to post a pic and also perhaps some on the road as well, I invite you to join me on facebook as it is easier to post pics there from my phone.

yahoooooooooooooo!


Janet & Roy Guthrie
JanetG

Post by JanetG »

Here she is just in case that last post didn't include the pic of Beatrice.
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JanetG

Re: Any other 20' BFT (Mini) owners out there?

Post by JanetG »

:D
Hello everyone! well, it's nearing July's end and we still are stuck at home waiting on shipping for our new-to-us towing equipment for our jeep. Beatrice served us well last summer and on frequent trips since then. Went to New Mexico in June and decided on the way home that we were missing much fun w/o our jeep to do more exploring. Soooooooooooooo....

here we sit. One thing I must tell you all that we did was to remove the "decal" from the front 'cabover' area that was only for looks, mimicking a front 'window' It was solid black covering most of the front so we had a local body shop remove it...for a fee. :) we now are solid white in the front and it's greatly reduced the heat that was occurring up front, above the cab. Good move, I'd say,, wouldn't YOU? not sure why the company did that , but anyway,,,

Also, we got one of those Jack tv antennaes from camping world to replace the old one that was NOT HD compatible,, w/ the new flat screen we bought, and got rid of the heavy old type box tv... Was a good tv but , as you older model owners know, was very heavy! The little flat screen is a ac/dc model and at 13" seems quite small but good enough for the limited tv watching that we do.

Hoping we will be heading out after the 1st week in august, after my dentist appt...to search out a new summer habitat/park/campground up in the mtns. Either in Co. or New Mex. We are looking ahead for when we won't be on the road any more and want to just spend the whole summers out of the horrific texas heat.

Hope this finds all who read, well and happily running down the road in their babies,, ie their BF rides.

will post pics of our rig all hooked up if I possibly can!

Kindest regards,

Janet G in central texas,, swealtering as we wpeak!
:oops:
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