Body mods: To patch, or not to patch?

[Belegedhel]

Hi all,

I am 6 months into what started as a sprucing up job, and has turned into a shell off rebuild of my '73 Globetrotter. I have never actually camped in the trailer, so I am looking for advice on a few body mods:

Battery box: my trailer has an external hatch for the battery that is just aft of the curbside wheel well. It is half above, and half below the plywood floor. I am trying to decide whether to just patch it over, or to keep it. I intend to put AGM batteries inside the trailer, but a little hatch on the exterior could be useful nonetheless. The problem is that because of its location, I have to mount my lower awning support above the battery hatch, which places it on an unsupported rib, and seems structurally too weak for the job. Any advice?

TV antenna: I guess I don't see myself trying to tune in TV channels while camping, but I suppose it could be a nice-to-have. The way it is mounted, with the deployment mechanism piecing the roof looks like a serious leak opportunity. Anyone out there make use of over-the-air broadcasts in their trailers?

Stove hood vent: The exterior vent looks like it was replaced with some kind of kludged on scrap metal by the PO, so needs attention. My question is, do I even need this vent, or should I just patch the hole? The hood and fan consume valuable real estate, and if I need to vent the stove area, there is a window right there anyway.

thanks!