Dual battery set up for GU's

Submitted: Sunday, May 04, 2003 at 22:18
ThreadID: 4729 Views:1848 Replies:4 FollowUps:2
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I recently posted a question relating to this ussue and one of the replies I received eluded to the fact that the auxillary cradles with a battery in them can damage/destroy the wheel arch and side wall in the engine bay due to the weight factor when used on corrigations etc because the GU metal work in the area is weak.

I've never heard anything like that before, has anyone else experienced anything similar and if it is common, is there a fix to prevent it happening?????

Cheers in advance.
Andrew
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Reply By: Allan - Monday, May 05, 2003 at 00:00

Monday, May 05, 2003 at 00:00
Andrew
I was that person. Iremoved the whole thing and the header tank and made a new cradle that carried the battery right against the wall and the header tank then went on the outside edge of the battery carrier. the down side is a normal battery won't fit in because of the height, but I had an odyssey battery that just squeezed in.I wanted to just repair all the broken and cracked panels and modify the ARB carrier but there just didn't seem to be anything substantial in the area to fasten it in another way. Because the battery is lighter and mounted close to the wall I'm confident it will outlast the ARB system. It's not ARB's fault but P*ss weak engineering on behalf of Nissan. Having said all that, It would be no worries if the car didn't spend a lot of time on corrugations. If any one can suggest another way I'd love to hear cos now that my Odyssey has Karked it I'm look ing to get a cheaper battery in there.
Allan
AnswerID: 19135

Reply By: rors101 - Monday, May 05, 2003 at 09:26

Monday, May 05, 2003 at 09:26
The overseas 24v models have the 2nd battery mounted using the similar bolt holes as the ARB kit - You can even import the 24v battey cradle but at three plus times the cost.

I can't accept that the wheel arch is a weakness when it is engineered for the 24v models and is prety much symetrical with the RH side that takes the the primary battery.

Can you give any more info?
AnswerID: 19144

Follow Up By: GUPatrol - Monday, May 05, 2003 at 10:35

Monday, May 05, 2003 at 10:35
I had the problem...

Mine is a 4.2 TD GU and I used the ARB cradle, the inner guard started to crack after a year and a few trips (Cape York) etc.
I found that the cradle became loose and that accelerated the process.
I removed the cradle (which is very strong and well engineered and reinforced the inner guard with double skin and a brace, then remounted the cradle.
The factory one for the 24 volt models is different as it bolts differently (Similar to the right hand side) starting battery.
ARB said that other vehicles had even more trouble in this regard, Hilux was much worse they said.
Mine is now OK and it has endured many other trips (4 years old now)
ARB cradle mounts on the inner guard and has reinforcements to the top and it is quite good, other ones which don't have such reinforcements would be even worse.
The crack was only a couple of mm's big so I got it at an early stage which is lucky.
If you neglected this you would be up for big $$$ to fix it and the problem is that you don't realise until you have to remove that cradle...
I saw another one on a second hand yard which had had the cradle removed for the sale and it was cracked too....
Will
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FollowupID: 12038

Follow Up By: rors101 - Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 10:10

Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 10:10
Ta
I'll be adding the spare battery bolt tension to the daily check list once on the corrigations. Mind you if you pound and vibrate anythingthing for long enough its amazing what you can destroy - Along with the grey paste than seems replace any loose bits in your tool box - I've seen a few roof racks and alloy bull bars fall apart.
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FollowupID: 12072

Reply By: Member - Timothy - Monday, May 05, 2003 at 21:31

Monday, May 05, 2003 at 21:31
Andrew. I also had problems with the inner guard cracking after a kimberly/gunbarrel highway trip. My cradle was a piranha job. I dont feel it was the vehicles fault, but rather that the cradle didn't distribute the batteries weight sufficiently across the arch, and also back to the side. I was forced to take the cradle out and got the local welding works to weld up the cracks and brace the arch where it bears the load. Did the canning last year with no more problems. Tim.
AnswerID: 19201

Reply By: Kevin - Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 12:15

Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 12:15
Andrew,

I have a GU 4.2TD with the ARB cradle, I use a 100 amp gel battery which was heavier than any other battery I have lifted ( dont know the actual weigh just bloody heavy). This set has done a trip the Cape and accross the Simpson and down the Plenty Highway and have no problems to date!

Kevin
AnswerID: 19248

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