dual batteries for 2.8D hilux

gday dave.
i see heaps of hiluxs at work and lots of them have the second battery mounted
to the chassis behind the cab im not sure if its a good or bad thing but theres lots about.jamieson wild cat

How you goen Dave,was looking at the same mod in our 4 Runner but couldnt get a picture or any info myself.But while in Mataranka recently i met up with a chap who had the mod done.From memory you have to move the power steering fluid bottle and alter the intake/outlet on the airbox itself.He said it was relativly easy to do but i havent done it to our 4Runner yet,easiest way i think would be move the power steering fluid bottle,cut the inlet/outlet of the airbox ,mount the airbox in and braze the in-outlets back on(sounds easy),Good luck.

Hi there

There is a dual cradle available from Pirahna for dual Batteries for the 2.8lt, I put one in my 2.8. Had to change both batteries though and the second one is quite small, it depends on how what you are going to hook up to it. The teay option would certainly give you the option of having a larger capacity and you would not replace your main battery as it is to big for the new cradle.

I now have a 3lt and pulled the boom box out to fit the second battery, quite happy with that.

Cheers

Dave

I have the 2nd battery located in the tray on the drivers side. I did look into fitting it into the engine bay, but time and $$$ were a problem and I needed the job done before i went away. However, having the battery in the tray meant it was closer to the fridge (mounted in tray) and inverter(mounted behind the back seat). It hasn't been much of an inconvenience. If I had the time and money I would have attempted to get it fitted into the engine bay.

cheers,
Sam.

G'Day Dave,
I just sold my 95 2.8D and went through the same drama with setting up a dual battery. After much research, I came to the conclusion on why you can't buy a cradle (ARB TJM etc, just ask them..) for the setup, its because the inner guards won't hold the weight of the battery without splitting. The metal is just not strong enough...too thin etc. My mate bought a 90 model Hilux brand new, and after a bit of off road the inner guard had cracked where it is welded to the firewall. (Luckily had it fixed by warranty). However in my old 85 model Hilux I built my own cradle tha put the two batteries together with a bracket that bolted to the chassis rail, and took most of the weight.
Back to the 2.8D though, I ended up putting it in the ute, I had a neat toolbox made out of fairly heavy guage tin and partioned off a section in which to mount the battery, and used some heavy duty welding lead (multi strand) from the main battery to the smart solenoid which was all mounted neatly in the battery partition along with a fuse box and fridge sockets. From memory it was around 32mm cable I bought from an electrical wholesaler (by the meter) and it gave bugger all voltage drop. The rest of the toolbox stored all my recovery gear and tools/spares.

Cheers

gday dave,

Well mate I actually have a dual battery system, with 2 full size 100amp/hr battery in my hilux 2.8D, I had to rearange the filter canister inlet pipe,mounting brackets,and used a lancruiser inlet manifold hose. I made a battery tray that sits on the guard but is mounted to the chassis.
So now the 2nd battery sits pretty much identical as the original battery, and the filter canister is directly behind it running horizontally with the lid facing forwards,So to clean the filter I have to remove the battery first.(thats no big drama).But I dont have power steering, so I dont Know how that would affect the modification.

Yes I was a bloody HEADACHE but it can be done.
Goodluck.