Battery Mounting Ideas

Submitted: Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 08:36

ThreadID: 81802 Views:2978 Replies:4 FollowUps:7

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Member - Greg A (QLD)

Hi All,

I'm about to install a second battery in the tray of my dual cab Rodeo. For reasons of space, I don't want to mount it on the floor. Would anybody have any photos of their similar installation where the battery is placed on the wheel arch?

Thanks as always,

Greg..

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Reply By: Bushranger1 - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 09:54

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 09:54

Hi Greg,
I had this setup in my last Hilux (sorry I sold it so no photos). In fact I had 2 batteries. One on each wheel arch. I built narrow long cupboards down each side of the tray & partitioned the spot where each battery was located on the wheel arch. The boxed area at the tailgate end on the left & right side was used for storage of items I needed to access every day.

If you go for this idea you need to consider the following.

1. Build the boxes out of marine ply & screw & glue the joints so they don't shake to bits.

2. Design the boxes so that the arch does not take the full weight of the battery as you may crack the joints where the arch joins the body.

3. Use the appropriate size wire so you don't get ANY voltage drop which reduces the charge at auxiliary batteries.

4. Use circuit breakers or fuses on to protect your vehicle from fire in the event of a dead short in the main feeder cable.

5. Vent the compartment that the batteries are in allow the gas to escape when charging.

6. Secure the batteries with the proper hold down clamps.

Do the job properly & your dual battery system will never let you down. I spent 2 years touring & I never had to touch my battery system once. You would be surprised at the amount of dodgy installations I came across on my trip.

AnswerID: 432488

Follow Up By: Bushranger1 - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:04

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:04

One other thing I just thought of.

Don't use crimp terminals unless you have the proper tool as they can produce voltage drop if they are not done correctly. Most people use those cheap & nasty crimp tools from the discount auto stores. If you want use a crimp tool buy a proper one from an electrical retailer.

I used high current connectors & soldered every connector to the wires & then used heat shrink on the joints.

FollowupID: 703300

Follow Up By: Best Off Road - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:14

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:14

Great advice, but save a few bucks and go with structural ply rather than marine.

Jim.

FollowupID: 703302

Follow Up By: Bushranger1 - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 12:01

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 12:01

Actually I got my marine ply for free off a mate. Did not realise it was expensive so your suggestion sounds like the go.

FollowupID: 703309

Reply By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 09:55

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 09:55

Hello Greg,

sorry not familiar with the Rodeo but would like to bring the following to your attention:

mounting a flat plate battery near or on the wheel arch will give it a hard live in terms of mechanical stresses resulting from road bumps and vibrations. General rule is, to mount batteries away from the axles as far as possible.

If there's absolutely no other space where to put it, select pure lead/tin spiral wound AGM technology which is pretty much immune to mechanical (and other) stresses.

cheers, Peter

AnswerID: 432489

Follow Up By: Bushranger1 - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:14

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:14

Hi Peter,

Never thought of that issue but I had no problems with my flat plate deep cycle batteries & I went on some really corrugated roads for long periods. Maybe because my Hilux tub had rubber mounts.

Which reminds me if this is the case Greg you will need to run a good earth back to the chassis from the batteries.

Stuart

FollowupID: 703301

Follow Up By: Battery Value Pty Ltd - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:28

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 10:28

Hi Stuart,

good advice about the crimping!

From the looks of it you probably got away with mounting them near the arches because they probably were new batteries.
As the batteries age, their positive grids become weaker due to corrosion and this is when they really become more vulnerable to mechanical stress.
A 'snapped plate' isn't all that uncommon in older flat plate batteries.

cheers, Peter

FollowupID: 703303

Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 13:29

Saturday, Oct 09, 2010 at 13:29

Hi Greg,

I bought a "Flyer" portable battery pack from Sidewinder.com.au, an advertiser on this site.
An accessory available is a mounting bracket which I also purchased to mount the battery pack in the back of my Colorado.
Have a look at Derek's site and you can see ideas on how the Flyer (or just the battery if you choose) can be mounted.

Flyer Mounting bracket

Good solution I think.

Bill.