Changed idea -- Battery mounts done

[thedrip]

This is a rough sketch of what I came up with tonight for battery mounting on my truck. There will be one battery on each side of the truck. Big plate mounted on the cab back wall, box welded onto the bottom, with nessecary bracing to hold weight. Battery in a plastic marine box, mounted to the plate/bracket. Would end up being ~3-4" below the bottom of the flatbed that will be there eventually, and the bottom would be about even with the top of the frame at that point.

Anyone see any potential issues for mounting the batteries in this fashion? I think the cab wall should be up to it, since Ryoken (I believe, sorry if I mis-remember) has a box holding 2 batteries hanging off his firewall in a similar fashion.

 

[ryoken]

Couple of potential issues that I would keep in mind...

The raised and lowered sections of the cabwall may cause some issue.... you should really space out the 2 recessed side areas as best you can to level the area. I would be concerned if you just spaced the upper 2 corners with washers or something behind the plate.. definitely a recipe for the sheetmetal tearing.....

The other thing is, I would be concerned about the "hanging" of the steel below the cab... creating a fulcrum, making the top cracking even more likely... It'd look fine sitting there, but the jarring that things gonna take could cause an issue.. I would strongly suggest some sort of bracing from the underside over to the underside of the body..

Also you may want to reconsider the marinebox... the black ones are pretty cheesy.. I live with that stuff daily.. The cover, and strapdown for it, aren't the most effective, or durable.. I would incorporate the holddown setup and any covering right into the box...

One other point to make is, whatever you do, make sure you run some sort of backing plates for the mount bolts, as large as you dare, on the inside of the cab...

Mine has worked awesome.. absolutely rock solid.. they don't budge... no signs of stress, bending, etc....

also for reference, mine runs 3 mount points across the top, and 3 along the bottom....

 

[ntsqd]

Any reason they can't be mounted to the frame in roughly that location?

Sheet metal, like fiberglass, wants large surface area mounting for high loads. Got to spread the load out. Figure that in a bounce the battery will weigh 3 times what it does just sitting there on the floor, & fabricate accordingly.

 

[gmc4cw]

Any reason they can't be mounted to the frame in roughly that location?

thats a good idea.

 

[thedrip]

I was planning on hanging off the frame, but it's an ugly spot right there. I have the rear cab crossmember, a spring hanger, and my gas tank mount, all within the same 6" of frame that the battery would attach to.

As for the sheetmetal mount, I was planning on the back plate covering an area of sheetmetal approximately 18 tall and 12" wide. LOTS of area to spread the load., with a sheet on the inside and outside. The tray would only hang 3-4" below the sheetmetal, so it's not much leverage compared to the size of the sheet above the edge.

The bit about the battery boxes is useful. I'll make up the battery tray & hold downs, then figure out a covering solution later. I just don't want the battery itself exposed to the elements, or worse, sunlight.

 

[thedrip]

Well, changed direction today. Realized I'm going to have a ton of deadspace where the tank hung, stock. I'll have the batteries tight to the front gas tank crossmember, using 3x3x.25 (got a bunch lying around) angle iron between the frame rails as the supports. Weld on a couple tabs for a bar accross the top to hold them down, should be plenty strong, and they'll be out of the way.

 

[thedrip]

Changed ideas, battery mounting complete

Did the battery trays today. 2x2x.188 (3/16) angle iron between the frame rails, then some 2x2 box to seperate the batteries and the same 2x2 angle iron as end stops. no hold down yet, but a ratchet strap will suffice. The batteries are IN THERE. takes a hell of a yank to get 'em out. I made sure the rack was a snug fit. Also put a sheet of 14ga underneath each battery to protect the bottom. They're pretty exposed now, but with the flatbed over top of them, they'll pretty much disappear into the depths =)