Fuel cell question

[perp]

I am about to that point in the project where i am ready to buy a fuel cell. One thing no one has talked about (that i could find in a search anyhow) is if you mount an aluminum cell solid to the bed of your K5 and the body flexes at all, will it fatigue the aluminum and cause it to crack? if you have every ben flexed out and tried to open the tailgate then you know how much the body really twists.

 

[HELLBENT DESIGNS]

i would say if you want to go with an aluminum cell isolate the mounts. maybe build a square structure for it to sit on/in. i went with an aluminum tank and built a mount over the axle that also uses rubber mounts. i am not using any rear sheetmetal but you could easy build a cradle to sit in the rear of a k5

 

[perp]

that is what i was thinking as well. what about the steel cells with the blader inside? think they would be any different?

 

[perp]

that is a lot of added steel in that frame, looks beefy, is it heavy? probably not as much as the weight you lost with the bed going away.

 

[HELLBENT DESIGNS]

that is a lot of added steel in that frame, looks beefy, is it heavy? probably not as much as the weight you lost with the bed going away.

not light but makes up for losing the front spring mount crossmember. it moved forward behind the cab. not sure what a factory bed weighs ( 350lbs ) but with the upper cage (not pictured it is much beefier/safer/narrower than a factory bed.