Jethro battery tray...my hack fabbed up tray..

[73k5blazer]

So with the one piece fiberglass tilt front clip, I had to make a custom battery mount.
So I fabbed up this thing to hold up the 65lb Optima D31 battery.

It's cantilevered off the frame rail out over the fiberglass wheel well.
I orginally designed it so the base held the entire weight. But after installing it and placing the battery on it, I had no quams about it stoutness, however, I noticed the fine chevy frame would flex slightly while I lightly pounded the top of the battery.
I think it will stiffen up once an engine is installed, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I added the hanger off my rad support strut. (The black bar running across the top of the pic, runs from bottom of windshiled frame post to corner of radiator.
Not as pretty as I'd like it, but I think it will do the job.

 

[chevyin]

Looks like 2x2" square tube. That's gotta be the strongest battery tray ever made. lol I bet you could winch your truck out of a mud pit hooked to that thing. Nice work.

 

[dontoe]

'ell yeah, bro! That's heavy duty!
I just fab'd up one a couple of weeks ago. Your's looks alot tougher.

 

[1985_K5_Silverado]

Very solid! I'm always a big fan over over-built stuff that isn't ever likely to fail in service.

 

[OffRoad]

that tray looks good. i like to build things once and then not have to mess with them again. good job.

 

[73k5blazer]

the main upright is 2x2x1/4". The extensions under the tray are 1x1x1/8". THen I ribbed it where nessesary.

I'm pretty sure I'll have no problems with the tray itself, I'm just worried about the flexy chevy frame. Don't want another steering box type area going on. There was no choice on location for the battery, it was there or inside somewhere and I wasn't willing to sacrafice any interior space.
I think once the engine is installed on that pad there, it will furthur stiffen the area, so hopefully I won't have any problems.
Some engineers tell me that design specification is 10x. So, that is, the weight of an object like that could be up to 10x when you hit, say, a pothole. So that set my mindset when making this thing.

 

[1985_K5_Silverado]

I'm pretty sure I'll have no problems with the tray itself, I'm just worried about the flexy chevy frame.

Could you "box" that section of the frame?

 

[73k5blazer]

I thought about that, but with the engine mount pad there, and the brake line has to bend out before it goes through the frame, there's just too much going on there to box it in. Plus I think once you start boxing, you pretty much got to do a huge section , otherwise the frame will just tear where you boxing ends.
I think with my hanger brace it'll be ok. Time, tells all though, so we shall see......