Need second opinion on battery cable routing

[Dusty T.]

Well, my aux battery setup is up and running- writeup and more pics to follow

The aux battery is located in the front passenger side of the bed. Finding a good place to route the #2 AWG positive cable up and out of the way was a bit of a challenge with the boxed frame and all. Now I'm having second thoughts about how much space I have between the cable and bottom of the cab. I keep hearing about how flexy Tacoma frames can be, and was wondering how much I can expect the cab to move and if I'm at a risk of pinching this cable.

Here's where the cable exits from underneath the cab:

Where the cable travels over the center support bearing crossmember:

Behind the factory harness forward of center support bearing crossmember:

So there's about 3/8" to 1/2" of clearance between the cable and cab at these locations. The body bushings look pretty tight with very little rubber space between the body and frame mounts.

Looked at other options and this looked like the next best one:

This looks a bit more exposed to road debris and heat from the exhaust, but there wouldn't be any clearance issues between the body and cab. Any other ideas, or is this good as-is?

Thanks for the help- this has been an incredible source for technical information on dual/aux batteries!

 

[obscurotron]

Dusty,

My inclination is to avoid the current route (pinching and body/frame flex issues) and also to avoid any alternate route that takes the cables anywhere near fuel lines.

If there is an accident and a fuel line splits, and you ground out that + cable anywhere near vapor or liquid gasoline, you may end up with a fire.

Have you considered exiting the bed an inch or two above where the back of the bed meets the front wall of the bed, leaving 2 1/2 inches of slack (which would double as a drip loop to keep water away from your entry/exit points), entering the cab, routing under the cab carpeting, and then into the engine bay?

If you had more frame-to-body clearance, I'd say go for what you have, but it's an awfully snug fit to my eye.

Oh, and can I see more pics/details of your battery setup? I'm pondering doing the same thing in my '04 Tacoma. What did you use for a battery box in the bed and did you go with a wiring kit or roll your own with some random isolator?

 

[Waytec]

What I would suggest is wrapping the cable in heater hose to protect it and then run it along the frame using P-clamps. I don’t know about the newer Yota frames but other makes have small holes already drilled in them. I would use them and self taper screws, or just drill the self tapers in.