andrew61987
Observer
I knew going into this that the ATO dual battery tray was designed for two Optimas which are smaller than the batteries I intended to use. I figured the tray would still be a good starting point and it was. My Interstate starting battery (stock group 24 for the 4 cylinder) was still good and I didn't want to replace it. I also wanted to use a true deep cycle not a dual purpose batt like the Optima yellow top or similar. I also wanted a solid, non-hack job install that I could rely on because I frequently take this truck way out in the Sierras for days at a time. I think I accomplished that the best I could.
Point 1: Height. I test fit everything and discovered that my Interstate was a hair too tall, and the UPG battery was even taller. The problem was the negative terminal was barely contacting the hood. While not as bad as the positive touching the hood it still needs to be fixed. I did this by cutting about 3/8" off the standoffs that come with the ATO tray. I filed them to clean up the cuts and made sure they were all the same length. Because of the shape of the hood near the edges changes I didn't need to worry about the taller UPG battery touching.
Point 2: Dimensions. The Interstate battery fit perfectly in the tray which has tabs that are 10 inches apart. The UPG battery however was about 10-1/8" so I did a combination of slightly bending the tabs out and grinding. Filed off sharp edges and painted of course after, don't want sharp edges slowly vibrating a hole in the battery over time.
Point 3: Fuse box. There was no way to avoid moving the fuse box an inch or so. The wires have the required play, I just put self tappers into the two lower bolt holes into the fender well and created a simple bracket to use existing bolt holes to relocate the upper mounting point. Helps to use a metric tap (I forget the size) on one of the bracket holes to re-use the Toyota fuse box bolt.
Point 4: Factory battery cables. These need to reach the starting battery. The negative was long enough to reach without putting it under tension, I did however have to relocate the ground (see pic). The positive was not long enough so I had a nearby audio shop fix me up with a 1 foot section of 2 gauge that I used to extend the factory positive. I did some bending, cutting, and grinding on the factory end to make a nice connection to the extension which I attached to the factory lug which was bolted to the post like stock. Of course this wire needs to be well protected to prevent accidental shorts.
Other than that all I had to do was create custom J hooks (the ones in the kit were too short) by bending and threading a 1/4" rod from the hardware store with a 1/4 by 20 die and put a spacer (thin piece of wood with rubber feet taped on) between the hold-down plate and the shorter interstate battery to make sure they were both held snugly by the hold-down plate.
Overall I'd recommend the ATO tray for this purpose, obviously it's not a direct fit given the batteries I wanted to use but it's a solid base that's positioned just right and fabbing something custom given the tight clearances around the stock battery area would have been a nightmare and not nearly worth the savings.
Might not be the best or easiest way to do this but I'm really happy with how it turned out and hopefully this helps somebody or at the least conjures up some ideas for how you want to do your setup.
I believe everything I did is equally applicable to the V6 depending on year, I know some years have room to stash it passenger side up near the firewall.
Ready to be wired in!
Point 1: Height. I test fit everything and discovered that my Interstate was a hair too tall, and the UPG battery was even taller. The problem was the negative terminal was barely contacting the hood. While not as bad as the positive touching the hood it still needs to be fixed. I did this by cutting about 3/8" off the standoffs that come with the ATO tray. I filed them to clean up the cuts and made sure they were all the same length. Because of the shape of the hood near the edges changes I didn't need to worry about the taller UPG battery touching.
Point 2: Dimensions. The Interstate battery fit perfectly in the tray which has tabs that are 10 inches apart. The UPG battery however was about 10-1/8" so I did a combination of slightly bending the tabs out and grinding. Filed off sharp edges and painted of course after, don't want sharp edges slowly vibrating a hole in the battery over time.
Point 3: Fuse box. There was no way to avoid moving the fuse box an inch or so. The wires have the required play, I just put self tappers into the two lower bolt holes into the fender well and created a simple bracket to use existing bolt holes to relocate the upper mounting point. Helps to use a metric tap (I forget the size) on one of the bracket holes to re-use the Toyota fuse box bolt.
Point 4: Factory battery cables. These need to reach the starting battery. The negative was long enough to reach without putting it under tension, I did however have to relocate the ground (see pic). The positive was not long enough so I had a nearby audio shop fix me up with a 1 foot section of 2 gauge that I used to extend the factory positive. I did some bending, cutting, and grinding on the factory end to make a nice connection to the extension which I attached to the factory lug which was bolted to the post like stock. Of course this wire needs to be well protected to prevent accidental shorts.
Other than that all I had to do was create custom J hooks (the ones in the kit were too short) by bending and threading a 1/4" rod from the hardware store with a 1/4 by 20 die and put a spacer (thin piece of wood with rubber feet taped on) between the hold-down plate and the shorter interstate battery to make sure they were both held snugly by the hold-down plate.
Overall I'd recommend the ATO tray for this purpose, obviously it's not a direct fit given the batteries I wanted to use but it's a solid base that's positioned just right and fabbing something custom given the tight clearances around the stock battery area would have been a nightmare and not nearly worth the savings.
Might not be the best or easiest way to do this but I'm really happy with how it turned out and hopefully this helps somebody or at the least conjures up some ideas for how you want to do your setup.
I believe everything I did is equally applicable to the V6 depending on year, I know some years have room to stash it passenger side up near the firewall.
Ready to be wired in!
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