Batteries underneath bolted to rail

[dzzz]

I thought I could make a steel shelf that would act as a skid plate, and put the batteries in plastic containers. I am planning to use AGM type. The area is underneath the electrical cabinet. Other than the inconvenience of checking the connections a couple times a year, underneath seems good. Am I forgetting something?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Other than road goop on the connections, nothing wrong with that. A buddy in our 4x4 club has his two Optimas under his truck and has for a long time without issue. Oh, yeah, remember that if the cables required to reach the batteries end up being pretty long you, need to bump up the size to minimize voltage drop, too. You lower your center of gravity, which is a really good thing.

 

[JJackson]

I thought I could make a steel shelf that would act as a skid plate, and put the batteries in plastic containers. I am planning to use AGM type. The area is underneath the electrical cabinet. Other than the inconvenience of checking the connections a couple times a year, underneath seems good. Am I forgetting something?

Seen something similar on Mud on an FJ40. Looked like it would work well enough.

 

[TeriAnn]

The battery in my Land Rover has been at frame level for going on 10 years now without issues. I had a box made up of galvanized steel with top flanges that sit on top of the frame rail and the box does not extend below the rails.

I glued a rubber mat to the underside of the top cover and have a plastic cap that fits over the hot battery connection.

I found a battery that just fits the space between the frame rail & outriggers and has recessed top posts.

 

[rickc]

Something to consider is a non-conventional battery size. I was looking into placing an accessories battery up centre-front on my roof rack and discussed this with an Interstate rep. Interstate and probably other battery manufacturers make deep cycle bateries in other shapes than the standard car battery. I never followed-up but it is likely that there is a 12v deep cycle that is flatter but broader/wider that may work in our applications.

Can Optimas be placed on their side? If so, this would be another way to reduce battery height.

 

[chasespeed]

Can Optimas be placed on their side? If so, this would be another way to reduce battery height.

Yes

 

[ntsqd]

A friend had two yellow tops bolted upside down to the bottom of his truck bed. They used the hold-downs that place the bolts through the battery cases and put the batteries clear to the rear of the truck to be closest to the draw(s) and for weight distribution.

 

[Skratch]

It's basically what we do on heavy trucks . . . my freightliner is set up like that and it takes more of a beating than my off road rig does.
As long as the box is mounted properly and you keep an eye on it regularly to make sure it's not in danger of becoming separated, it's a great place to "hide" your batteries.

 

[jesusgatos]

You can also get pretty creative with 6-volt batteries as far as how/where you mount them.