JK Wrangler Unlimited Cargo Area Auxiliary Battery Shelf

[mmaattppoo]

After purchasing an ARB fridge/freezer I was looking for a neat, tidy, and secure means of carrying an auxiliary AGM style deep cycle battery in the rear cargo area of my 2010 JKU.

A search through the Expo and other forums, and an extensive search on the net, yielded a few interesting options but nothing peaked my interest.

After much time designing my shelf solution in Sketchup I came up with the following:

All parts that comprise this construct are made from 1/4" aluminum angle, plate, and flat stock cut to length and fastened with 10-32 stainless steel flat head machine screws counter sunk into tapped holes for flush mounting. The whole assembly is bolted to a piece of angle that is fixed to the tub using the hard top mounting holes and 2" x 5/16" bolts/washers.

3M very high bond (VHB) tape is used to adhere the shelf where the supporting foot and rear portion of the shelf come into contact with the wheel well. The combination of bolting and taping results in a very sturdy shelf able to support the +50 lb battery I'll be mounting.

If you don't have experience with VHB tape you'll be amazed at how effective it is at bonding smooth painted and metallic surfaces...after degreasing the surface and removing any dust/lint. The use of this tape saves drilling holes and running bolts or rivets through the wheel wheel...a possible source of water leaks and corrosion.

See below for a couple of pictures of the nearly finished product:

I'll be adding a tie-down to secure the battery to the shelf so it isn't free to move in the event of an accident or while off highway.

Additionally, I'll be connecting this battery to the starting battery with a CTEK 12V DC/DC charger.

More photos to follow once I have everything secured and wired in.

 

[shays4me]

Nice job!

 

[SoCal Tom]

If you haven't thought of it, the low cost battery boxes used for trailers and boats would also be a good idea. That way the battery is covered incase something bounces on top of it, and it will catch any modest acid spills.
Tom

 

[Maxcustody]

Very nice,well done!

 

[Maxcustody]

Very nice,well done! Not sure if you have seen these......

http://store.springtailsolutions.com/JK-Unlimited-Both-Side-Racks-Deal_p_60.html

 

[mmaattppoo]

SoCal Tom...Thank you for the suggestion. I do have a battery box that I bought at the same time as the battery and will be placing the battery inside for protection. Definitely want something to prevent a major/catastrophic short. Been there and done that with a wrench accidentally touching the terminals of a starting battery...not fun! The AGM style battery should eliminate most of the potential for acid spills, but containment is a good thing.

Maxcustody...Thank you. I definitely came across the Springtale M-PAC Side Rack system in my quest for a suitable aux battery mounting solution. My only issues with this brilliant system (almost pulled the trigger on the driver side rack), was the fact that my Bestop cargo barrier (see image below) and full width cargo floor slide (see image below) would have made mounting this rack a bit of a challenge. I figured that the M-PAC could be modified to fit, but if I was going to have to modifiy an off the shelf product I may as well make my own...and it's way more fun designing and building your own

 

[evaliquette]

I would love to see your shelf fully extended. I was thinking of the same thing


EV

 

[mmaattppoo]

evaliquette...to keep this battery shelf on topic here's a link to a thread with photos of the cargo slide..enjoy

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139450

 

[evaliquette]

Awesome!


EV

 

[mmaattppoo]

I updated the photos with some of the material and construction details. Enjoy!

 

[mmaattppoo]

Update: Installed a CTEK 250S Dual DC/DC charger, relocated the distribution panel, constructed a hold down for securing the battery, and cleaned up the wiring a bit.

Rechargeable power for the ol' ARB fridge/freezer and RTT lights and fan is now taken care of...on to the next project.

 

[Dust999]

How is the CTEK working for you?

 

[mmaattppoo]

So far so good. I've test run the fridge and powered a few 12v accessories and the CTEK has easily charged my 76 Ah AGM deep cycle back to full promptly but the coming Victoria Day long weekend will be the first test out in the wilds of British Columbia.

I'll post a more comprehensive comment about performance in a couple of weeks.

 

[lysol]

So far so good. I've test run the fridge and powered a few 12v accessories and the CTEK has easily charged my 76 Ah AGM deep cycle back to full promptly but the coming Victoria Day long weekend will be the first test out in the wilds of British Columbia.

I'll post a more comprehensive comment about performance in a couple of weeks.

Do you have any details on how you mounted the electrical components?

 

[mmaattppoo]

Do you have any details on how you mounted the electrical components?

I've made use of galvanized steel angle brackets and the holes that are pre-drilled in the interior braces of my MBRP roof rack. The angle brackets are available at any building supply store and are easily modified with a couple 1/4" diameter holes to accept 1/4" diameter nyloc nuts and bolts. The modified angles brackets are then bolted to the interior roof rack brace to act as a mount for the items I want to attach. The electrical box is then bolted to the angle bracket. The following picture gives a closer view of the fused 12 volt panel I'm using to distribute power to the back end of my vehicle...sorry, I don't have any pictures of the installation steps.



The CTEK 250S Dual is attached in a similar manner as the electrical panel/box; however, instead of bolting the CTEK box to the angle bracket mount I used 3M VHB (very high bond) adhesive tape. So far this 3M VHB tape has worked to secure both the CTEK box and part of my battery tray. This adhesive tape is truly an amazing product for bonding clean plastic/metal surfaces.

The 12 volt panel is from Westmarine (also available from most marine hardware suppliers) and is mounted to a slightly modified plastic electrical box from Lowes.




Hope this provides you with the details you were looking for. Let me know if you would like any additional details.