Two batteries, one tray.

Well, after searching a bit, I haven't been able to find that anybody has tried this.

I want to replace my big Army batteries with smaller ones, and fit two of them into the rear battery tray. I don't need the humongous reserve capacity of the military batteries. (I'm not going to sit for hours monitoring the battalion fire control freq any time soon. )

Putting them both in the rear tray frees up some space for an air compressor.

BUT, I don't want to give up cranking reliability.


Are there any batteries that are physically small enough to fit two of them in the rear tray, while still providing enough cranking power for cold (single digit) weather?


I've looked up some sizing charts, and the only thing I have found that will fit is a Group 51, which is a measly 465 - 500 or so CCA. I don't think that's going to cut it!

Hmmm. At 500 CCA per battery in 24v config.....


Maybe yes? Or ragged edge of just barely and waiting for a chance to fail?

I have been running Optima's in one tray on mine for years.

What size?

I have group 51's in my Deuce. Cranks it fine.

Cool!

Thank you, gentlemen!


Any other input? Anybody from the frozen north?

2 in one? 4 in 2? What's the difference! LOL. See below

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?20962-So-You-Want-Sound-In-That-CUCV&highlight=

Yeah, that would do it!

Make a battery box on the passenger side where the second saddle tank would go. It's a pretty short run cable wise. Group 31's are cheap and just plain work.

I put 2 optimas in the front tray to clear up room for a turbo. I think it came out pretty nice. Here is the link to the post with more pics. You could do basically the same thing on the rear tray instead of the front.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...ately-Part-1&p=1290215&viewfull=1#post1290215

You can also put the civilian 6.2 battery setup in and just wire it 24v

True Knight said:

I put 2 optimas in the front tray to clear up room for a turbo. I think it came out pretty nice. Here is the link to the post with more pics. You could do basically the same thing on the rear tray instead of the front.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showth...ately-Part-1&p=1290215&viewfull=1#post1290215

Click to expand...

Nice setup! The front mount would work just fine for my purposes, and gets the batteries up where they are easier to get to for maintenance...


What size are those Optimas?

Yeah the placement is better and the lighter weight helps a lot too. If I remember correctly they are group 34s. I can find out for sure for you Tuesday night.

I have sold the truck, but i put 2 group 31's in the front tray of the M1009 i had.. no pics though..

True Knight said:

Yeah the placement is better and the lighter weight helps a lot too. If I remember correctly they are group 34s. I can find out for sure for you Tuesday night.

Click to expand...

Thanks! No hurry....

jdknech said:

I have sold the truck, but i put 2 group 31's in the front tray of the M1009 i had.. no pics though..

Click to expand...

That would work. I looked up 31s on Napa's site, and they seem to run in the 800-950 CCA range.


They fit with no mods?

Hey Marcus, They are Optima 34-78's. Ratings:
1,000 CA
800 CCA
100 RC

If you look in the pics I really just used the stock battery tray and welded the new plate on top. They ended up being slightly wider than the stock battery tray, but there is still plenty of room between the battery and the radiator. Someone said they had problems with optima's in very cold weather, however I have had no issues with starting the truck at around 32 degrees (possibly slightly colder). They have a good CCA rating so I don't know if that person was possibly using a smaller battery or not.

Here is a link to the battery on Optima's website. Has all the info you could possibly want! Ha ha. Optima 34-78 REDTOP They are a bit expensive, however I have had no problems whatsoever with them. (It also helped that I had a hookup when I bought em and got an amazing deal. Ha ha)

I have had an Optima Redtop in another vehicle since Sep 09 and it's still going strong.

But the time that this set up really shined was when I ran the truck out of fuel. Well technically I didn't, but it was so close to running out when I shut off the truck to fuel up that I had used nearly all the fuel in the filter and IP. So when I restarted it after fueling up it ran for a few seconds on the last of the fuel that was in the IP and then died. What a pain that was to get the truck running again! It took prob 30-45 min trying to get the IP bled and get all the air out of the injectors. The batteries did well through all that cranking and were only starting to get tired during the very last attempt to start the engine.

Thanks for the info! I think the plate idea is great - it opens up the Group 34 stuff, which is a lot better than 51.

I'm not sure about Optimas, though. Seems they used to be great, but since Johnson Controls bought the company, they are having QC problems. I've been seeing a LOT of complaints on various forums. Looks like those who bought before the buyout love them, and those that bought since... Well, it ain't pretty.

I'll probably use your idea and go with some Interstate group 34s. That will give me 1 to 1 compatibility with three other vehicles, and that ain't a bad thing.

Used to buy Optimas for my personal wheeling rigs and installed them for customers...they are completely hit or miss for quality. I shop by price and warranty. I love my Group 31 Exides from Tractor Supply. $100 each and still going strong. Just started my M1031 after sitting for two months outside in freezing temps, fired right up without hesitation.

Cool. Good info. I'll have to look into that before I buy another one.

Actually using a regulary shaped battery would make it easier to build too. No strange round shapes, just nice straight edges!