I just finished a dual battery installation on the FZJ80 so I got dual battery on the brain. I had a thought for a dual battery tray for the FJ40, but I am not going to have time to work it all the way though this spring. So I thought I would post up the idea in case somebody was getting a rig ready for some summer wheeling.
I dont' weld so I look for non-welding solutions first, to keep my costs down. Now-a-days it seems like you can find plastic tool boxes for next to nothing. the one in the pic I picked up from Home Depot for $16.
My basic idea is to drop a peice of 2 x 8 in the OEM battery tray as a spacer to raise the new batttery tray above the angle iron used in the OEM tray. Then bolt one of these tool boxes to the exsisting tray. I have some scrap 2" x 1/8" AL left over from my J-Moose roof rack, or use some fender washers to spread out the stresses (perhaps drop 1/2 plywood in the bottom of the box). Bolt a 2 x 4 spacer (or whatever is the right thinkness) to the inside of the lid so that when the lid is closed, the spacer swings down inbetween the terminals and will hold the battery snuggly when the lid is latched shut. This particular box has a place to put a paddlelock to keep lid closed, I will put a zip tie to augment the latches.
Next would be to cut holes in the sides for cables
This particular tool box is only an inch wider & 2 inches longer than the minimum, so should fit just about as well as a custom welded tray. however it is quite a bit taller than the minimum, so I am not sure if that will be a "deal killer".
I don't have the dough at the moment for the second battery, switch, & cabling, so I will proabably just drop a 2 x 4 in the bottome to lock the current battery at one end and use the area for storage.
Well, that's about the cheapest battery tray I could think of ! anybody want to install something like this and see if it will fit?
I dont' weld so I look for non-welding solutions first, to keep my costs down. Now-a-days it seems like you can find plastic tool boxes for next to nothing. the one in the pic I picked up from Home Depot for $16.
My basic idea is to drop a peice of 2 x 8 in the OEM battery tray as a spacer to raise the new batttery tray above the angle iron used in the OEM tray. Then bolt one of these tool boxes to the exsisting tray. I have some scrap 2" x 1/8" AL left over from my J-Moose roof rack, or use some fender washers to spread out the stresses (perhaps drop 1/2 plywood in the bottom of the box). Bolt a 2 x 4 spacer (or whatever is the right thinkness) to the inside of the lid so that when the lid is closed, the spacer swings down inbetween the terminals and will hold the battery snuggly when the lid is latched shut. This particular box has a place to put a paddlelock to keep lid closed, I will put a zip tie to augment the latches.
Next would be to cut holes in the sides for cables
This particular tool box is only an inch wider & 2 inches longer than the minimum, so should fit just about as well as a custom welded tray. however it is quite a bit taller than the minimum, so I am not sure if that will be a "deal killer".
I don't have the dough at the moment for the second battery, switch, & cabling, so I will proabably just drop a 2 x 4 in the bottome to lock the current battery at one end and use the area for storage.
Well, that's about the cheapest battery tray I could think of ! anybody want to install something like this and see if it will fit?
