battery tray - upgrade aft vs stock

[S&S1stCruzer]

So I need a new battery tray. Stainless battery trays seems to be out of business now. Is there a better alternative to buying a stock oem tray?

I'm currently running a optima yellow top. if that makes a difference for fitment.

 

[rover67]

used stock bead blasted and powdercoated is what i did.

 

[smkymntn]

Use stock- they have a rubber/vinyl coating. I have a both red and yellow tops and no fitment issues.

 

[ntsqd]

What about when the coating on your stock tray is all but gone?

 

[CSA]

MAF sells a nice one.

 

[S&S1stCruzer]

MAF sells a nice one.

That's looks interesting. Might go with that.

 

[smkymntn]

What about when the coating on your stock tray is all but gone?

spray it with rust encapsulator and chassis black and put it back on.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Use stock- they have a rubber/vinyl coating. I have a both red and yellow tops and no fitment issues.

That damned rubber coating is what kills them. Had they just painted them with an acid-resistant paint, they would not have rusted to s*** like that. So, instead, they put that rubberized coating which once torn or perforated, allowed moisture (or worse yet battery acid or the acid salts) to get to the bare steel in a nice, enclosed environment where it would never dry out, and would then rot quicker than a leper dick.
Go ot Home Depot or Lowes. Grab some aluminum (even diamond plate) sheet from their small metals selection. Use what you've got left of your original tray as a template. You can get by with tin snips (if you go thin), a cut off wheel (if you choose wisely and go thicker), a file, a breaker and a drill. The aluminum tray will not rust, of course. $10 will do it, and you can customize them for a double battery if you have room.

 

[smkymntn]

yeah you do have a point. maybe the engineers wanted to make them appear durable. It is a case of best intentions. I would have gone the stainless tray route but since they are gone- I didnt want to buy something and have to fabricate it.

 

[cruiser88]

Here ya go

While we find your parts, please enter your ZIP Code at PartsAmerica.com

 

[Yspen]

Make your own

This is what I did . Some old bits of steel lying around welded together and sprayed .

 

[ntsqd]

I've built battery trays in the past and never found a good method to keep them from rusting. I am on the lower Left Coast, so rust is over night on a damp day. I've tried a couple different paints with not one being a clear winner. POR-15 lasted the longest, but flaked off due to, I think, improper prep (I didn't paint it).

Am tempted to fab something from SS, but first I thot I'd see if there was an existing solution. My time is too limited to make something that I can buy if what I can buy will do the job correctly and last a decade or two.

 

[NLXTACY]

Here ya go, kill two birds with one stone:
Thermo-Tec: Battery Wrap Acid Absorbing Heat Barrier

Its the route I took, albeit on an 80 but I wil lbe doing on my 60 as well:
IH8MUD™ Forums - View Single Post - HOW TO: POWER DISTRIBUTION Part 4- bring da power

 

[Tofudebeest]

I've built battery trays in the past and never found a good method to keep them from rusting.

Aluminum.

 

[ntsqd]

Stainless would be better. Aluminum still corrodes.

 

[cruiser88]

Stainless would be better. Aluminum still corrodes.

So doesnt some cheaper stainless

 

[ntsqd]

Really depends on the alloy. The 400 series often used in late model OE exhaust systems does take on a brownish coating. It is rust, but it's not like the rust that forms on carbon steels in that it doesn't corrode to the point of flakes or dust.

Were I to build a SS tray I'd be using AISI 304 stainless. Not super spendy stuff, but not cheep either. It's probably the most commonly SS alloy in the US.

 

[Lost]

for my yellow optima, i took out the stock tray, and i now use a strap; its tight

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Some guy on pirate is selling stainless battery trays for optimas specifically. I think he wanted around $100. Way too expensive for my blood but they were tricked out.

Look here, not affiliated:

New Price! Optima Battery Boxes! - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board

EDIT: He dropped the price to $50.

 

[NLXTACY]

hmm that's a cool little box. Wish they made one for Odyssey/Sears Platinum