We’ve gotten a lot of requests for information about how we’ve relocated the batteries from the engine compartment. It seems we’re not as crazy as we thought we were. Batteries are heavy. Two batteries are very heavy. There is already enough weight on the front end of a pick up truck with the engine, transmission, etc.. We wanted to move some of that weight to the rear of the chassis and lower the center of gravity as well. With the chassis mounted battery enclosure, we are able to do just that.
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A local welding shop fabricated the battery enclosure for us. The tray was made out of a single sheet of heavy gauge steel. Across the top, a piece of angle iron was used to drape over the frame rail in order to support the bulk of the weight. Two uprights were added and designed to set on top of the two crossmembers in-between which it is located. This ensures that the crossmembers are actually supporting the weight as opposed to relying on a couple of bolts, even if they are grade 8.
The cover is made out of a lighter gauge piece of steel. It has an upward curved lip that has two holes which slide over the two pegs welded in the angle iron. The lower portion of the cover is secured by rubber mounts like those found on the hoods of school busses. In the back of the case at the top on each corner, sections were cut out and ground smooth to allow the large diameter cables to enter and exit the case without sharp bends or sharp edges. There is more than enough room in the case to mount two group 24 size batteries along with the solenoids and the circuit breakers.