Anyone running there batterys moved to the bed. I have two nice battery boxs and was thinking of moving the Batterys. Any problems with this? Any Advise? Thanks!

 

Well, my question, would be why ? Not trying to be a smart butt, but seriously, why ?

My issues with doing it would be they would take up bed space, and the long wire run would cause a voltage drop to the starter. I personally wouldn't want that kind of current running thru such a long run of wire on my truck. You would also have more of a problem with cold weather unless you use some kind of heating blanket. Same goes for the possibility of corrosion issues with the wiring.

I know racers do this for weight, but a truck is heavy enough already that the 150 lbs or so wouldn't make a real difference.

I'd also think it might invite more theft issues, as they would be in plain sight (the boxes that is).

Now if you mounted them under the bed, in sealed boxes, it would get rid of about half of these issues, but you'd still have a lot of current running a long ways to reach the starter.

 

I had thought about it as well, but I was going to move them all the way to the rear, say under the bed as near rear bumper as possible, shoot 150 lbs behind the rear whweels for traction? and no increase of weight, not to mention the added room for the complete overkill of a possible dual BHAF under the hood setup. I too got talked down on the long run issues.

 

Why! 1 The weight, better balance, my truck on a wet road sucks.
2 cleaner under the hood.
3 more room for air box /air filter
4 everytime I work on the truck the batterys are in the way.
I like the under bed idea. Also did'nt the 1st gen trucks work fine with only one battery. wont two in the back work better then one up front? Also I live in central Florida so cold weater is not a issue
Thanks!

 

There was an owner who added a lift bed and placed the batteries under the bed. His name was Rob Thomas.
Then moved them back to a location under the cab due to the dirt/moisture/corrosion that ALWAYS accumulated on the batteries and connections.



Rob Thomas on battery relocates

 

Like I said, the MAIN things that would concern me would be the corrosion and the long run of wire to the starter.

And yeah, the batteries do always seem to be in the way...I agree with that one 1000% !

 

Thanks
The truck is going to be a weekend toy mostly so I might try it.

 

yeah mine are in the back for all the reasons you listed ...

ran 2/0 wire to the front

no problems at all except for bed space ....

 

Central Florida heat is a good reason to get the batteries out from under the hood. You also reduce the vibration levels.
You can probably get away with a single group 31 battery.

TRCM
The total cable length for a bed mount versus underhood isn't much different.

edit
Forgot to mention, I would put the batteries in the bed except I have a slide-in camper and it would be very tight fit.

 

Thanks for all the replys. I am in the middle of painting the truck and have the hood off and the bed loose so its a good time to do this project.

 

I'm going to do it to my truck because I want to put a toolbox under the right side of the bed forward of the wheelwell, and a relocated set of batteries under the drivers side to take as much of the wieght that a winch and bumper to hold/mount it will be. I figure thast I can run a large enough cable set or double up on the cable to defeat the voltage drop and use some of that big chunk of space going to waste .

 

That big chunk of wasted space is where I have my air tanks/pump for my airhorns and auxiliary use.

 

what about a solenoid mounted near the batterys so the big wire is only hot when cranking then running a smaller wire two power everything else.

 

Why? Just run one big wire.
I welded up a bracket for a friend to mount his batteries under the bed, ran 000 gauge welding wire to the starter, left the stock cable from the starter in place.
Been working great for several years. He is running a pair of Redtops so corrosion and maintenance is not a factor. Both batteries are inside plastic boxes like used on boats to keep dirt off the tops.

 

If yours has been that way for years, thats all I need to hear. Thanks!