Battery Relocation To Frame

[Prairie Dog]

Light up and join us with a bit of a sence of humor.

Soundking

Nah, he'd have to move to Washington State to do that legally.

"Soundking" :-laf

 

[SnoKing]

Or Colorado?

 

[inlinesix3million]

You guys are HILARIOUS!

But seriously,thx for all the thoughts- I definitely need all the angles to be considered. In my original post I was mainly unsure about 200 amps going straight to everything instead of being split up.

(if there is even a difference between the 2 in my scenario) I thought less wear and tear on my front end , and better ride/weight distribution would make it worthwhile to pursue this.Also-these

batts should last for years as long as I do it right. Thx for the heads up on the dual battery box in the Freightliner. I'll have to drop by the local dealer when I hv time off and eyeball it.

My homebase is near Twin Falls,ID by the way. I haul produce in the western half of the lower 48 for a month or two at a time. My truck is in storage with the batteries disconnected while I am out.

I normally work thru the winter, so my truck will not see much snow. Except for summertime, it always gets washed before storage. Am always home for at least a week at a time and will be pulling

a 10000 lb travel trailer to go camping/fly fishing. I will mainly stay on some kind of roads. In the near future I will be adding an air compressor and a Pacbrake. Thx again,everyone!

 

[TLane]

IF I was to do something like this, I'd want to have some kind of lift system, like a spare tire crank up holder, to raise and lower the batteries. No matter how much you grease them when installing them, they still need to be periodically checked, cleaned of corrosion, and re-greased. Also, leave enough slack in the cables so the batteries can be easily raised and lowered. I would also see if they would fit on the driver's side so they would be closer to the starter, as that is the highest current load. I'd look at re-locating the relay for the grid heater so it's between the batteries' new location and grid heater; again to reduce cable lengths.

And for the stereo, get a set of super-capacitors mounted right next to the amp.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

WOW, ever heard of the KISS method? upgrade the springs, be done with it. put the compressor under the forward part right quarter so you don't hear it, been there done that, really!.
Kyle

 

[inlinesix3million]

TLane- Excellent ideas on the lift system and keeping cable lengths to a minimum. It appears that I will be in for some rewiring after all- grid heater, starter, and amps. I could maybe fabricate a

platform and frame with rollers and guides. Use the screws from scissor jacks for up & down, and pins to hold it in "up" position. My amps are mounted to the back wall of the cab in such a way

that my fold flat floor still functions correctly. I currently don't have issues with power dropping off to my speakers- probably due to the massive batteries and lots of copper. My system is geared

more towards SQ. I only have 1 13.5 in sub in a JL Stealthbox center console replacement @ 750 watts. 8 inch HAT Legatia SE in front doors @ 300 per. And 4 in HAT Legatia SE widebands in

the kicks also @ 300 per. Emergency brake pedal assembly is gone and replaced with electric actuator. I am running tweeterless so system is stealthy to passers by. The entire cab and doors are

sound deadened with 100lbs of RAAMAT and closed cell foam. It sounds like a very quiet diesel inside the cab.Doors no longer sound like hollow cans when you close them

Crewcab- I am happy to learn that just swapping out my springs will save me $ on ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. I won't hear the compressor. I know there are lots of ways to skin the cat-

me personally- I like to improve the design by eliminating deficiencies. It must be the german in me.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

Trust me when I say I know about upgrades, (computer crashed) but 200lbs will not wear out the front end any faster than it does now. A good set of leveling springs and replace front end parts with top shelf parts works best. Compressor located under the right quarter panel has plenty of room for a 10 gallon air tank and a 3/4hp compressor (done it twice). This keeps the air line plumbing to a minimum and reduces in cab noise from the compressor. I just installed new leveling springs $250 and a set of Bilstien 5100 series shocks $130.00 a set, new Moog ball joints/wheel bearings. I have a massive Ranchand bumper and a 15K winch on the front end, truck drives great at 311k Miles.
Kyle

 

[AEdelheit]

Uhhhhh swapping springs wont do anything to help Ball joint, bearings or any of that, just help with height and ride, FYI.

 

[inlinesix3million]

Danke schoen herr Edelheit

 

[inlinesix3million]

Nice truck Crewcab! I like how you detailed your brakes- would like to do mine in silver. We have the same grill. Are those the original headlights? If not, what brand are they? I'd eventually like to do

a pre-runner bumper from road armor or trail ready in a couple years. It is one of the reasons I want to lighten the front end. I considered an Aluminess, but I think the other 2 look better and are

way stronger vs wildlife.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

Thanks, the grill is just a stock black sport grill, the look comes from the aluminum Mishimoto intercooler. The headlights are aftermarket and work tons better than oem, I will dig up where I got them.
Kyle

 

[TGVET]

Uhhhhh swapping springs wont do anything to help Ball joint, bearings or any of that, just help with height and ride, FYI.

Back in 2008, I bought Road Armor bumpers, both winch capable. Never installed a winch, I drove around for a few days and took that ship anchor off the front and went back to the OEM. I couldn't believe how it affected the ride and handling once knowing the difference. Since I had already rebuit the entire front end once already just 3 years into it using it as my 100 miles RT daily freeway commuter and no offroading, I didn't want to do it all over again in a shorter period. As it is, I have now rebuilt the front end three times now and its about ready again for Hub bearings. Bottom line, the front ends on these were just plain under built for the weight.

I had the bumpers powder coated to match my color (Metallic Grey), the front bumper has been stored ever since as I though maybe one day I might put it back on, that will never happen.. Anyone wanting to buy it let me know.

 

[AH64ID]

In order to get 200lbs off the front axle you are going to have to move them quite a bit aft, all the way to the centerline of the rear axle.

I bought batteries that make my 1950 watt sound system work better

A bigger alternator is a better, and lighter, way to go... Unless you use the stereo with the engine off.

With the engine running it's the alternators job to do the electrical work, not the batteries.

 

[inlinesix3million]

In order to get 200lbs off the front axle you are going to have to move them quite a bit aft, all the way to the centerline of the rear axle.



A bigger alternator is a better, and lighter, way to go... Unless you use the stereo with the engine off.

With the engine running it's the alternators job to do the electrical work, not the batteries.

Thanks for that.... I only wish my installer guy had suggested that as well #@$%! Could you recommend a good high output alternator and would the stock length serpentine belt still work?

When I get my camper I may just put the AGM's in there. Thx again, Robert

 

[AH64ID]

http://shop.mean-green.com/2009-03-DODGE-CUMMINS-59L-MG1398.htm

From what I hear they make a great alternator, and it has a lot more output at idle and cruising not just peak.

If you find you still need more power then you can overdrive the alternator, but I doubt you wll since Dodge runs fairly high voltage which reduces the amp requirement for the wattage. 1950W @ 14.7V is 133A.

 

[Shadrach]

I wanted a good set of HD batteries for my Dodge so I installed Group 31s the kind used in KW or in Mike's case Fruitliners. Yes they are heavier and I had to use a step stool to install them. I also had to slightly modify the battery boxes them selves and lengthen the cables on the right hand side. They are 950 CCA and will take more pounding from the roads. I can get replacements anywhere and were reasonably priced. Here you can see the difference in stock and the 31s. David

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