Secondary battery in the rear of the GU.

[Hodge]

So I'm toying with the idea of relocating my secondary battery to the rear of the patrol. This was always my initial plan for the 4.2, but when I fitted up the secondary battery system, I was somewhat in a rush so decided to just mount it in the common secondary battery tray. I'd like to maybe amend this now in the coming months.

Few benefits of this in my mind:
Battery cops no heat from turbo/engine
Takes weight off the front / battery tray (making more roof for other things)
Much easier cable management

My initial idea is to make up a box and slot it up against the cargo barrier in one corner. Box would also have an area where the Redarc dcdc and Solar relay would be mounted. Or I could get some of the battery boxes off the shelf.

Has anybody out there done this / got experience with this type of setup ? Any hints & tips or pro cons, would be great.

In a nutshell my current setup is a 85AH AGM battery, charged by REdarc BCDC 1240 and has a solar relay switch over system implemented as well.

[Cuppa]

Are you intending to power a winch from both crank battery & the aux in the back? If not it is only a matter of extending/routing the cable(s) from crank batt to aux, choosing a location & a means of mounting. Don't forget to include either a fuse or circuit breaker at both ends of the cable joining the two batteries.

However if you want to be able to parallel the two batteries (ie bypass the BCDC) for winch use, to be able to jump start the car from the aux at the turn of a switch, to be able to charge the crank battery from solar, or to be able to bulk charge the aux battery at a higher rate than the BCDC can provide (ie direct from alternator) or just to provide another option to keep the aux going should the BCDC fail whilst on an extended trip, then things can become more complicated (& expensive).

You probably have no reason to follow my example! Ha ha.

Charging.jpg

[threedogs]

@Hodge Ive just come across this water proof box which I hope will house my "Thumpa" compressor.
It may also be big enoungh for your Aux battery, but you can buy dedicated battery boxes

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221316031...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Hodge]

Thanks @Cuppa.
Your setup is just a little bit more intricate then the basic setup I am/will be running lol. Although that is mighty impressive ...
My winch is solely off the main battery. But you've just brought a "con" that I haven't thought of before... Jumping the main battery from the secondary battery, while the secondary one is at the back. Hmmm

Wiring bit is easy. The only thing I need to figure out is what size cable to run front to rear now ?
At the moment, I think I have 6mm twin from the second battery (Located at front), to my Baintech junction box at the rear which feeds fridge, camping lights and reversing light.
@threedogs
Although a nice box, it's features are useless as a battery box. You'd have to drill holes for cables etc... Thus rendering box's "sealing" properties obsolete.

[threedogs]

If your worried about heat under the bonnet that may cause problems to your Aux ,
have you looked into turbo beanies? BA has one Ive had mine about two years now.
I run a Trojan 115AH wet cell AUX battery more bang for your buck, and have no fluid issues at all
I think a few of the 6.5 chev guys run beanies as well, just saying, Haven't heard of battery weight
causing problems on the GU but the GQ had their share of problems with i'll fitting battery trays