2014 Tacoma custom dual battery

[HAFICON]

Hello,

So after having a dual battery system in my JKU I could not see not having one in my Tacoma but there are limited options. I am not a fan of Optima battery, so when it came to the ATO try that was a huge take away. The other dual option will not work on my Tacoma due to the ABS pump location. I picked up an ATO tray off craigslist for $100 the guy who had it already had it powder coated which was nice. But my goal is to fit dual 34PC-1500 batteries under the hood. These batteries are longer than the Optima and require the fesu box to be moved back 27mm.



Battery removed all is stock.


The pre-existing hole to the left of the tab held back by a bungee cord needs to be drilled ever so slightly so it will accept a 1/4x20 nut insert. Be very careful if you choose to do this as there is noting between this hole and the outer sheet metal of the fender. I recommend using a piece of pipe 1" shorter than the drill bit, slide it over the bit so one the amount needed is exposed for drilling a shallow hole. This way once the drill bit cut the hole the pipe acts as a stop and prevents damage to the fender.



With the hole properly drilled out insert the barrel nut, this will give the top mount of the fuse box a nice secure mount.


The tit or nipple used for alignment on the upper fuse box mount will need to be trimmed off, once complete install but do not tighten a 1/4x20 threaded bolt.



Now for the lower mount on the fuse box I cut a small piece of aluminum and installed a barrel nut in it that will move the lower part of the fuse box back the required 27mm.



Next is the part I was afraid of but had to be done, trimming the headlight housing. The notch just above the black grommet has to be removed. WARNING as I was afraid of this will open the housing up to the elements. I was hoping it was solid but no it is not.






I used some all purpose weather sealer, filled in the hole and taped over it to give it what I hope will be a proper seal. Time will tell.

 

[HAFICON]

With the ATO base plate installed as per the instructions, you can see the spacer I installed at the lower fuse box mount.


This step is unclear in the ATO instructions, they speak of the 1/4" bolt that passes through the inner fender well bu use of a pre-existing hole. Here is a clear picture of it for reference. You can see at the bottom of the bracket just above the yellow wire. This is the bolt they speak of.


Next is test fitting the battery tray into the mounting system, the OEM battery hold tab is in the way and must be bent towards the rear of the truck to clean the ATO plate.


A better view of the tab and the interference.


So with the difference in length of the 34-PC1500 and the Optima the ATO tray must be trimmed to support the longer battery.


The two lips were removed from the rear section of the battery tray. Be sure to use some decent primmer, and paint.


First test fit with the tray modified. As per the ATO the battery closest to the fender should be turned around, but with the Odyssey batteries this put the postive terminal less than 1" from the sheet metal lip. There for I choose two have them facing the same direction however this means the supplied ATO upper tray will not fit.


The fitment is very tight, will make headlight bulb access difficult but that is a task I am willing to accept for the benefit of 1700CCA.


The next change I chose to make is threaded rod over the battery hooks, the Odyssey batteries are not as tall as the Optima, however I feel the threaded rod with lock nuts is a much safer hold down option.


By using the threaded rod over the hooks I chose to add a bracket to move the rod over to the passenger side of the truck 1 1/2". It is the black steel added to the OEM hook mount held in place by a stainless steel 1/2 bolt and lock nut.

 

[HAFICON]

Since the ATO battery hold down will not work for my chosen configuration I am building one that will work for my set up.


I built the design using cardboard transferred the image to the sell and rounded out all the corners. the offsets are to match the battery lay out while supporting dual PAC solenoids.


Top plate in place, I welded in some studs for the PAC solenoids.


The rear solenoid will serve for parallel and isolation, the other will be for the winch. I have had a winch short out before and caused some serious damage, with it hooked into this the winch will only have power when I turn it on from the cab and can be secured in the even of a failure so we don't have another fire. The solenoids are rated for 750 spike 500 continuous amps I have used these on my Jeep in the same configuration and they did great.


When doing electrical work I can not stress the benefits of solder over compression connectors, it is a much better option and better corrosion resistance.


I built all my wiring from 4 gauge battery cable, all connectors are mil spec can be found on Ebay or Amazon. I reused the red wires from my Jeep but goign to build new ones soon to clean it up a bit. In the photo it appears the negative wire is touching the threaded rod however it is not but that bothers me I am very anal about my wiring and electrical.


I hope you enjoyed this how to read, I take a lot of pride in my work and this was done over two days just working slow and thinking ahead a step or two. For me the benefits of a 2nd battery are endless, having this same set up in my Jeep saved my butt a couple times. But after I totaled my JKU in a roll over I removed the battery system and set it aside as I knew it would be reused one day. Hope you all have a safe adventure and hope to see you out on the trail.

James Blue