The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Cummins to Chevy battery placement

Looking to get info on a Cummins to Chevy conversion and need to know a good spot to put the extra battery. I know where I can get the extra tray. The gas tank will be put under the flatbed, so how about behind the seat? It will be a tight squeeze under the hood, so I need to save room. I would like to keep them within easy access. Any opinions or directions? I will try to get a picture of the gas tank area that will possibly become the battery compartment. Here is an engine pic though:

Engine pic

I'd get a battery box for a late model medium duty truck that would hold 2 batteries and mount to the frame rail behind the cab. Put it on the opposite side as the fuel tank.

It is a cab-and-chassis right now, but it will soon be a flatbed and I need something with just a little more accessabilty, but I will probably use that late model double battery box you mentioned. Thanks for the idea though! I appreciate it! Does anyone else have any ideas?

Anyone? The

Do you really need to get at the batteries all that often?

Why not put them under the cab, outside the passenger frame rail.

Or saw a hole in the flatbed, and stick a lift out door there.

I like the idea of putting it in a hole in the flatbed and putting a door on it. All thuogh I will be putting underbody toolboxes on the flatbed, should I just bolt the modern 2-battery compartment inside one of them for protection with ease of access? I want to have ease of access in case I need to clean the battery cables or replace a cable end. Does anyone else have input or ideas?

I went out and got some more pictures today! This is where I was thinking of putting the batterys. (Behind the seat) What do you all think of it? Because the batterys would only take up part of that space, I will probably use the rest of the room there to put in some small shelves with sides for little stuff unless I hear an idea I like better. Anyone?

P.S., This truck looks like it has had a hard life. Did anyone notice the overweight/oversized load flag behind the seat? It must have been hauling something heavy! Or, it might have been my grandad after he ate some barbecue!

there is a good reason batteries are never mounted in passenger areas, lead acid batteries give off hydrogen gas and are an explosion hazard in closed spaces

Bill

I've seen batteries in the passenger area but they are usually under the rear seats. Old VW Bugs, early Audis and even 2000 Bonnevilles had the batteries mounted that way. In your case I think it might be wise to mount the batteries in battery boxes to give you an additional layer of protection if you decide to put them in the cab. I would go for sealed batteries either way.

SimS

Thank you all for the responses! I think I will put them on the exterior. I did not take into consideration the acid danger. Thanks for the advice! Anyone else?

Ahh, but they do put batteries inside the passenger compartment. It's actually becoming very common. VWs used to run them under the back seat for years, as do some BMWs. Buick and Cadillac are currently running the under the back seat, too. These batteries are vented to outside the passenger compartment, and are sealed otherwise.
If you were to mount the batteries behind the seat, I would suggest using a sealed battery box with venting to the outside. You may also want to consider using an AGM type battery, which does not gas as much as a flooded battery. I don't know if you'll be able to find any listings or info on it online, but 4 Wheel & Off Road did a '57 Chevy 4x4 conversion back in the late '80s called Project Early Iron. It was built with dual batteries mounted behind the seat, originally flooded type, but later changed to Optima batteries when they first came out.

under/behind the rear seat is not in the passenger compartment, it's 'in the trunk', sealed off from the interior and vented outside, not open behind the drivers seat .... as I said .... a 13 year old wannabe needs to learn the basic rules before designing something that might be on the same road you're on

Bill

I don't know that I would consider under the back seat as being in the trunk. The only thing sealing the area the battery is in on current production Buicks and Cadillacs is the foam of the seat cushions. The battery itself is mounted in a recess in the floorpan, about 2" behind the footwell in the rear passenger area. The venting of the battery is the key, though. At one time (I beleive this has changed), the company I work for was the only aftermarket source for the group 79 vented sidepost battery for those cars, otherwise it's a dealer item.
I agree 100% about learning the basics and the whyfors and howtos before jmping in and altering things.

That is why I want to study up BEFORE diving into this. And the reason I was thinking behind the seat, was because I was going to get sealed beattery.

I have Cummins Turbo Diesel in my 1949 One Ton 3800 and I have only one batterey in the original location under the floorbord! Can't figure out why you think you need two batteries?
Chevrolet saw fit to put batteries under there for many a year! The location on the firewall that is stock will hold one good Battery that is all you should need! I have at least 6 of these Cummins powered vehicles and they all have one battery? They start immediately even at zero degrees?

The type of donor truck I am getting, a 1994-1997 Dodge 3/4 or 1-ton truck, always came from the factory wih 2 batteries on a diesel motor. Even if it only had one battery, I would still like to put it somewhere besides the engine compartment so it is not such a squeeze. Do you have any engine compartment pics of that '49 so I can get some layout ideas?