Optima Billet Battery Tray Installed

It was a pain in the butt to get it in but I think it looks pretty good... This tray allows you to secure the battery at the bottom instead of with the Toyota bracket. I saw one on PB's truck and liked it, so I ordered one from ebay.

 

That is cool man. I like. where were the hang up's in the install?

 

The tray is a solid piece of aluminum with countersunk holes for attachment. There are 2 options for attachment - with 4 7/32 bolts or with 4 3/8 bolts.



Problem is, once you drill the holes and place the tray on top, there's no way to put the bolts underneath the tray. Our battery trays are welded into place on top of the inner fender.



I basically installed the tray with the 4 7/32 bolts, but placed them backwards (with the bolt on top of the tray) -- I ground down the excess thread. This pic below was during my experimental phase, so don't mind the single 3/8 bolt at the top. To avoid any issues with the bolts going through the batteries, I placed 4 stick on fan weights (rubber) on top of the ground down bolts. The battery sits a bit higher than designed, but is still secure with the clamps.

 

oh well hell thats nearly impossible to get to tap a bolt through there! glad it finally worked out, looks nice.

 

Very nice! What did that whole setup cost? Battery and mounting bracket?

 

ya working on that one... lol

 

The mount was $69 + shipping on ebay. Seller was 'Optimatrays.' The battery is a D35 yellow top. Paid $200 for it locally.

He may not have the trays on ebay just yet as mine was the first D35 tray from that company. I emailed him and requested one, so he bought a battery and cut the design. Great seller. His name is Benjamin Barch.

 

I don't see the attraction for these batteries at the price ?

 

Clean looking mod. I like.

 

optimas are REALLY long lasting compared to regular (wal-mart,napa,etc..) acid batteries. They are a bit more expensive but if you look around you can find deals, I bought my redtop optima (better than yellow) brand new factory sealed from the supplier for 140 local. I'm going to get this tray when I get an optima battery for this truck, its brand new so once the stocker runs out its time for the redtop.

for more info. on why its better go to their website

 

Good job installing that mount. I'm running into the same issue with my Odyssey mount which has 4 counter sunk holes. There is no way to secure the nut from the bottom. Perhaps I should use self-tapping metal screws???

 

From personal experience in the Arctic, can tell you the Red Top will start an unplugged vehicle after 5 days of average -37 degrees celcius temperatures. (-40 F and -40 C are equivalent)
X2 on the long lasting bit as well.