Exploring battery relocate wiring options

So I want to move my OEM battery to the rear of the truck and I have my mounting situation done. Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to do the wiring.

I have some 3/0 gauge welding wire in two 20-foot lengths; I was going to also use some two busbars (one for positive and negative terminals each) at the OEM battery location and connect al the OEM connections to the busbars (as they would normally go to the battery there) to minimize complexity for now. Next, route one of the 20' lengths of 3/0 wire from the positive busbar to the battery's positive terminal at the new mounting location.

That said, I was thinking for the negative connections either..

a) Route the other 20' length of 3/0 wire from the negative busbar to the battery's negative terminal.

b) Route a 2-3' length of 3/0 wire from the negative busbar to a frame mount in the engine bay ..or the engine block. And run another 1-2' length of 3/0 wire from the battery's negative terminal to the frame at the new location.

Which option should I choose? Will either have cranking and/or performance problems?

In the future, I'll probably add a breaker.

 

Is there a reason to move the battery ?

As long as you have good connections at the frame either one should give you no problems.

In normal operations a short cranking time Winching is a whole new ball game

I guessing you have a way to crimp lugs onto the 3/0 cable .

Remember to keep your positive bus bar covered you don`t need something dropped shorting causing interesting fire works .

Are you also increasing the size of the positive cable to the starter and to the B terminal of alternator ??

 

Just trying to shift more weight bias from the front to the rear and at the same time simplify the engine bay because I hate how it's so cluttered in there when working around/in it.

Cool; I'm really leaning toward option B because it means less wiring running along the frame.

I also moved my winch from the front to the rear for recovering other rigs easier. I've only winched myself twice in the 4 years I've had it up front.

Yup, I have a hydraulic crimping tool.

Got that covered, too. The busbar I'm using has a rubber cap thing. I'll probably try and figure out more ways to protect them, too.

Not yet. I've been wanting to do the "big 3" upgrade but I figure that can probably wait a bit longer. Do you think I absolutely need to?

 

It's copper and multi-stranded:



I'll probably end up with just 25' used overall at most instead of 40. And sure it's a bit more overall weight with the extra wire but it's also spread out more evenly between the two axles whereas the OEM battery is a little forward of the front axle. My new battery location is in front of the rear axle. And it has room for a second battery when I go duals. I'm not worried about bed space because I already shrunk my bed or resale value be cause no one will buy this truck ever; you can see where the battery mounts in the photo below where the Odyssey is.

 

Tons of vehicles these days have batteries in the trunk and just use a chassis ground for everything. Get a good clean grounding point on the frame in the front and back and you’ll be fine with no negative wire run to the battery. Use the leftover wire to beef up the big 3.

 

All of this makes sense to me but the “Big 3”?

 

Upgrading the 3 main wires in your electrical system with much larger than stock wiring (typically 0awg or larger)

Battery negative to chassis
Chassis to engine block
Alternator to Batter positive