150 Series battery tray

[bicter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bicter]

Hi,
First time post so bear with me
I'm looking at installing a dual battery setup in my 2010 GX.
Reading through older posts it appears there is/was a problem with cracking of the guard with a dual battery setup
After a lot of reading, I'm not much wiser so decided to start a new thread.
The questions are:
Has the weak guardbeen beefed up at all in the 2010 model?
Which battery tray is least likely to cause guard cracking?
Is there a maximum weight of battery for these trays?
Can the aircon pipe be gently bent out of the way with minimal risk to make installation easier?

Thanks in advance

[AussieAndy Find all posts View Profile Close AussieAndy]

Hi mate, I'll try to answer these questions, however some of it really is asking for oppinion.

The inner guard in the 2010 has not been revised, it is the original 150 Prado design

Any battery tray that has a brace that goes forward to the radiator support panel will be stronger and may help prevent cracking (like the TJM battery tray)

I would always go with the lightest battery possible with output you are happy with. There has been a lot of information lately that is very over the top, I don't think you can really go too far wrong as long as it is suitable for cycling and you are happy with the price tag.

Some people have bent the aircon pipe successfully, others not so successfully, personally I wouldn't bother with a tray that requires bending, as in my oppinion the battery would be getting on the heavy side for the inner guard if it requires the ac to be bent. A 10" battery tray should fit without bending.

Like I said, some of it is oppinion, and there are a lot of different oppinions on this site, and most of them have there merits. For what it's worth im in the process of fitting an under bonnet dual battery system and have chosen to go with the TJM tray, Optima battery and Redarc BCDC1240 to charge, not what everyone would recomend but What I have come up with that will hopefully suit my needs.

[bicter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bicter]

Hi Andy,
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
The info re the tray brace is just what I was looking for, I asked the question in case there were specific ones to steer clear of.
With regard to the battery type, I get trade price on Century Yuasa so I'll be going with a deep cycle from them in all likelihood, though I have heard the marine all rounder type of battery handles the under bonnet heat better than the deep cycle.
Off topic, I've noticed my aircon struggles with the heat and appears to be low on air flow. As it's a second hand vehicle I'm not sure if it's the norm for the 150's. I have a suspicion that whoever fitted the brake controller for the previous owner may have been a little lax in aligning the air ducts behind the dash. Are you able to comment on the aircon?

[geoffmc1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close geoffmc1]

Have you had a look at the Pollen filter behind the glovebox, as it could be clogged and in need of replacing.

cheers
Geoff

[bicter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bicter]

Geoff,
Good call, I wasn't even aware there was a pollen filter :s
off to check it now.

[bicter Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bicter]

Yep, Pollen filter was the problem, thanks for the tip

[geoffmc1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close geoffmc1]

No probs, glad to help.

cheers
Geoff