ARB tray in GXL Diesel - bending A/C pipe

[peter_mcc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peter_mcc]

I've looked and looked but can't work out what other people have done. We've got a new 150GXL diesel and I'm trying to fit a second battery using the ARB kit.

A AllRounder MRV50 battery (Length : 259 Width : 173 Height : 202) fits the tray ok but the A/C gas cap hits the corner of the battery. I'm guessing that's not a good long term solution!



What do people do? I've heard lots of talk about bending things but I can't work out what or how. I tried gently bending the A/C pipe that goes up to the rubber hose but it didn't seem to want to bend easily. That would have been the simplest solution.

I've heard of people breaking the bottom pipe -that goes horizontally towards the back of the car. What were they trying to do with that one?

If I take the support bracket off at the bottom of the battery the pipe seems to move fairly easily 10-15mm away from the battery. But then it gets quite close to another pipe (5mm clearance) further back. Do they end up rubbing?

And if I do move it off the original bracket location how do I keep it in place? It needs to move about 1cm - so it is more than can be achieved by bending the bracket. Do people make another bracket?

I'm thinking of changing to an Optima D34 battery. They are 5mm shorter and have a much larger radius on the corners - that should give enough clearance for the gas pipe if I leave everything as it is. Is that the easiest idea?

[foxpro Member Find all posts View Profile Close foxpro]

Recently fitted a cheap ebay tray (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/291177407037) to a 2014 GX (not GXL) and mounted a huge 305mm battery with little difficulty.
The tray set came with a little separate bracket which shifted the aircon pipe about 15mm towards the middle of the car with very little effort. The pipe now still has 5-7mm minimum clearance on it's full length with the plastic cap of the refill being the tightest spot. As the pipe is securely fastened and the battery is anchored all around the base and on the top there should be little chance of rubbing.

[leethal1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close leethal1]

hey foxpro, can you post a pic of it with the battery mounted?, the battery clamp looks like it offers some support to the top of the battery unlike the ARB kit

[foxpro Member Find all posts View Profile Close foxpro]

Hard to get a single good shot. Here are some snapshots.

Battery is this: http://www.supercharge.com.au/allrounder-mrv70

[leethal1 Member Find all posts View Profile Close leethal1]

Hard to get a single good shot. Here are some snapshots.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18386[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18387[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18388[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]18389[/ATTACH]
Battery is this: http://www.supercharge.com.au/allrounder-mrv70

thanks, I was after that top shot. It looks like i nice clamp onto the top of the battery.

[foxpro Member Find all posts View Profile Close foxpro]

thanks, I was after that top shot. It looks like i nice clamp onto the top of the battery.

I think it it way better than the original Toyota plastic tray w/o top bracket on the other side of the car. If I were to worry about battery movement I'd be more concerned about the original than the aux.

[arcsnsparks Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close arcsnsparks]

Looks just like a Piranha setup almost down to the last nut and bolt. But costs a lot less.