kapnklug
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Appreciate everyone's advice not to relocate the batteries to the passenger compartment, but I did it anyway. I tried to do a thorough job of it; any suggestions on how to improve the setup are welcome.
The two battery boxes and lids are made from 16ga galvanized steel. The top of each box has a rubber gasket (made from split 1/8" vac. hose) and the holes for the cables have 1/2" grommets, making the boxes airtight. The bottom of each box has an acid absorber mat that extends 1" up the walls. There is 1/4" airspace on all sides, and 1/4" thick wooden blocks keep the battery from sliding around. The lids have 12ga holdown straps that bolt thru the bed and compress the gaskets. The inside of each lid and both positive terminals are covered in 1/8" EPDM rubber. Each lid also has an airtight vac. hose connection to the outside of the truck for hydrogen venting, and a sealed battery disconnect switch with removeable key (mounted inside a piece of 3" pipe to protect it from damage). Either battery can be disconnected separately since it's now a 12V system. The lids also have a foot which adjusts from outside with a thumbscrew to put downforce on the battery. The pass. side battery required a battery tray made from 12ga angle channel in order to clear the fuel-filler bumpout. All cables are 2/0 welding cable. I ran the cables up to the busbars for the radio. This arrangement will start the truck, but the OEM cables from the busbars to the engine compartment get hot during extended cranking, so now I'm replacing those also with 2/0 cable.
The two battery boxes and lids are made from 16ga galvanized steel. The top of each box has a rubber gasket (made from split 1/8" vac. hose) and the holes for the cables have 1/2" grommets, making the boxes airtight. The bottom of each box has an acid absorber mat that extends 1" up the walls. There is 1/4" airspace on all sides, and 1/4" thick wooden blocks keep the battery from sliding around. The lids have 12ga holdown straps that bolt thru the bed and compress the gaskets. The inside of each lid and both positive terminals are covered in 1/8" EPDM rubber. Each lid also has an airtight vac. hose connection to the outside of the truck for hydrogen venting, and a sealed battery disconnect switch with removeable key (mounted inside a piece of 3" pipe to protect it from damage). Either battery can be disconnected separately since it's now a 12V system. The lids also have a foot which adjusts from outside with a thumbscrew to put downforce on the battery. The pass. side battery required a battery tray made from 12ga angle channel in order to clear the fuel-filler bumpout. All cables are 2/0 welding cable. I ran the cables up to the busbars for the radio. This arrangement will start the truck, but the OEM cables from the busbars to the engine compartment get hot during extended cranking, so now I'm replacing those also with 2/0 cable.
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