Mike67
Member
I've been looking all over the internet for a better battery placement on the Tracker v16 series and came up with nothing. As there is not much storage under the front deck due to the battery right in the middle I decided to do something about it. It's also tough to get the battery out and you have to actually turn it on it's end, hatch is too small to just lift out.
I looked online and found a Li Time 12v 100AH mini LifePO4, was about $369 after taxes. This battery has about twice the power of the lead acid 85ah that came with the boat. Originally I was just going to remove the batter tray and place a couple of battery tie-downs on the starboard side. Got to thinking that I may place a full size battery in the tray which possibly could be a lead acid, emergency only. I fabricated an insert made out of aluminum that I could just lift out. Materials easily sourced at Home Depot. I used an aluminum sheet as the base and attached angle bar to pop-riveted into the base aluminum. Easily cut the base aluminum with tin sheers, angle aluminum I used a non-ferrous blade on my miter saw.
I'm quite happy with the setup and it gives me plenty of room to store my PFD's on the port side and what not (anchor when I need one) and I store my tackle gear under the starboard hatch next to the battery. Plenty of room and the mini LifePO4 fits through the hatch without having to turn it, not that it matters as it's a LifePO4. I posted some pics of the way I fabricated the base along with the LifePO mini for comparison.
I looked online and found a Li Time 12v 100AH mini LifePO4, was about $369 after taxes. This battery has about twice the power of the lead acid 85ah that came with the boat. Originally I was just going to remove the batter tray and place a couple of battery tie-downs on the starboard side. Got to thinking that I may place a full size battery in the tray which possibly could be a lead acid, emergency only. I fabricated an insert made out of aluminum that I could just lift out. Materials easily sourced at Home Depot. I used an aluminum sheet as the base and attached angle bar to pop-riveted into the base aluminum. Easily cut the base aluminum with tin sheers, angle aluminum I used a non-ferrous blade on my miter saw.
I'm quite happy with the setup and it gives me plenty of room to store my PFD's on the port side and what not (anchor when I need one) and I store my tackle gear under the starboard hatch next to the battery. Plenty of room and the mini LifePO4 fits through the hatch without having to turn it, not that it matters as it's a LifePO4. I posted some pics of the way I fabricated the base along with the LifePO mini for comparison.
