With Bill Johnston

Ok, you buy a replacement battery for your Zook for some added power. You figure out very quickly that the stock battery tie down bar doesn't fit. What do you do? 

You head to the local auto parts store and pick up one of those rubber 'One Size Fits All' things that look like a fitted bungee cord. Right? 

After about a year (maybe less in dryer, hotter climates) the rubber tie down cracks and then breaks at the wrong time. If you go off road it becomes more evident as your battery tilts and bounces against the hood and makes dangerous arcs of electricity very close to your fuel system. So you grab a loose bungee cord from under the seat to fix the problem... What is the real way to fix this problem? We found a good true bolt in replacement from Spidertrax that wouldn't be affected by the heat or the dry desert air. 

Here is what we needed to replace. This Samurai has had an additional battery installed to share the power requirements that we add with big stereo systems, off road lights and sometimes a winch. You can see that one battery still has the 'One Size Fits All' rubber thing that seems to be ready to snap from dry rot. The other has already snapped and the famous 'bungee cord' has been put into action. No time to waste!
To complete this dual battery installation, we used two kits. Single Battery installations only require one kit.	Parts included with one kit: 1   Tie Down Bracket 1   Angled Tab 1   Short Hook (passenger side) 1   Long Hook (driver side) 2   Wing Nuts 2   Washers 1   Button Head Screw 1   Instruction Sheet Required tools: 1   Phillips Head Screwdriver
First things first...  Remove the battery cables and clean up the terminals. The new tie downs will draw attention to the battery, so you might as well make it look good. Then pull the battery out and clean up the battery tray. We cleaned ours out and hit it with a coat of paint. You would be suprised how much damage the original battery did with spilled battery acid.

After removing the battery and cleaning up the battery tray, we found a threaded mounting boss that Suzuki put in at the factory. Using the button head screw, we installed the angled tab provided with the kit. We also found that if you add a washer to the screw it will keep the angled tab from bending (or straightening).

The short hook attaches to the fender in the stock location. There are actually two holes in the fender, so make sure to use the hole that lines up with the center of the battery. The long hook attaches to the bracket we just installed with the button head screw.

These hooks are made long so they will fit the tallest batteries. Once you have them installed it's time to trim them for that finished look. We used a cutoff wheel, but a simple hacksaw will do the job. Leave an inch or so of thread for plenty of room for adjustment when removing and installing them again later. With proper care these tie downs will last longer than a battery, so you will appreciate this later.

And the finished look! Sure beats the heck out of the bungee cord, eh? This is an easy install that makes something as simple as a battery tie down into a work of art.  Sources: Petroworks Box 848 Fallbrook CA 92088 www.petroworks.com 1-800-952-8915 Orders 1-760-731-9434 Tech & Questions Rocky Road Outfitters P.O. Box 681245 Park City, UT  84068 www.rocky-road.com 1-888-801-7271 Orders 1-435-783-2990 Tech 1-435-783-4355 Fax