WOW I can't stand it!! I will do this!!! Saddle style will be harder than I thought as there is alittle bit of the top plate that can not really be cut off. I think I will widen my center skid to kind of rest the batts on not necessarily use it as a tray though.
You can make a new gear box skid from a piece of 1/8 aluminum sheet, hang it off spacers and have 'wings' extended from it to facilitate bolting the battery trays on.