Whats the best battery to buy for my truck?

[karmakanic]

I don't disagree with the recommendation for twin batteries and heavy duty alternator. But normal starter current draw for a 8 cylinder gas engine is around 175-250 amps. Diesels will draw more, but still well less then 400 amps. The starter current draw is the most the truck will see (other then the winch) and of course it only occurs while starting. Current draw of all the other accessories won't exceed 30-50 amps.

One reason to go to a seperate battery and heavy duty alternator is because normal duty alternators are not designd to charge at full output continously. A winch drawing 180 amps from a single battery will quickly send the alternator to full output and I suspect it would only take 10 or 15 min continous full output to burn it up. (This assumes the truck is running while the winch is in operation.) If it's not running, the alternator is in no danger, but the battery will be discharged quickly and then you can't get the truck started. Bummer.

FWIW
Dave Perry

 

[cj7]

If you do decide to go with dual batteries. You may want to install a battery isolation system. I have one for my jeep the allows me to choose which battery to use (A or B). Basically it allows the alt. to charge both batteries while running. When you winch you only use one battery. This way you have a fully charged battery if you should stall and the primary battery is drained low.

A good 4x4 shop will be able to get this system. It is made by Painless Wiring. I know there are others that will do the same thing.

 

[RanchMan]

I found this info - can't promise it's correct or not, but I don't have any reason not to believe it.

Of course, just like anything, just because one parent company "makes" a number of items, it doesn't mean they are all of equivalent quality/specs, so just keep that in mind.

<font color=blue>Their are only a handfull of major auto battery manufactures who OEM them for all other names. The biggest being Johnson Controls, Exide Technologies and Delphi. So don't get suckered into thinking your getting a "superior" product when all your really getting is ripped off. Use this new found knowledge... and keep your money.

Johnson Controls makes: Interstate, Optima, ProStart, TrueStart, Duralast, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Honda Eveready, Energizer, Power Connection, DieHard, Equalizer, Kirkland Signature, EverStart, Motorcraft batteries and dozens of others.

Exide makes: Champion, Brylite, Deta, Dunlop, Dynex, Endurance, Centra, Fulmen, GNB, Marshall, Napa, Pacific Chloride, Marathon, Sonnenschein, Orbital, Stowaway, Tudor, Sprinter,Yuasa and dozens of others.

Delphi makes: ACDelco, Amoco, Atlas, BlueStar, Delkor, Double Eagle, Dura-Power, Ford, Freedom, IntelleGuard, Sams Club, Shell, Western Auto, Advance Auto, International, Dynavolt and dozens of others. </font color=blue>

As for my personal "luck" - Champion is the only battery I've had "good luck" with (all the ones I've had actually lasted for the longer than their advertised "lifespan.") "Bad Luck" includes stock "Dodge" (whoever makes that), Die Hard, Interstate (worst), and even those pricey "Red top" Optimas (2 of them).

As a side note, although others above have apparently had better luck than me, (based on their posts above), I'll never put a "dual battery" setup on another one of my vehicles again.

I've tried several different systems (including the Painless Wiring 40103 setup) and there has always been an issue with parasitic draw. And, no, none of my problems has ever had to do with "improper wiring".

If you're set on having 2 batteries, I believe a simple "switch" between the two - no solenoids, the old manual type - is the least likely to cause problems as long as you never use "A+B" for starting OR charging. (There are problems associated with A+B setups even with the manual switch, with or without an <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.surepower.com/isolators.html>isolator</A>.)

I spent (sunk is more accurate /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif) a lot of money in to the "dual battery" setups - always caused FAR more headaches than it ever solved. IMHO, you'd be far better to just get a the highest amperage battery you can fit in the vehicle. If you're concerned about a dead battery, get one of those portable "car jumpers" (like they sell @ Harbor Freight, Northern Tools, etc.) They work great. If you have lots of accessories (winch, etc.), I'll parrot the high-amp alternator comment (along with the big battery). Just my $.02. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[bgott]

In high amp applications like winches I've always had the best luck running an 8D battery. That's one of those huge heavy equipment batteries. I don't know if they are rated for deep cycle but they will last for years being abused. As a matter of fact I usually got them out of a junk pile and had to cast new posts on them to use them. That's back in the days when I was running junk and wasn't bothered by blowing a couple of holes in the bed with a torch and using all thread to hold it down.

 

[Ozarker]

Where to mount is always a tough question. Some pickups can be set up with dual batteries using OEM parts. My 82' Chevy Diesel 4X4 came factory equipped with two batteries. Baring that, an RV supply or Off Road supply should have aux battery mounting kits to fit your application.