Second battery on 3rd gen

Did a quick search and didn't see much specific to 3rd gens on here. So has anybody been successfull in doing this yet??

 

Off-Grid engineering makes a second battery kit. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/off-grid-engineering-dual-battery-trays-wiring-kits.420680/

I've seen someone put the two batteries right next to each other. The problem with the off-grid-engineering kit is that the second battery goes where alot of folks like to put the ARB compressor.

 

Supposedly the new generic side by side kit he now offers works on 3rd gens. Waiting till someone trys

 

2 group 34 fit in the factory location with a custom tray, it's tight but they will fit and this alowed me to fit the twin arb compressor under the hood as well. I do plan to offer a kit but it will be a while befor I get it into production.

 

That looks great! Where did you order that kit?

 

Don't think I have any use for a compressor, but regardlesss I do like the idea more of having a side-by-side kit, just to keep everything in one place

 

Both batteries on same side = taco lean??

 

Sealed AutoCraft Platinum in access cab, fused at front battery and at 2nd battery

 

Same thing I was thinking.
I love the kit from off grid. but that now takes the spot where I'd put the compressor, mind you I like having the weight of battery balanced one on each side.

That being the case I already decided ARB compressor inside (since I'd also rather it be inside for sake of less likely to get wet and not heat up as much.
Problem is I was planning to go under the seat, not enough space under the seat so now I'm thinking maybe one of the storage boxes behind the rear seats?

If you have a need for dual battery I'm guessing you go off road? Unless you're doing some huge sound system.
If you're going off road compressor is very useful since if you're off road you should be airing down? Compressor is great for airing back up.

 

Just a prototype, hopfully dissent offroad will offer the kit in the near future.
I decided to give the optima a try to see how they hold up. The main reason is they are easily replaceable almost anywhere! If one were to crap out on me during a trip I know I could easily get it replaced.

 

arent Optimas bad for running your whole vehicle off of?
I thought they were only meant for more of a deep cycle type application. Where they will be completely drained then recharged, not just used for starting and factorty accessories

 

They have three color batteries for different applications, I used the blue top for my aux and yellow for my main battery. Optimas web site has all the specs.
Typically a deep cycle is not used for the main battery because of the low cca, the yellow top is kind of a hybrid. I used a ctek dual battery smart charger which I feel is needed to provide the propper charge for the agm batteries and so far is working great!

 

I'm thinking that I can just bring along a electric air pump to plug into the bed AC plug in, instead of going through the hassle/cost/noise of compressor.
Basically just want a double battery set up just for preparedness and peace of mind when I'm out in the woods. Also I plan on having a winch set up at some point

 

Side question. On a stock setup without extra batteries, about what voltage do you need to start the car so you dont run the risk of not being able to crank?

 

Depends on several things. But most battery manufacturers consider 12.0v with no load a completely dead battery

 

When installing an aux battery, is there a problem with keeping the factory battery as the starter?

And what are the diferences in functionality between the chargers? From what I can tell, the blue sea looks pretty basic. National luna looks like the best value. The CTEK can do multi stage charging and has a temp monitor with smartpass, but is more expensive.

Hmmm....

 

are these batteries run together or parallel with a switch to activate it if one dies?

 

Together with a solenoid to automatically isolate them when voltage drops (engine is off) and a manual override

 

I've got an aux battery in the bed right now, but will be moving it into the storage area behind the rear seats in the coming weeks. Measured it and it should be a perfect fit for my aux group 24. Will be connecting to the main battery/electrical via 200amp solenoid with a switch override (full disconnect, connect when running, forced connect), 200amp circuit breakers, 2GA wire, a couple fuse boxes and some other goodies. Actually quite excited about doing this!

 

Blue Sea Add-a-Battery and Offgrid Engineering battery tray