2 battery power setup

Hey everyone. I have a 97 Tacoma that I have added quite a few items on to that draw a lot of power. I am looking to add a 2nd battery to the rig and am curious what the best route to take when doing this along with extra items I need buy in order to make them charge together but power separate items. Also, mounting tips appreciated!

Power supply needed for:

Dual LED off-road lights
Warn ZX10S
ARB single compressor

 

I have everything needed to install this into my truck. I just need to get home to do (in Brazil for work)

This is the system I bought

https://www.**************/products/diy-dual-battery-system

There are definitely cheaper ones out there, I’m a Mariner and don’t have much time at home so my time is valuable to me hence why I spent the money for an already complete set.

I also bought a waterproof Bussman fusebox on EBay

Here it is...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-...nn-Off-Road-/113260613934?txnId=1903374172001

 

Here’s a link on a diy but I found a guy on EBay that makes them. I think I paid $140. (See link above)

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-build-and-install-a-bussmann-rtmr-fuse-relay-block.399454/

 

Here's my dual battery setup. The battery controller is IBS, the batteries are

$378 Odyssey 35 PC1400 T Automotive and LTV Battery

Odyssey 35 PC1400's, and the battery box is columbia overland. Unfortunately I don't think Columbia Overland is in business anymore, but if you were interested in that mounting setup I'm sure a custom fabricator could build one fairly easily.

 

Ruff stuff sells battery boxes for Optima batteries.

 

If this is all you have, IMO you don't really need a 2nd battery.

None of those things are items that you run all the time, and are really only going to be running with the engine running anyway. As long as your alternator is up to the task, IMO, you should be fine with the one battery. As for the winch (min of 650 cca's iirc), you should be fine with a single battery setup as well.

I know people who run ARB/Dometic fridges (plus various other junk) all night on a single battery and don't come close to loosing the battery.

It's really when you get into camera gear, pumps and other "overlander" stuff when you're going to be stationary for extended times that a dual battery comes into play.

If you just want to have a 2nd battery purely for backup, that's a different story, but I don't think the equipment you listed really "needs" 2 batteries.

 

imho... all of the electronics to control battery charging is "nice" but it is one more thing to go wrong that you cant fix in the field. I have for years used a quality constant duty selonoid that closes only when the vehicle is running. The only issue I have had is when the aux battery shorted a cell and the alternator happily just kept charging both batteries eventually overcharging the "good" battery. Short of that, this has been flawless.

In addition, certain year Tacomas allow an easier dual battery installation like the one pictured above. The difficult installs require the battery to be located on the passenger inner fender but the weight requires you to re-enforce the fender.

 

With that said... I currently have the stock alternator. What higher output one should I look to replace it with just to ensure im getting the most out of it?

 

Not sure which engine you have, but use the search feature top right corner of the page. There are several Denso +130amp options. Use alternator upgrade, Denso, GM, Cadillac, 140amp, and/or Jaguar in your search content. There are wire harness adapters on Amazon, or there have also been articles showing DIY adapters.

I have a 130 amp Denso alt from a 1989 Jaguar to go in my 2.7L when I get up the ambition.

Example search:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/search/7731824/?q=alternator+upgrade&t=post&o=date&c[node]=4

 

If your looking into an aftermarket alternator, look into Mean Green alternators. Great company with excellent customer service!

 

/
are their products direct bolt ons?

 

I haven’t received mine yet but I believe so. I’ve done the research and an overwhelming majority of people who went with Mean Green have been pleased.

 

NVM.. I just read their site. Thanks for the info . this looks to be a good option

 

There are a few options out there. Before going and throwing money at it, have you noticed that your current alt is underpowered?

 

Not to jack your thread but my problem is that I’m far from an electrician. I’m considering on having a proffessional do the work but I wouldn’t even no where to look. I asked my local off-road shop and they were hesitant to do it. I wonder if 4WD Parts would do it?

 

Be really careful about putting 2 batteries in the stock location. I would recommend against it. My main support and fender well is bent and cracked from the extra weight. My driver side headlight points at the sky and it's adjusted as low as it can go. I've had this set up since November 2016. I do offroad my truck but not a huge amount.

I'd also recommend against Optimas, especially for a house battery...and I wouldn't recommend my set up below in general. I've changed it a bunch since I took this picture. I currently have a CTECH D250SA as a DC-DC/solar charge controller and got rid of the battery doctor. I also have a red top and blue top now. I might get rid of the blue top and replace it with a true deep cycle battery and not AGM.

I'm going to move both my batteries to the bed pretty soon and take the extra weight off that corner. I'll probably put a new wind shield washer bottle in that corner since my current one is a quart size nalgene bottle with the pump jammed into a whole I drilled in the bottom of the bottle.

As it's been said it doesn't sound like you really need a dual battery system. If you decide to add a battery spend some time on expedition portal and youtube. There's more bad info out there than good info so really really take your time.

 

oh god no, don't have them do it. They excel at installing truck nuts and bolt-on lift kits.

There are shops out there that specialize in this type of thing.

You might try a car audio specialist, too.

That said, you don't really need to be an electrician unless you are designing and fabricating your own custom system. Most of the commercial kits out there will have detailed instructions. As long as you know what righty-tighty, lefty-loosy means, you should be fine.

 

Yeah. I am also of the opinion that putting two expensive heavy ass SLA (or AGM) batteries in the engine compartment is probably not the best use of resources.

There aren't many reasons to run a winch with the engine off, and the alternator should handle that fine. A 12v compressor and LEDs are almost nothing.

I put a 100AH LiFePo4 battery in my bed. Weighs 27lbs and will run my viair compressor intermittently for months, and my refrigerator continuously for a least a week. I just take it out and charge it a couple times a year, or put a solar panel on my roof when I'm at work.

*edit, Li batterys are rated for 2000 cycles, and 80% of their capacity is useable, unlike sla/agm.

 

Yeah, the only reason to run a winch without the engine running is because it won't start, lol... And even then, you'll probably only get like 10 feet of pull...

A (relatively) easy solution would be to run a spare deep cycle battery and wire it to the vehicle charging system with a separate voltage regulator. Then you can run whatever the hell you want off the deep cycle and not worry about charging it. I think a completely separate 2nd battery is the way to go anyway because if you do drain the spare, you can still start your truck.

If you want to get all fancy, find yourself a crapped out battery from a Prius. I've heard of people taking a dead Prius (or other hybrid/E-vehicle) battery and repurposing it for RV use. Those things (even tesla batteries) are just made with a bunch of glorified ~C sized cells. When the batteries go bad, it's usually only because 1 or 2 cells are bad. You can take it apart, test the cells, and re-assemble it into whatever capacity you want/need.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.