Agm northstar ... wall charging , is it really necessary

I have a 2017 trd off road with 130 alternator, I do city driving everyday , and was wondering if anybody in my situation had to use a wall charger like ctek or noco, once a month to maintain the battery ? Tia

 

I’m 2+ years in with my NorthStar. I just let the truck do what it does.

 

a bit of a side answer, just showing you adjustability with charging levels on 3rd gens.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vf-tuner-for-the-3-5l-tacoma-agm-tuning.689652/

 

i don’t have one in my Tacoma yet, but I put a large AGM battery in my GX and used a CTek on it. But my truck might sit for 2-3 days and had a fridge in it.
I think with that alternator and daily use, you should be find

 

The newer version of OV tune (VF tuner) allows the alternator output to be adjusted/increased to better accommodate AGM batteries. That's another possible solution with other benefits. I'll probably do a tune eventually whether I run an AGM or not when my factory battery dies.

 

I'll do it every few weeks and right before I go camping since I run a fridge off of mine. I also use it if the camp site has power so I dont have to worry about running the fridge and I can use the bed outlet to charge stuff if need be. Its like a poor man's solar generator to charge devices.

 

If you are driving it every day you shouldn’t have to do anything with it.

 

AGM's are relatively tolerant in general of charging 'abuse'. My oldest one is about 11 years old now(Sears Diehard branded) and still has good capacity. It's been in 3 different trucks now. The only thing I do is do a charge a couple times a year with one of the nicer AGM specific battery chargers. I don't know if that makes any difference at all practically. I do it because I can more than anything.

 

AGM’s require higher voltage (14.4) for complete charging, my Taco puts out 13.9 so if I want to get the most life out of my battery I should get OV Tune and bump it up to 14.4 Volts. Since I got my AGM battery free and OV Tune is so damn expensive I’ll just throw my battery on the charger once a month and call it good.

 

...with other significant benefits says I. Good luck in your choice @Widebodysociety ... but if you ever wanted more our of your trucks power and improved gear selection now is your chance!

 

true true but the other benefits are worth your consideration.

 

There are several OVTune owners that offer services that are much more affordable to get you tuned with support for AGMs while it's updated if you ever need help. Just post in your regional thread or BST to request assistance. Even inquiring in the main VFTuner thread would get you a lead I'd bet: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vf-tuner-for-the-3-5l-tacoma.662948/page-370#post-24455152

 

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

 

If you every take a roadtrip to coastal VA I am here for ya! I can also work with you if you purchase the VFTuner kit but need help with creating a tune. We have a great community of folks and efforts coming together!

 

Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions