What's there to know before upgrading to 31M Battery?

Not sure if KISS implies buy once cry once or stick to stock size since I won't be adding a whole lot for the time being.

 

A term used for building stuff Keep It Simple Stupid. the simpler it is, the easy to fix when out in the middle of nowhere or the lower the chances of something going wrong or breaking.
one battery, you worry about the one battery being charged, two batteries, you worry about two batteries being charged and the equipment need to switch power between the two of them. Now if you have a lot of stuff your running off the battery, then a second battery can be worth the risk, cause it should be a minor risk in everything working.

so your question is, how much drain will there be on the battery? Running and overnight?

 

I'm simple and I'm stupid if that helps. But more seriously, the most drain ill every use without the vehicle running is to pickup firewood or something in the middle of the night and need more light output using a light bar or a couple of bed mounted lights. Not an offroader for multiple day trips, just the occasional busy work. Just torn whether or not I should get use out of the cage I have and spend the extra $100 or go with stock size which will still do what I need it to for the most part.

 

Imo it sounds like an x2power 24f would be just fine for you. It’ll fit in the stock spot, weigh less, and you can sell the cage to recoup some funds. My .02.

 

Your .02 is greatly valued. I promised to give away the cage though in the event I don't use it since it was a pay it forward gift.

 

The 31m Batteries get really close to the oil filler neck on the 3rd gens. Some people have had it it contact the battery and be broken off (maybe that was only dual batteries?). One solution is to replace the upper portion of the filler neck with 12185-38011 and oil seal 12196-38010, which is shorter. There are also threads for the filler cap directly on the valve cover if it does break off.

Issue:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/engine-oil-fill-spout-on-truck.505419/

Solution:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/engine-oil-fill-spout-on-truck.505419/page-4#post-24315905

 

Sell it all! Sounds like you really don’t need it so why put all that extra weight on your already shitty weak fender/whee well.

Or keep it separate, not wired to the truck and get a solar panel to charge on trips so it can separately power a fridge or whatever other crap you bring

 

Lots of good info regarding the Optima and X2. Where does an Odyssey fit into the spectrum?

 

if you have not been there and done that, there is no stupid. this is how we dont make mistakes that others before us have made

 

Northstar and Odyssey batteries are solid, one of the remaining few that actually make good products.

I throw a charger on mine maybe once a year or once every 6 months and mine has served me well since 2016, granted I'm using a 65 series battery, but the quality is what is important here, as well as sufficient cranking amperage.

 

I run an x2 on my samurai with what must be the smallest alternator on earth. No issues at all with long winch pulls. Great batteries!

 

Running a 34R Odyssey in mine. I was swayed after we started using them in our "Problem child" patrol cars (typically the ones with every damn piece of equipment mounted to them that don't get used every tour)