Ultimate 3rd Gen Dual Battery setup?

It has been a long and tiresome process. I am glad to finally be just about done with this endeavor. Figured it would be worthwhile to share if anyone is in the same boat as I.

It started with a dometic CFX45 and voltage drops. One thing led to another.

I'm running dual Northstar AGM batteries. Starter is a 31, Aux is a 34. Larger start battery since I never intended on rolling into dual batteries. I figured the 31 would hold me over.

I did upgrade to an SDHQ/DC Power high output alternator. She can push 270 amps. On top of that, voltage output was raised to 14.6-14.7 using vF Tuner. This is to accommodate the AGMs.






Both batteries are tied together/ managed by a

$430 Redarc BCDC1225D Dual Input 25A in-Vehicle DC Battery Charger

Redarc BCDC1225D. I picked up an Off Grid Engineering ultimate dual battery kit. It included everything you'd need for a simple dual setup. The BCDC is an awesome piece of kit. It maintains your AUX battery and has an MPPT function for solar. I'll get into that soon.

In addition to the BCDC, I opted to install an RK1260 Relay to the system. This allows me to cut input voltage to the BCDC when the truck ignition is turned off. This is important because of battery drain issues when attempting to use battery chargers (AC to DC). The BCDC senses an input, turns on and automatically wants to send all power to the AUX battery. Draining the start.





On the topic of battery charger, I opted for a NOCO Gen 5x2. A dual lead, 5 amp per lead smart charger. Each battery gets its own lead and I can independently control what each battery is getting. I stood around for 35 minutes trying to figure out where to mount it. Ended up drilling and tapping the OGE battery tie down 1/4x20 and bolting it down. Actually worked out perfect. Ran one of NOCOs AC port/extensions from the bumper to the charger for a nice clean look.

Moving on to solar. I chose a Renogy 100 watt panel. Mounted to the roof rack. Simple enough. Ran 10 awg to the BCDC. All connections made with Anderson Powerpole connectors. Love these things. Mounted 3 to the rack. One is panel 1 input. Panel 2 input (portable panel for extra wattage if need be) and power out. Next to that is a blue sea systems 25 amp circuit breaker. Aside from safety, it is used as a shut off when I do not want solar input. If I have the noco plugged in and it senses any other input, it will shut off. No Bueno. To combat that. Simply walk by and push the little button. Cuts power. Good to go.





The rest is fairly straightforward. Just some blue sea breakers, panels and fuse blocks. The next step is to install an SBI12 and a changeover Relay so that the excess solar will charge the start battery as well.

The main purpose behind all of this tomfoolery is to ensure that batteries stay topped off in extended periods where the truck won't be started. Definitely makes the camping trips easier. Is it all worth it from a price perspective? I'll find out. Sure does look cool though. That's all that matters, right?

 

Nice setup. This is the direction I’m headed as well. I’ve been running the OGE / Redarc dual setup for a couple years but next up is a 27F AGM starter with a tune to keep it topped up and then some flexible solar panels to the Redarc. Not gonna worry about shore power or an upgraded alternator.

 

Best part is, you can customize everything to suit your needs. How does the solar keep up with draw on the battery?

 

I’ll tell you once I’ve got it hooked up

The only thing drawing on my battery at camp is a Dometic fridge. Hoping 2 panels can keep that going either indefinitely or at least an easy 3-4 days.

 

That's what I'm going for as well. It doesn't pull a ton of power.

 

Wow, amazing write up.
I'll be honest, i understood about 45% of it. All the acronyms are new to me, but im gonna use this thread as my central hub for startn research.

I was gonna just get an isolator, but im hella interested in a custom setup now. Especially with the solar panels.

Thnks for the input!