Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice

I accept that challenge! Healthier now than when working, doing my best to keep milking that cash cow.

 

If you do go AGM, it's recommended that you have the alternator's output boosted, or at least trickle charge it every month or so.

I have an AGM and have done none of those things, so far, but I intend to get with the program eventually.

Otherwise, it seems most batteries are actually made by the same people, so some of the generic store brands are the same as name brands. A little googling will help you find out which is which.

 

I proactively changed my stock battery this summer with an Interstate. (no plug, just what I've always used for replacement).
7yrs and 40k miles.

 

+1 to this. 3rd gens require a tune to change charging voltage which kind of sucks when us 2nd gen'rs can do it with a diode physically. But yeah boosting voltage will keep it healthy or trickle charging to full capacity every now and again.

Benefit of AGM over lead acid for winch & lights is having more amp hours available and greater depth of discharge. AGM are also more resistant to vibrations for offroading but I'm sure tons of people wheel very hard on lead acids.

4 years on any battery will be about time for replacement as general maintenance if you don't want to get stranded when far from home. I just bought a NOCO jumper pack as insurance to this since prices have come down a bit, at least that way I can get home if I'm by myself somewhere in the boonies.

 

Are AGM batteries the type that are ruined if they get totally drained?

 

2-3 wet heavy. We were just starting to see our road again. At least temps are warming.

Last year at this time my battery was 5 years old. I had the same concerns with the Moab trip coming up. I got an Odyssey AGM. I know they cost more but I don't regret it. I got mine from Auto Zone. They had to order it, but they got it in a couple of days. With your trip coming up it will be one less thing to worry about.
Battery shopping is worse than tire shopping.

Thanks again for the diode.
I also carry a NOCO.

 

Both lead acid and AGM batteries can be damaged irreperably if fully fully drained. Some of them are "deep cycle" (which are typically also the "marine" variants but not always) and those can be drained much deeper or to zero without the same fear of damage.

Lithium is a whole other topic but generally the new fangled ones can be drained very deep or to zero without physical damage. "Waking them back up" is again another story but can often be done if you are handy with electronics.

Neither of these things I would take as 100% gospel truth because batteries have all sorts of fun gray areas, but as general rules I think this is accurate. I think way too much about batteries...

Glad the diode is still kicking for ya! Odyssey are good batteries, made by the same company now that also makes Northstar and the X2Power that are sold at Batteries plus. All the same guts now, different colors outside, all good batteries.

 

Put in a X2power 27f agm.

I ran the stock battery for a while with my fridge but swapped after a while for way more run time and before it became a problem

everyone gets worked up about the voltage but honestly it’s overblown. You might get 7.5 years out of your battery instead of 7. It’s not worth it making a big deal out of it like people do

personally I think the hood mounted solar panel is a better solution. Then it can charge anytime, and it’ll input far more power.

 

@rubbersidedown I have the X2 Power AGM from battles plus. It's about 2.5 years old with no issues so far. I have the voltage boosted in my tune now but ran stock voltage for awhile before the voltage boost was available in tunes. Worked well when I had to winch 2 trucks up hells gate back to back. Winch was hot after that exercise lol.

 

Dan, you're definitely correct. One less thing to worry about. I'm gonna start shopping. Had not looked at Odyssey before but will now.

I was checking out Optima batteries based on decent reputation. Looks like the YellowTop would be the best fit in their lineup. Documentation states 13.2 to 13.8 for float charge and 15.6 for rapid charge. Would they require an alternator output boost? I'm reading that our alternators max at 13.8v output. I don't really want to fork out a few hundred for a tune right now just to get an extra 0.5v.

 

My plan was just to do a trickle charge once a month or so, but I haven't yet. Mine has around 2 years and 45K miles so far.

Some people I talked with really seem to think you need to get the booster, but others seemed to think an occasional charging would be enough. I don't know enough about it to have a strong opinion.

 

I'm with @Shellshock , don't sweat it too much guys. The difference in longevity is probably negligible, you won't do any harm by not boosting but it may just die a month or two sooner. Not worth forking out the coin unless you are already doing a tune for other reasons (in my opinion).

 

I’ve also got one of the noco packs. It’s gotten quite a bit of use this year and the only thing it couldn’t start was a tractor, but the battery was shot. It sure tried though.

considering getting a

$238 gbx75 2500A 12V ultrasafe portable lithium jump starter, car battery booster pack, USB-C powerbank charger, and jumper cables for up to 8.5-liter gas and 6.5-liter diesel engines

gbx75 so I’ve got a usb c plug on it

also the noco cases are pretty nice if you don’t have one of those and are just using the bag it came with

 

Ive been running a Toyota Trustart 27F with enhanced alternator output for years now on the fun truck. No issues.

 

The battery in ALF is 5 years old. The bat in Kimm'r's RAV4 is 7. This post has given me pause. Mmmm.......

In your case, I wouldn't worry about it. Worse comes to worst, I have jumper cables.

 

Isn’t that a normal lead acid battery?

 

I just bought a Walmart Sure Start (?) AGM, mostly because of my solar setup. I've heard good things about them.

When I bought, just in Dec., you can't find a group 27 battery anywhere.

 

For those who know…. The axel o doom!

 

I've bought Farm & Fleet batteries for the last 20 years and they've served me well. As was stated, most batteries are made by just a few manufacturers. Optima is owned by Johnson Controls/Clarios, but they have a dedicated factory in Mexico making just the Optima batteries. Thinking I may try out that YellowTop AGM battery from them...

 

Axel Foley - Wikipedia
Detective Axel Foley is a fictional character, portrayed by Eddie Murphy, and is the titular protagonist of the Beverly Hills Cop film series. He is ranked No. 55 on Empire magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Axle - Wikipedia
Terminology On cars and trucks, several senses of the word axle occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking, a shaft that rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an axle or axle shaft.


Just saying, not judging.

Cheers!