Battery Upgrade Qs

Replaced mine with an AutoZone Gold Duralast. 3 year replacement warranty. Used a 20% off coupon. Took 10 mins to install the new one. No issues.

 

I had my battery health tested and alternator. Both are healthy. But my truck is still having trouble starting some days. Takes a few tries. I have my own jumping kit and I can push start worst case its a manual.

 

I replace them about every 4 years with a Toyota TrueStart aka Interstate made by Johnson Controls. The dealer gives a nice warranty. In fact I replaced my 2018 battery at 4 years and heading to the dealer to get a replacement for my Wife's 4Runner. I always run a trickle charger every so often to keep it going and its good maintenance.

 

In my experience, those auto parts store battery testers are not as sensitive to the early signs of battery failure as an attentive owner is. Your battery is telling you it's time to change it - do it now, or be surprised later.

My 2019 factory battery was a tiny bit slow to start on the first day of a trip to the mountains last summer. I was nervous about this so I mapped a route to the nearest small town with an auto parts store, thinking I'd buy a new battery and have it with me just in case.

Morning of day 2 I bought it, and upon trying to start the truck in the auto parts store parking lot the factory battery died. So I ended up swapping in the new one right there. That was a close call!

 

I change my battery every five years even if it's still working fine. Been doing this for 30+ years and never had a battery issue. I buy the dealer/stock battery.

 

Yeah, me too. I've never understood why people roll the dice on such a critical component that is in the grand scheme of things pretty fucking cheap to purchase. Batteries rarely give up the ghost in your driveway.

 

These new vehicles are sensitive to voltage so I don't risk changing from stock.

 

Uh, all 12 volt batteries are 12 volt batteries. All auto batteries in North America are made by less than a handful of manufacturers. All lead core batteries are pretty much all the same except for size dimensions. Manufacturers use different case colors and add stickers according to the buyers/retailers requests. Paying extra for such things as name (Toyota/Nissan/Honda/GM/FORD) on sticker, case color, and buying from a dealer is unnecessary and false performance or quality. It's your money you choose. Just the facts.

 

I disagree. Two 27F house batteries in the trailer and a 24F in the Taco. Never any issues with my Interstate batteries. Northern Wyoming climate and traveled from South Padre, TX to Northern Montana across all 4 seasons. From some of the posts I have read I wonder if quality control is an issue because some people hate hate hate Interstate batteries. My experience has been completely opposite.

@microsnook I would seriously consider a BlueSea mLVD or something similar if you are running a fridge off of your start battery. Depending on the ambient temps and what I have my Iceco VL65 set to, I can drain a pair of 27F house batteries from 13.1 volts to less than 10.8 in a day if I am not charging. You don't want your start battery getting lower than 12 volts if you are in the boonies. I would seriously consider protecting or isolating your fridge from your start battery.

** Edit: sorry @microsnook, I just read the entire thread and saw you only use when vehicle is running. Leaving up my comment for public shaming and a reminder to read the entire damn thread. Please ignore my comment.

 

Nah, this is great. Thank you. If I do run the fridge, its not for long. So my statement still stands. Everyone has a lot of opinions about batteries LOL this is funny.
I'm considering the Dakota Lithium 12V 60Ah. This one has 1,000 CCA. And its lighter and charges with 80A or less from alternator. Its expensive but lightweight and I think it would be a good fit. Is this a ridiculous purchase or something I should consider?
I saw someone else in this thread mentioned the dakota lith.

Cheers everyone thank for your answers.

 

for me the OEM batts last exactly three years, just put a "Die Hard Gold " in, it may outlast me at this point