Should I dual battery?

@2ayne what brand & model Group 24 battery is rated at 101 aH? 24's are usually only 75 aH.

 

I thought the factory battery for TRD with tow-package is 27F, did they change for 3rd Gen?

 

Mine has the tow package. That’s what’s in my 2016 OR Access Cab.

 

@2ayne As I suspected that 101 ah is misleading. Its stated as 101ah at 1 Hr and not the standard at 20 Hr. Utilization of the 1 Hr rate is a way for the company to over inflate the aH to make the battery appear better than it is to the unsupectiing.

The way I understand the difference between a battery 100ah rate at a 1 hour rate, and a 100ah hour battery rated at a 20 hour rate, is (if I understand it right) is that a battery rated at the 20 hour rate will deliver lower amperage over a longer time. It is also possible that the 20 hour rated battery can't deliver 100 amps for 12 mins (80% of 60 mins) but will deliver 5 amp for 20 hours. The 1 hour rated battery might be able to deliver 100 amps for 12 mins, but not 5 amp for 20 hours.

I suspect that battery is in the 50-65 aH range @ 20 Hr

 

I’d get one of these. You can use at home during a power outage or take it with you in any vehicle on a trip. For an LED light and a fan, this is more than enough for what you need. I’d charge it with the bed inverter. You can also buy solar panel charger for it.

Edit: There are several models to choose. This is the mid range.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D5RVMA...t=&hvlocphy=9007220&hvtargid=pla-308511758090

 

I bought a used one at an REI Garage Sale, I wonder if anyone else has experience using this with their bed charger?

 

That’s some good info right there. Thank you @perkj! I originally just bought the battery to build in a box with usb chargers, 12v socket and an on/off switch to test things at home light LEDs and things before I installed them and basically just to play with.

 

The problem with the yeti is that they really don't take a charge well from anything that isn't solar. It's what kept me from going that route. I might eventually even use some solar, but I want it to charge off the alternator.

 

Northstar makes a 24f that will fit without modification that is dual purpose (starting and deep cycle) that will provide a ton of cranking power and comperable Ah capacity compared to the larger Optima 31. Odyssey makes a 34r dual purpose that fits and is rated at 68Ah, great battery but expensive. Your Everstart battery is fine as an accessory battery, it's rated at 65Ah @20hr and if it's in good shape should comfortably deliver about 400-500watts per full charge. Take a look at the wattage of the devices you want to run and multiply by hours of use. is it below 500 watts? Way more? You can also bring a volt meter along and make sure your starting battery stays above 12.1v at rest (50% state of charge) and you should have no problem starting. Too many options and sky's the limit on how much you can spend, just need enough

 

I just put a trolling motor battery (use it in my canoe) in the truck bed when camping.
(size 27 from sams for like $80) (and plastic box from Amazon for like $20)

Don't have any pictures, because its just a plastic box ratchet strapped in one corner of the bed while camping...

I did the 400W anytime inverter mod, and just use a large battery charger to charge it while driving. It seems to charge it back up in 6 or so hours of driving when I run it down pretty far (with a 20 amp battery charger).

When it is 0F outside, 12v heated blankets inside your sleeping bags is NIICCEEEE.
And it automatically gives you the protection of not running down your starting battery.

Its not fancy, but its cheap and effective, and it comes out of the truck when I don't need it...

 

Thanks! @buffalkill ! That’s useful info!
Yeah, I bought the Walmart battery a few months back to build a battery box with similar to this one I googled for reference.
Does the “anytime 400w mod” put a lot of stress on the cranking battery/alternator charging a battery like that?
What charger do you use @BigWhiteTRD ?

 

I really don't know why they limited it to 100W moving and 400W idle, and I don't think anybody has figured it out. Normal alternators power output is roughly linear to rpm, so the alternator output is expected to be dramatically higher at say 2k rpm vs 1k rpm, which makes it even more odd to limit to 100W moving and yet give 400W stationary. Of course there is more heat to reject too, but these have an internal fan which is producing alot more airflow at higher rpm (on airplanes usually run a cooling tube into the alternator). Yes there may be more loads driving for headlights and stuff like that, compared to idling, but it just doesn't make great sense. With a 130 amp alternator (rated max), I wouldn't worry too much about pulling 20 or 30 amps to a battery charger. Have to assume that they just didn't want people using saws and stuff while driving. There is no good reason to have a 130 alternator, it has to be that they selected a large alternator so that it will still make 30 amps or something like that near idle...

So I don't believe there is any significant stress to be concerned with using 400W while moving. (at least that is my personal take on it as an aerospace engineer with the data that is readily available.)

My charger is ancient craftsman that they don't sell anymore. I would probably do something like

Potek 2/10/20 Amp Speed Smart Battery Charger and Maintainer with 50-Amp Battery Clips

https://www.amazon.com/Potek-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-50-Amp/dp/B01KF7SLJO/

Another option is always to pull off power from the 7 pin trailer plug to charge battery. I believe that is fused at 25 or 30 amps, don't recall. But that required more mods for me, and i wasn't in the mood...