Duel Battery Quote Prado 150 series

Hi jim I would expect to be paying around $600 fitted depends on what battery you use . give TjM carrum downs a call speak to craig.

Maybe dual batteries would be better than those duel batteries which fight each other.

Hi Jim,

As a bit of an idea for the cost of purchasing/installing a dual battery system you would roughly be looking at -
Aux battery tray: 150.00
Decent 100 A/H battery: 300.00
Wiring, fuses etc: 100.00
DC charger: 550.00
Labour: say around 200.00

Sorry don't know of anyone in Vic for the purchase or install work.

Cheers
Howard

I installed a second battery in my daughter's 3 litre 2015 Prado 150. We were limited by space - could only fit a 10" battery tray on the drivers side, so opted to use an Optima 55Ah aux battery. I have no idea whether the newer 2.8L update Prado is any different.

But there are lots of options and the sky is the limit. For a basic system, the costs of parts is similar to what Howard has posted above, but I expect labour to be more than $200. I personally believe a DC-DC charger is unnecessary in a hot environment under the bonnet and simply used a $100 Redarc isolator on my daughter's Prado. Low charging voltages are OK in a hot environment.

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Hi Jim,

It is a bit like a 'Piece of String'. The cost will depend on how simple or complex it is.
And that will depend on just what you wish the system to achieve. Are you simply running a fridge in the back of the Prado or are you planning on supplying 12vdc to a caravan or camper trailer? A little more info would help to achieve a good answer.

I am not familiar with Frankston auto-elecs but ARB Dandenong would be reliable but not the cheapest. They would be able to give you a quotation as it is a standard job for them.

If it is a 2.8Ltr then your options are limited as they have gone to an ECU charging system in that model, though they appear to not using the smart charge functionality as others do, they appear to emulate the temperature compensated alternator used on the previous model at this time.

Some are presently using either a DCDC charger setups, others have been trailing the new Traxide unit with good results.

If you have a 3Ltr model then can use a VSR with booster diode.

I would suggest you check out pradopoint.com as there is a lot of information available there.

We have a 150 Prado and fitted a 105 AH Thumper in the back as from memory all that would fit in the engine bay was about a 50 AH, far too small for bush camping. It has a jump starting ability and will run a 40-50L fridge for 4 days. We also had a chip put in that allowed all of the alternator's power to be available.

However it sits in the back. We took the rear seats out as we didn't and would not use them.

Cost for the wiring up and the Thumper was about $1000- $1200. Incredibly enough one of the best additions.

Di

Exactly what we said. Have had it for almost 7 years and it is what the manufacturer say. Our view; correct. Engel 40 litre.

Di

Thank you for all your help much appreciated.

Jim, another option is to get an Auto electrician to wire up an Anderson Plug from your starter Battery to under the Passenger seat. Then Get an Optima Deep Cycle battery off Ebay and fit it into a plastic tool box (Festool orbital sander box is perfect) and it jams nicely under the seat. Get your Auto Electrician to fit the necessary switching gear and 12v outlets to the box and the Anderson plug to connect up to the permanent wire. This setup is hugely cheaper than an off the shelf branded item. If you have a second vehicle, you can put the first wire mentioned into that car and move battery from car to car. Also no heat issues. Also buy a C-Teck Battery Charger/ manager off ebay and when your second battery is not in use it is connected to the mains on the C-Teck system. My Optima is 13 years old. I bought a Optima D31A in 2015 for $380 and a C-Tek MXS for $109 for my son in law, the Auto Elect was $120 in 2004, so you would have to get a quote . Good Luck !