Dual Battery advices

"that will last 7 years or more"??
Can't wait. I'v got my money ready too!!

"any good quality brands "
Trojan & Caterpillar both make good batteries (amoung others) that with regular maintainence & conservative use can last 7 years. Which would suit your application? I have no idea as you have given little info on the setup of your vehicle & besides I'm no expert ;-)
Cheers Craig........

This must be in the top five most asked questions on the forum.

Nick, a standard set-up from Redarc, ARB or whatever will do you, to isolate the aux battery.
As far as type, consider AGM
For knowledge on several other options and opinions, do a search and you will find 38 pages of threads
CJ

Just my two bobs worth. If it's going to be under the bonnet, get a good quality Hybrid battery, eg one that has a deep cycle capability along with high cranking amps such as exide extreme or similar.

Yeah 7 years might be far fetched but not impossible :-).

Anyways for more details, i have all the setup ready to go, including isolator, battery box etc and i plan to put the 2nd battery in the hilux tray so it can double as dual battery and portable battery when not in use by taking it off the tray or when i am using the ute for work so it wont get damaged.

After clocking up hours of researches on battery types on this forum and the internet i feel i am not getting anywhere just excess information overload plus with so many brands out there both inferior and good quality. So far i know i want 120ah or higher battery and also know there is several types of AGM batterys - for standby use, cranking use and cycling applications.

So which type of AGM battery will suit my need best, mainly to run the 60l evakool fridge and to jump start the ute should the situation comes up, i am leaning toward deep cycling AGM battery but does it mean it can be still used to jump start the ute? Or will jump starting a deep cycle AGM battery cause further damages in effect shortening its life? There might be information about this on the forum, but i may have missed it or overlooked it.

And the brands i have came across as reputable is Trojan and Fullriver plus few others, but i would like to hear directly from the members and their experience or recommendation instead of those coming from salesmen.

Many thanks in advance

Nick

Trojan is about as good as you can get, but not cheap. However 7 Years is a tall ask for any battery, which gets hot, vibrates and no doubt will get drained and even boil.

Lot of people running around with CAT batteries under their bonnets. I have 2 myself. 5 years old and running well. Excellent warranty backup as well. Live in a pretty isolated area so need reliable batteries. Definately a lot better than some of the other well known brands. Thats my experience. If others get a good long run out of their batteries then who do you listen too? Maybe get to know the dealer near you and ask lots of questions AND make sure the warranty is worth the paper it is written on!
Cheers

Hi Nick,

a battery is only as good as the charger - and that's the downside if you only rely on the alternator for charging a battery which sees a good discharge on a regular basis. That's true for all types, starter batteries, AGM, AGM deep cycle etc.
AGM deep cycle is the way to go, starts your car and runs your fridge for years.
Looking after your battery can extend its life dramatically, so you should get 5 years minimum out of it providing the charging side of things is right.
Once you have your dual battery system up and running, install a voltmeter so you get a rough idea about the battery's state of charge.
Down the track you might want to look into solar which is simply wired in parallel to the battery - no change of the existing wiring is necessary.
A good solar regulator works ideal in connection with the alternator and provides topup charging on a regular basis.

If you like to get in touch with us for more information just hit this link and then our website where you can see the contact form.

cheers, Peter

Lifeline batteries are very high quality, but are expensive (GPL-31T Lifeline AGM Battery 105Ah $498.75 from Batteries Direct). I have two 100AH Lifelines in my Camper Trailer.

These batteries have a 5 year pro-rated warranty with a 1 year free replacement period when installed in Marine or RV applications.

I have no connection with Lifeline or Batteries Direct.

In my 5th year for a Fullriver AGM in a lawn mower, 5th year for some 120AH Fullriver AGM's in a boat, they are all maintained by a Ctek charger and alternator occassionally. (Except the lawn mower) I expect to get at least 8 years for the AGM's in the boat because they are well maintained and not run low. I have 10 year old Sonnenschein GEL's in my garage still going well.

Member 127
Google Australian direct
I got a 120 AH agm for 368 delivered.
Cheers
Trevor