Dual Battery input needed (1 Viewer)

[nutter]

@TexasCrane Got it, thanks for the info.

 

[HLN A55]

What was your decision on this? I'm currently in your dilemma and am thinking that I'll wait until March when the new Slee trays come out. That said, if you've gone another route, and it works, I'd be interested to hear.

 

[TexasCrane]

I've been in a holding pattern. Back at Christmas, I picked up a 100w solar panel. I've tested it and it will keep the battery charged while running the fridge in at least moderately warm weather (75 degrees) assuming it's sunny outside. I'm waiting to see what Slee does and if they don't come out with anything this spring, then I'll just get a local shop to fabricate something for me.

 

[SS100]

My experiences with the solar panel: when the trip involved driving (wheeling) for several hours a day (engine on, battery being charged by the alternator) setting up camp in the afternoon and then hitting the trail again mid morning, it would keep the battery charged with the fridge running (as it had really been fully charged by the alternator during the hours the truck was running)...

When the camping time was more extended, like 3 or 4 days in the same spot, the solar panels would keep the battery charged for the fridge to work properly as long as it was not too hot outside (80s) and/or there where no clouds... But if the temps rose above mid 90s or there was a cloudy sky, the battery would not be charged enough by the solar panel, needing some extra charging from the alternator (starting your engine for half an hour or so)...

In the end, I just got a Honda EU1000i Generator (small, very quiet and runs for about 7 hours with 1/2 gallon of gas) to power the fridge and lights when I stay more than two days straight in the same campground. The solar panel just was not enough for my needs due to the fact that if/when the battery went below cranking amp, the solar panel would take a long time to re-charge it to the necessary crancking power to start the engine (with the fridge disconnected), while a dual battery set up would give me immediate cracking power.

 

[nutter]

Despite the photo from Torfab, I do not know how it's possible to fit two group 34s in the stock location. Group 35s barely fit, and the 34s are even longer. The problem with the group 35s is that you have to use something like a red-top to get the CCA you need--deep cycle is not an option. I went down this path and am now giving up and putting a second battery where the PS reservoir was. There's a good write-up here: LX470 Family Adventure Rig

 

[pateshu]

Despite the photo from Torfab, I do not know how it's possible to fit two group 34s in the stock location. Group 35s barely fit, and the 34s are even longer. The problem with the group 35s is that you have to use something like a red-top to get the CCA you need--deep cycle is not an option. I went down this path and am now giving up and putting a second battery where the PS reservoir was. There's a good write-up here: LX470 Family Adventure Rig

Odyssey actually makes a Group 35 with the cranking capacity and the deep cycle capabilities. PLUS they have more AH's (65AH) than the standard 34/78 red top optima(50AH) & Smaller in dimension.

35-PC1400T-A | GRP 35 ODYSSEY BATTERY | Battery Outfitters

Just an fyi-

 

[torfab]

Bringing this back from the dead I guess, but our battery tray puts two batteries next to eachother so we can mount the ARB Dual Air compressor by the PS reservoir. Fabrication for install is minimal, just a couple cuts and a swing of the ball-peen hammer and you're done. We have a few trays installed so far, and no issues yet.

 

[sleeoffroad]

I've been e-mailing Christo Slee a bit about this for a while and he mentioned yesterday that they're now out of stock on the 100-series dual battery brackets and they're considering a redesign that takes into account the ARB twin compressor (which didn't exist when the current design was created). I may sit on this for a little while and see what Slee comes up with.

FWIW, our new battery tray / compressor mount is now available.

Slee - Battery Related Products

 

[cmck]

I pre ordered one a few months ago. It arrived last Friday. The wait was well worth it. I installed the battery tray on Wednesday night. It uses the space really well, looks really clean and is solid as a rock. The added value of a place to put the ARB compressor just makes this a no brainer. I can tell there was some real thinking behind it. I felt it was about a job, but I admit I don't really know the scale.

Here is an overall view of the battery tray in place before the battery is in place.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Why don't you relocate the air-compressor somewhere? I personally prefer it inside the cabin so it won't be exposed to the elements. Putting two batteries together in the space of the OEM will leave things VERY crowded and prone to something going wrong in the long run due to rubbing from vibrations on dirt roads.

I agree. Lots of utility in a dual battery system for running your "house" loads. Don't let an add-on like an ARB compressor make you make bad decisions about your "house" electrical system.

Don't overthink the obvious. Having a dual battery system, isolated from the starting battery is great. You can run fridges, camp lights, hook into solar, etc.

Get a big battery and install it under the hood. It's safer there, and generally easier to install. Your compressor can be 1-installed anywhere, 2-downsized, 3-Slee's new mount looks cool, etc.

I've measured the Ah draw of my Engel 45 fridge several times with a cumulative power meter. Even in high ambient temps, it uses 20 Ah give or take in 24 hours. So that's under 1 Ah average. It takes 2.7 amps to actually run when it's running. These are measured numbers and I highly suggest you measure your power consumption to decide what batteries you need. The Torfab tray looks cool, but the batteries are too small (imho) to do more than provide back up starting. Remember you don't want to take your house battery below about 50% state of charge if you want it to last. So the bigger the battery, the more power you can use before you hit the 50% SOC point.

 

[TexasCrane]

The new Slee tray looks really nice. The problem I see with it though is that the interstate mt7 group 75 battery is only a 50AH battery. Their MT7 group 34 batteries (size used for the Torfab solution) are 62AH batteries. If you bump up to the northstar group 34 agm, you've got a 68AH battery.

Here's my current plan. I think I'm going to pick up one of the Batteries Plus x2 power (northstar) group 27F batteries. It's 92AH. That's almost as much as the group 31 interstate they're now using for the Group 31 bracket kit (96 AH). Plus, the x2 power battery comes with a 5 year full replacement warranty.

I'll drop that in to replace my 27F yellowtop which is only 60-something AH. I do have a microstart xp10 to jump the battery if I run it down too much to start the truck.

I like Slee's approach to the second battery, but I plan to do something a bit different. I think if you flipped their layout 180 degrees, you'd have the width to go with a group 27 instead of the 75. You'd have to put the PS reservoir in front of the air intake, but I've seen others do that here without any apparent issues. I'm going to get a shop to fabricate a bracket that holds a group 27 and puts the air compressor and dual battery controller towards the firewall. Once that's done, I'll put the x2 Power 27F into the "house" battery spot and drop the yellowtop back in as the starter battery.

 

[JohnnyMackerel]

The new Slee tray looks really nice. The problem I see with it though is that the interstate mt7 group 75 battery is only a 50AH battery. Their MT7 group 34 batteries (size used for the Torfab solution) are 62AH batteries. If you bump up to the northstar group 34 agm, you've got a 68AH battery.

Here's my current plan. I think I'm going to pick up one of the Batteries Plus x2 power (northstar) group 27F batteries. It's 92AH. That's almost as much as the group 31 interstate they're now using for the Group 31 bracket kit (96 AH). Plus, the x2 power battery comes with a 5 year full replacement warranty.

I'll drop that in to replace my 27F yellowtop which is only 60-something AH. I do have a microstart xp10 to jump the battery if I run it down too much to start the truck.

I like Slee's approach to the second battery, but I plan to do something a bit different. I think if you flipped their layout 180 degrees, you'd have the width to go with a group 27 instead of the 75. You'd have to put the PS reservoir in front of the air intake, but I've seen others do that here without any apparent issues. I'm going to get a shop to fabricate a bracket that holds a group 27 and puts the air compressor and dual battery controller towards the firewall. Once that's done, I'll put the x2 Power 27F into the "house" battery spot and drop the yellowtop back in as the starter battery.

Did you ever get this finished, If so do you have any pictures?... I just bought the Slee dual battery tray but am second guessing my decision now due to the limited battery options. With respect to Slee the tray itself is totally on point just curious why they didn’t open up the battery tray just slightly more for some more readily available battery size and options, it looks like it could have easily went that way IMHO.