Anyone know of any off the shelf brackets for a second battery that are a direct fit for the GX? It is time to get fridge going!
Dual Battery Mounting Brackets
- Thread starter kbahus
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I run mine with one. Will be going dual this year
- Thread starter
- #3
I got away with that in my last two trucks but the 27F battery does not leave us with many high amp hour battery choices that are affordable. In the past I have picked up blem group 31 AGM's from Interstate for $50 bucks and they work great. I still have one in my 40 and it is a rock star. For the price of a 27f AGM I am actually thinking about trying a Goal Zero Yeti 400 plugged into the 110 in the back if I can't come up with an affordable dual battery setup.
110 wont run with the truck off. I plumbed a fused switch back there direct from battery on my 48L Iron Man fridge. I don't leave it on much, but when I do, it only hit the battery saver mode once when my alternator was tanked. I have a 298A alt now so I don't really worry about it, but I do want to get a second battery for peace of mind.
little_joe
SILVER Star
I agonized over this for a while, and ultimately decided to drop the coin on a Northstar replacement battery + Anti-gravity XPS rather than go with dual batteries. I've not done any long no-start tests, but for going to the OBX for ~4 days and remaining parked for most of it, the Northstar has shown ample capacity to run my Engel 35 qt. The XPS is a nice option for jump-starting if needed (it starts my GX w/o issue), and serves multiple other purposes.
After reading and suffering analysis-paralysis, I found the fridge won't draw much off the battery if packed properly (e.g. full, or nearly so).
Just another viewpoint.............
After reading and suffering analysis-paralysis, I found the fridge won't draw much off the battery if packed properly (e.g. full, or nearly so).
Just another viewpoint.............
Do tell more, I'm not familiar with anti-gravity XPS. Got any pictures of your set up?
little_joe
SILVER Star
@mtwilly87 you can see some of the options here: http://themicrostart.com/ There was also a thread in the Electronics section here on it, iirc.
At full charge, the XPS-3 I have will jump my GX with the battery disconnected several times. It can be recharged via AC, or via an aux outlet in the GX. And it has a harness to charge most popular devices (USB, iThings, etc.).
I did one notable test, using the XPS to charge my mobile from 0 to 100%, then jumpstart the GX w/o issue.
At full charge, the XPS-3 I have will jump my GX with the battery disconnected several times. It can be recharged via AC, or via an aux outlet in the GX. And it has a harness to charge most popular devices (USB, iThings, etc.).
I did one notable test, using the XPS to charge my mobile from 0 to 100%, then jumpstart the GX w/o issue.
Wow those look awesome. Thanks for the link and info!
I have a power pack bumper too. The 24 cell Lithium looks interesting...You could do dual batteries in the OEM tray with those little puppies
Dang, you had to show me that site. Now I can't get my head to stop thinking of a dual lithium setup in the OEM tray 
Well, my thoughts are satisfied. Between the cost of a proper battery (100AH, 700CCA) at almost $1300 (EACH), plus the need for the regulator to distribute the alt feed across all cells ($400). I think I can let this dream go. lol
- Thread starter
- #13
The Northstar 27F was the one battery I would consider (X2 from batteries plus version) as a direct replacement, looks like I can get it for under $300. I think I would be hard pressed to do a full dual battery setup for that kind of money. Once I factor in $160 for the tray, another blem battery, and then all of the wiring, Blue Sea ACR, etc the cost goes up pretty quick. Really the only other option would be the Goal Zero Yeti 400 but that is going to be more around the $400 mark, more if I want to add solar. The biggest benefit is I don't have to squat to the truck. It will charge off 110 when the truck is running and the fridge will deplete it isolated from the truck battery. I just don't know how well it work being used on a daily basis for the entire summer. I drive every day at least 1 hour, but I am not sure if it will charge fully in that time. Arg, nothing is simple these days!
A modular solar panel/generator that can charge on 12V or solar and be moved out of the truck is actually very attractive to me. I can take the fridge off the truck completely and run it through there. Interesting idea. If I do that I can do a big AGM for my truck and not worry about dual at all. Have to think about that. Thanks for the perspective!
little_joe
SILVER Star
Hey everyone! I stopped by Frontrunner's new showroom today and went over a lot of stuff for an upcoming GX build. Mainly, drawer systems. They are not carrying exactly what I want here in the states, but the salesman told me to check out the South African site, and he can showboat the parts over. Am I excited about this prospect, yes... anyhow, I came across this on their site. I am not sure if it is intended for diesel vehicles or not, but it says 120. It might work... enjoy!
http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.co...attery-bracket-105a-toyota-prado-120.html#tab
http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.co...attery-bracket-105a-toyota-prado-120.html#tab
I'm tempted to get one with a 12v outlet and just use that to power my fridge when the truck isn't running...and when the truck is running, recharge the power pack and run the fridge directly off the truck.
@kbahus us I see you keep mentioning the 27f battery. May I offer a couple recommendations that have worked wonderfully for me? I distched the 27f for an Odyssey 34R-PC1500 battery in the stock location held with a trailgear battery box. It opened up some space over in that corner and have me way more amperage and reserve in the stock location. Second, I added a second battery between the air cleaner and the firewall. It was pretty simple to fab a bracket to go there. An off the shelf option, there is a factory dual battery kit you can order for about 200 dollars if memory serves that is for the Prado 120, but bolts right up. Pirrahna offroad I think it was. Can be found stateside or bought from ebay. It requires relocating the power steering resevoir though. If you want to see what I did for the second battery tray I uploaded some pics on my build in the sig below. I am running a hellroaring BIC to charge/combine the batteries, and all loads run off of one battery and the second is held in reserve for starting and winching. I rotate them every six months to "work" both batteries evenly, may be a myth, but it has never hurt anything to do this.
