Group 31 battery for Tacoma

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Highway Romping

Highway Romping

Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Threads
17
Messages
314
Location
Gilbert, AZ
So the battery for my 2017 Tacoma is slowly dying, it's over 3 years old. I'm going with a group 31 battery and I was wondering if I can get some recommendation on where to buy one for a good price and everyone opinion on if I should go with AGM or stay with lead-acid. Thanks in advance ^_^
 
I have run the AGM and I prefer it. The Sears Platinum was the bomb until they stopped making them. Im been running a yellow top 31 AGM in my rig for a while and like it fwiw.
 
I like AGM as well. I ran a sears platinum group 31 for 10 years in my 4Runner, but now use a X2Power group 27. Supposed to be dual purpose deep cycle / starting. Not cheap, but made in USA, has a 5 year replacement warranty. Available at Batteries Plus (right now hey have 10% off online). I think @bwesty got one recently too. Current spec sheet attached.

otherwise I think I’d go with Costco.
 

Attachments

I've had an AGM group 31 X2 from batteries plus for almost 5 years. Had it replaced one time, but that was due to the solar panel I ran for a year not actually ever working and finally killed the battery. Batteries plus didn't ask any questions. They ran a quick test and swapped it out. I'll buy another one, if I don't end up with a lithium house battery at some point.
 
murf said:
I have run the AGM and I prefer it. The Sears Platinum was the bomb until they stopped making them. Im been running a yellow top 31 AGM in my rig for a while and like it fwiw.
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I got a Sears Platinum AGM for the FJ40 the last year they were available (actually a few months after they stopped advertising them the Tucson Mall Sears still had a few).

The next year I needed one for the Taco and went with the Batteries Plus X2 31M. I seem to remember reading a few posts that speculated they were the same manufacturer and model as the Sears Platinum.

Been running it in the Taco so long I can't remember when I bought it. Works good for the long camping weekends running the fridge while parked.

Since I am so paranoid about not being able to roll start an automatic transmission vehicle in the boonies I run a dual battery system in the Taco. I like the dual battery system so much that I run the same setup in the FJ40. My Dad used to leave his FJ55 parked on a hill when we went camping just to make sure we could start it and get home if the battery or starter quapped out. My secondary battery in the Taco is my old Optima Yellow-Top that is 12 years old and still works great.

I believe my batteries last longer than normal in the Arizona heat because I am able to trickle charge them at the house. I have one charger for the FJ40, one for the Taco, and one for the Outback.
7D_34643-small.webp


1150 cold cranking MF'in amps! ⚡⚡⚡ Yeah, baby! ⚡⚡⚡
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Backup battery - not connected to any loads so always fully charged Optima Yellow Top
7D_34646-small.webp
 
Not sure the engine compartment is best for AGM. Also not sure if the vehicles charging system is a good match for AGM. May want to do some research first. I know a lot of people do it, but just saying. I would just stick with a good old-fashioned FLA under the hood.

x2 on Costco (Interstate). I get all of my automotive batteries there.
 
Sam's Club Duracell 31M AGM. Knowing the alternator doesn't really fully charge it, I hooked it up to a shore power Noco Genius tender to top it off a night or two a week and keep it happy. When I researched it, the Duracell 31M AGM was the cheapest I could get locally ($179). It had Nationwide support, and a good warranty.
 
Stepmurr said:
I got a Sears Platinum AGM for the FJ40 the last year they were available (actually a few months after they stopped advertising them the Tucson Mall Sears still had a few).

The next year I needed one for the Taco and went with the Batteries Plus X2 31M. I seem to remember reading a few posts that speculated they were the same manufacturer and model as the Sears Platinum.

Been running it in the Taco so long I can't remember when I bought it. Works good for the long camping weekends running the fridge while parked.

Since I am so paranoid about not being able to roll start an automatic transmission vehicle in the boonies I run a dual battery system in the Taco. I like the dual battery system so much that I run the same setup in the FJ40. My Dad used to leave his FJ55 parked on a hill when we went camping just to make sure we could start it and get home if the battery or starter quapped out. My secondary battery in the Taco is my old Optima Yellow-Top that is 12 years old and still works great.

I believe my batteries last longer than normal in the Arizona heat because I am able to trickle charge them at the house. I have one charger for the FJ40, one for the Taco, and one for the Outback.
View attachment 2269291

1150 cold cranking MF'in amps! ⚡⚡⚡ Yeah, baby! ⚡⚡⚡
View attachment 2269292

Backup battery - not connected to any loads so always fully charged Optima Yellow Top
View attachment 2269300
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Steve, what bracket did you go with for the taco to accommodate the group 31 size?
 
Highway Romping said:
Steve, what bracket did you go with for the taco to accommodate the group 31 size?
Click to expand...
I used the original tie-down and simply removed the lower tray and set the larger battery directly on the flat spot the tray sat on.

The Factory service manual shows the battery clamp has two threaded J-hooks. Mine only had one threaded J-hook on the front side, and the back side J-hook was just long enough to fit the original battery with a flat on top instead of threads.

The threaded J-hook on the front side was long enough to fit the taller battery, but the back wasn't. I took a two inch piece of scrap steel and bolted it to the J-hook hole, and drilled a hole in it to fit.

I had intended to weld up a better battery tray, but the batteries have never moved even with all the abuse they have suffered.

FSM page showing the original set up.
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The back side J-hook extension.
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The front side threaded J-hook.
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I dropped a Bosch AGM into my FJ when my FLA started going flat (would drop to ~12v overnight). But like others have said, make sure you buy an AGM that is rated for vehicles. Some, like those designed for solar or RV utility power (13.8v float applications), don't like to be charged at 14.4v like most alternators deliver, and this higher voltage will kill them pretty quickly.

ps: my new battery was shorter, and the stock J-hooks were too long, I bought a set of new J-hooks for about $7 off Amazon:
 
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Pitch said:
Sam's Club Duracell 31M AGM. Knowing the alternator doesn't really fully charge it, I hooked it up to a shore power Noco Genius tender to top it off a night or two a week and keep it happy. When I researched it, the Duracell 31M AGM was the cheapest I could get locally ($179). It had Nationwide support, and a good warranty.
Click to expand...

I also happily run a Duracell 31M AGM for price and warranty.
 
I have a follow up question. During my search, I saw that some battery size description are 31, 31M, 31T, etc. What does the letter after number represent? I tried looking and can't seem to find a concrete answer. Thanks.
 
Highway Romping said:
I have a follow up question. During my search, I saw that some battery size description are 31, 31M, 31T, etc. What does the letter after number represent? I tried looking and can't seem to find a concrete answer. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I thought the M was for Marine, and that it was mainly about the type of terminals.
 
I have two Odyssey batteries (AGM) in my 2006 LC that were purchased in September 2017. They are both still going strong with no issues.
I have a friend that owns a golf cart business in Sun City and he gets a good deal on them.
 
brices123 said:
I have two Odyssey batteries (AGM) in my 2006 LC that were purchased in September 2017. They are both still going strong with no issues.
I have a friend that owns a golf cart business in Sun City and he gets a good deal on them.
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@brices123 I will send you a PM regarding your friend once I figure out how to mount my battery.
 
Highway Romping said:
@brices123 I will send you a PM regarding your friend once I figure out how to mount my battery.
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I was going to weld up something like this - until I didn’t.
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For the price of two high quality AGM batteries like Odysseys, you could buy one lithium with a 10 year warranty.
 
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