Ok, if you are going to operate a winch you really should be using deep cycle batteries. The red and blue optimas are the deep cycle versions. Running a winch for any period of time will deeply discharge the battery in a LC with a stock alternator. Deeply discharging a normal starting battery will quickly kill the battery.
Regarding deep cycle optimas, here are my opinions when compared to "normal" wet cell lead acid deep cycle batteries:
1) When comparing amp hour ratings (the total amount of power available per deep discharge cycle), an Optima costs a lot more per amp hour of capacity.
2) When comparing amp hour capacity per amount of phyiscal space required, you get a lot less in an Optima battery. This is due to the fact that the round cells in an optima waste a lot of space.
3) There may be a battery overheating risk, at least for me and where I operate, with Optimas, in a TLC 80. Optimas batteries are sealed, meaning that there is no way to add water to the battery. Normally this would never be required, as they are designed not to lose water. However, there is a vent, and they will vent hydrogen and oxygen if the battery is overcharged or overheated. When I operate heavily loaded in the desert mountains in high temperatures, my engine compartment gets damn hot. I expect that it likely gets much hotter than the temps than an Optima should be exposed to. If the Optima overheats and vents gas, then it is not possible to replace the lost water. I freely admit that this concern, for me, is theoritical, as I have neither owned Optimas nor experienced this problem myself.
So what I plan to do is install a pair of "old style" deep cycle batteries. The pair will give me plenty of capacity for both starting the engine in cold temperatures and operating a winch and fridge when camping. When water lose occurs I will be able (and will need to) add more water. I expect the total cost over the lifetime of the batteries will be around half of what Optimas cost.
The brands that I will be considering include Trojan (major supplier of electric golf cart batteries, a west coast company) and Rolls (past history of suppling very good quality marine deep cycle batteries, east cost company - Surrette was the former name). Neither one markets to the automotive trade, as passenger vehicles rarely require deep cycle batteries. I expect Trojans are more familiar to RV and boat owners. In the consumer market Rolls would likely only be known to boaters. I have had excellant experience with Surrette deep cycle batteries in the past, I don't know if the Rolls models perform as well or not.
Bunch of lame-ass mofos that have NO clue on parts.
