hey all, new member to the forum but been reading up for awhile now.

i plan to setup dual batteries in a toolbox of truck while i do my build this fall(5" TG lift, dual cases, 9000 pound winch, full cage, lots more) truck is a 81 pickup btw.

i was looking into isolators and such, but i like keeping things simple.

i do alot of solo 4x4ing with my girlfreind, and want a spare battery i can flick a switch and jump myself if truck ever dies

my thought is too hook up ALL loads to Main battery, ground the batteries together and to chassis and winch.

then have a lead from postive on MAIN battey going to a heavy duty on/off switch then to spare battery,

so if im just driving around or heavy winching when someone else is around to jump me, i can use both batteries, but when i am on far trips alone, i can turn the switch off, and know i have a spare battery to jump myself for whatever reason at the flick of a switch

my question is will this work? is it fine to run the alternator wire to the main then off that to the spare? will they charge evenly when the switch is on?

another question is what sort of battery is best for winching/regular use.
i thought a marine/deep cycle battery would be best beacuse it can handle being drained and recharged, but it seems others think diffrently, anyone have some insite on this? i wont be buying any fancy expensive batteries beacuse i work at a auto parts store and can get good glass mat batteries that compare to optimas at a good price.

hope someone can help me out.
i will be posting my build this fall, and hoping to find more people to go wheelin with on vancouver island.
thanks
Jeff

 

With your idea .

What will happen when your main battery fails when you flip your switch the voltage between the two batteries will attempt to equalize

unless the failed battery is removed from the system in one way or another.

Your stock alternator is going to be hard pressed to meet your demands

 

It's not as simple as a switch (saw someone has done it with a big marine switch stuck on his dash- but don't remember how he had it set up) but I use and so far like Blue Sea 7622.

Wyoming9 has good points and is right about the alternator, it's one of the next things on my list to upgrade.

 

okay, what i dont understand about that is, what diffrence does a switch/isolater make in equalizing the voltage when switch is flipped, a isolater still runs through the main battery?

and not worried about alternator, if it cant keep up i will upgrade it.

if anyone can fill me in would be great, im trying to understand battery isolaters aswell, i understand how they work, just still confusing to me how its any diffrent then a switch.
thanks again
Jeff

 

Here is a link to making a dual battery setup on the cheap:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...y-setup-for-50

As far as keeping them isolated: a single battery is a bank of cells in a series. When two batteries are linked together, they act as a single battery, and if one is lower, it will drain from the other, and vice-versa.
What you need is a solenoid - a big relay - that interrupts that circuit so when you need only one battery (like when starting) you have only the one. This usually goes onto the positive lead, isolating the second battery from the first. This is a very simple setup, as you'll see in the link I've posted. The more complex systems include regulators and controllers that run that solenoid when they sense a droppage or when you're cranking.
You can, however, run a toggle to that solenoid so you still get a switch on you dash that runs your duals.

Other things: you can't jump your dead battery from a secondary one, at last not through the dual battery setup, you'll still have to get out and attach the jump leads.

For your application, dual batteries will be very overkill. Duals are for folks with a big draw - amps, fridges, computers, etc. For what you need, one of those booster packs kept fully charged and behind your seat will be a cheaper and more useful alternative.

 

i like overkill, and i do plan to hookup a fridge, i decided i will hook them up with a marine battery selector switch, so i can choose battery 1 ,2, both or off. i will swap back and forth between batteries to keep both charged up, be able to start my truck if one battery dies, and have the option of using both for long winches/ other accesories when camping. i also plan to put anderson connectors on both battery leads, so i have the option of using both batteries in series for small trail welding jobs/ or have the option to use my winch on the rear with a reciver hitch/ or plug in jumper cables.
thanks for all the input, but unless anyone sees a problem with this route, i will be going this way.
Jeff

 

Why 5" springs?

you need to upgrade your alternator.

look at optima or odyssey batteries.

Since you plan on eheeling alone I hope you are fixing/replacing a lot of thing on your 81 prior to heading out. Besided a winch what self recovrty accessories do you plan? Pull pal?

 

why not 5" springs? i want the HD version of springs beacuse of weight of toolboxes. winch, bumpers, full exo cage. and i do plan to upgrade my alternator, as for self recovery, winch, extra 5000 lb winch on hitch reciver for pulling from rear or if my main winch somehow dies, chains, straps, d rings, 2 snatch blocks, come a along, jack all, shovel, axe. what else should be on the list? i also bring some canned food and a camp stove, a emergancy blanket, etc just incase of having to stay the night somewhere.

and besides having a vehicle inspection, my 81 is pretty mechanicly sound, i always check it over before i go out though, i just replaced mechanical fuel pump with electric one, put on a weber 32/36 carb not so long ago.

when i do my rebuild this winter, i am building it from the frame up, running new break and fuel lines, replacing anything that needs to be, i have a mint cab to swap on, rebuilding motor, 5 speed tranny duel cases, TG front and rear lift kits, rebuilding diffs and axels, i have new front calipers, rotors and pads waiting to go in, buying rear disk break kit. i will be going over every inch of the truck. once im done its getting a big toolbox in back, a paint job in medium toyota blue( have paint already) new bumpers, 9000i winch, and a full cage. oh and new 35s

also, i wont be buying optima or odyssey, i work at a auto parts store and we can get a line of batteries that compares to optima, they are a glass mat deep cycle.

i will post pictures of my build this winter.

Jeff