Dual Battery Type

[WesternDirtRoads]

What kind of 12v battery is best as an in-cab dual battery?

 

[RAMf1]

Peter, I'm running the Bluetti EB70S LiFePo4. I've been quite happy with it.

 

[zgfiredude]

It kinda depends on how you plan to charge it, mixing battery chemistry from type to type is something to pay attention to.

 

[Kueezy]

I run a 100ah LiFePO4 battery inside a trolling battery box. Installed on the surface of my battery box is a 500W Inverter with 2 AC outlets. On the side, I have it connected to a remote battery shunt that sits on my center console to monitor the state of charge, watts used, and how much is being charged/discharged under load/without load.

Has worked well for me for me as I only use 3 big items on it: Diesel Heater, Portable Freezer, and a 500W Bluetti Power Station.

 

[OTH Overland]

I went with an Ampere time Lifepo 100ah battery from Amazon which was on sale for around $250 normally $300. A lot less than the big name batteries but had some good reviews and saw one cut open on some Youtube channel and appeared to have decent construction. Has been in service for about a year and have had no issues so far. Mainly used to keep fridge running full time, powers Diesel heater in the winter and some misc loads thru an inverter. Charging is handled through a RedARC manager 30. We do year round camping and travelling so I did install some heating pads under the battery so I can keep it warm in below freezing weather, so far have had no issue keeping it warm enough to charge in 5 degree outside temps. (Battery is in a cabinet on the floor behind drivers seat with 1/2" of insulation between cabinet bottom and floor boards.

 

[MazeVX]

If it should not be used for helping the starter battery and is used only for "house appliances" get a deep cycle battery or a Lithium with bms, Lithium is initially more expensive but pays of with weight and lifetime.

 

[Tk2427]

Using National Luna in a Discovery 5 with remote.co troller. In a LR3 I have Traxide.

Both work just fine, traxide is hidden away - no display or controller. Lu.a has a remote cable to a display I've mounted by my ARB Fridge

TBH go with a reputable brand, look at your needs and maybe allow for a little expansion such as solar etc.

 

[lhoffm4]

I agree with zgfiredude, type and size depends on how you plan to use it. "In cab dual battery" also means different things to different folks. If, to you, it means a second battery wired in parallel to the starting battery of your vehicle? Does it mean a second battery isolated from your starting battery but able to augment the primary on startup only? Does it mean a completely separate pair of batteries inside the cab not connected to the starting battery, possibly charged by the alternator and/or solar? Does it mean 12V or 24V set up? Lots of combinations could be asked about or used.

What do you want your system to do for you? How do you plan to use it? How do you want to charge it? How long (at the longest stretch) do you need it to go between charging? How much power do you require of it?

There are lots of YouTube vids that discuss this topic(s). There is a chap named Will Prowse that is very popular who even has a DIY Solar website that offers a "configurator" for you to use to guestimate how much power you need by giving average consumption values for various appliances you might wish to use to help you figure out what you need out of your set up.

If that doesn't get your head spinning, give us more info and you will get more input... Down the rabbit hole we go!