Dual Battery setup

(901) 214-5337, give him a ring and he can answer your questions. The aux battery will not drain from the main cranking battery. It’s protected. I cannot see the crank battery draining because you’d hook up your accessories to the aux

 

Solar panel if you park outside. Battery charger running off a 110vac outlet if parked inside. Or both.

Or just plan on taking a longer drive once a week. Short 10 minute drives is not so good for the rest of the drivetrain either.

 

Yeah that’s fair, thanks for the number I’ll give him a quick call to see.... I wouldn’t be running any accessories with the truck off unless I was out doing a trip somewhere, but I’d be concerned about the six battery not staying charged with my short commute

 

Nice setup but on top of the battery it will corrode after a while.

 

I’m running a dual battery setup on my 4Runner using two Group 35 AGM batteries. It uses a different system (Blue Sea MLC-ACR) but should be very similar none-the-less. I’ve got a National Luna battery monitor on both to check voltages. I run a fridge, off-road lights, and winch off my aux battery.

You have nothing to worry about. Since you aren’t using a fridge which draws power constantly then there will be little battery drain on the aux battery. You likely aren’t using your LED bars, ham radio, and winch daily. Also assuming a 10 mile commute daily is about 15 minutes (I guess if you lived in LA that could be 2 hours) then that is more than enough to charge up the battery. When I’m out camping for a few days and my aux battery gets low I turn the truck on and idle for 10-15 minutes and its back up to 100%. Likewise I commute about 15 miles a day and the alternator has no problems charging up the aux battery. Also most places you want to go camping are a long drive out anyways, more than enough time for the alternator to charge your aux battery.

About once a month I top off both batteries using a Noco Genius battery charger. I also charge it up before a long trip and after trips as well. I do plan to add a portable solar suitcase to my setup in the future.

 

I am liking this setup

 

Wiring under rear seat and the lifepo4 battery is mounted behind the seat.

 

@Theonlyway How's the Genesis setup working out for you?

 

I know this isn’t directed at me, but here’s my $.02.

Just installed the genesis kit in my 2018 tundra. I love the quality and ease of use Shane from Genesis puts into his products. I’ve run his kit in 2 wranglers and the tundra kit has upgrades from the kits on the wranglers. It just goes to show Shane is continuing to make his product better. I highly recommend their kit. Sure you can peice it together yourself, or you can just buy a proven kit, install it and receive product support for as long as you have the kit.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Brian. Definitely looks well made and easy to install. Not exactly cheap, but I think it's worth it to not have to piece it together myself.

 

A question for those in the know better than myself - I have issues when my truck sits for 2-3 weeks that the battery dies when it's -20 C out and colder, would this system reduce the need to get a jump? I do have some accessories and am looking at weekend camping so I do have the typical uses, but am curious if it could help my bigger problem with sitting for weeks when I'm gone for work.

 

Yes. That’s part of the premise. The batteries get tied together under heavy load. Also, the starting battery is topped off and then isolated when it’s fully charged. Look through their website, it has a really good description of how it functions.

 

Thanks, that's what I figured. Only reason I wasn't sure was because they mention accessories draining the battery, but it's stock Toyota stuff (security is my guess) that drains my battery over the weeks the most, I had this issue before installing any accessories. I'm actually looking to isolate the second battery more than the cranking battery in this scenario. I'd rather have a second battery under the hood than have to open it up and hook up a booster pack, plus the typical uses most have with accessories in the summer.

 

If you are having that much parasitic loss, then you have other problems. My truck will sit for weeks at a time too and I have no issues with the factory battery starting it every time. Factory battery is 4yrs old too. If it’s all stock, then something is keeping the ECUs awake. Otherwise, if you have wired things in, or had someone wire them for you, they may be pulling a load while everything is off. Get on YouTube and look up how to check parasitic drain.

 

I'm fairly sure it's the remote start system I had installed by the dealer. Especially if you're not having any issues it was the only electronic add on I had them do and I had this issue from the first time I left it for 3 weeks, then in the winter and it's -40 out it only takes a couple weeks and the battery doesn't have enough power. I've already got a trickle charger mounted on the fuse box that I can plug in, but it's the random times where I don't drive the truck and I don't think to ever plug in the trickle charger that there's an issue.

I'm between getting a more powerful group 27 battery or going to the dual battery system. Figure the dual will solve this and help with the camping and auxiliary devices I plan on running. Best of both worlds while not chasing for a tiny drain (if it can even be fixed since the remote start system is always running).

 

Old thread but something I have been thinking about for ages is adding a lifePo4 battery bank. I’m no where near ready or know enough about it just yet. Tesla power wall for your tundra would be pretty bad ass especially if building your own.

 

I added an SDHQ tray and pieced together the rest of the kit for mine. 24F AGM on the passenger side. 200 watts of solar on the cab roof rack.


THE ULTIMATE DIY OVERLAND DUAL BATTERY SYSTEM WITH SOLAR – SIMPLE, CHEAP, AND EFFECTIVE.