Show us ya dual battery setup

Im looking at doing a dual battery system in my truck really soonand really like arty_74's setup but just wanna know what others have done, where did you put it, wat size cable, fuse boxes and outlets. Pictures would be great aswell

Kyle

Here's mine

Redarc Isolator



Fuses




Battery


And the monitor

Mine's going to be similar to Matt's (the one he just got rid of) with the tool/battery box down the side. I don't subscribe to the theory of inverters and 240v chargers etc so mines just a direct feed from the isolator with atleast 6mm cable (atleast on the ground that when the new box goes in I may re-wire with the heavier cable I got given purely because I have no other use for it) to the second battery.

Off the battery I have specifically rated fuses for what jobs are getting done and those jobs are Fridge, 12v outlet and canopy lights, power for CB and live power for the reversing camera screen, separate power to a 19V adapter to run the laptop/new GPS toy (depending on what I go with) and another 12v feed for the DVD player and screens.

No pictures until I actually get around to finishing it, the box is built, the roof console has arrived and now I just need time.

Oh yeah I'm also mounting a coloured analogue meter on the wall of the canopy which will be live at all times and easily read from any window of the canopy.

Like Krafty I too have seperately wired everything. The UHF, GPS, fridge, factory 12v sockets etc etc have all been wired into the seperate fuse box powered by the second battery. I haven't wired the radio into the second battery only because I wanted it to turn off when I switched the ignition off. I can also temporarily 'join' the second battery to the crank in the event that I flatten it.

you could run the radio off the second battery with still turning off with the ignition if you ran it through a simple relay with an override switch

Purely by chance I even came close to a paint match for my box. I could have gone to Nissan or a paint place and ordered the proper Blue Opal paint but I was wandering through Bunnings a few weeks back and came across some stuff that was on special, for the etch primer and the blue paint in 300 ml tins I paid $19.50 and for a complete guess the colour match is uncanny.

ONLOCK said:

you could run the radio off the second battery with still turning off with the ignition if you ran it through a simple relay with an override switch

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It would need to have a manual override which you can switch on or bypass when the ignition was off too otherwise it would defeat the purpose of having it off the second battery for emergency purposes.

yea thats why i said with an override switch lol

All too hard so thats why I just left it wired up through the ignition

Ok I thought you meant an auto relay that just switches off with the ignition. For my liking I'd want it auto off and manual override so it always went off with the key but I had the option to manually switch it when the ignition was off.

Saving all that a simple cable with alligator clips on one end and the CB power plug on the other which is long enough to go from the cabin to the desired battery is probably heaps less work for the amount of times it would get used and the fact that most half hearted auto elec buffs would have that crap lying around.

ONLOCK said:

Im looking at doing a dual battery system in my truck really soonand really like arty_74's setup but just wanna know what others have done, where did you put it, wat size cable, fuse boxes and outlets. Pictures would be great aswell

Kyle

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I'm in the process of doing mine right now, I too was inspired by arty's setup and have done something similar, I am going to use a dc to dc battery charger to charge the second battery, the box has a digital volt meter on it and all the ins and outs will be anderson connectors. I'll put up some pics next week when it's all finished, I have bought everything except the mdf from Ebay, and saved a heap on what the shops here wanted,,

yea iv been thinking about it allot, and not much progress at the moment but same style as arty's basically. im getting a ac delco 680cca 97ah deep cycle battery from a mate for 140, im using marine ply and putting carpet over the top, going to have a couple of cigarette outlets on the box and im also going to put in a inverter so i can have 240v there aswell just not sure on the size of the inverter, thinking 1500w. all sounds abit full on but im a sparky so it wouldnt be natual if i didnt go over the top

I want to put my second battery under the tray next to a long ranger fuel tank, but need the extra tank 1st to see where it will fit.

Great to hear guys, hey Rich if I was going to make another one I would make out of marine ply instead of craftwood to give that extra strength, mind you mine is still in tact.

My dual battery system is all finished and works a treat, and looks good too if I may say so myself, (photo's in my garage) I don't know how to put them in the thread. Thanks for the inspiration arty..

Tiburn said:

I want to put my second battery under the tray next to a long ranger fuel tank, but need the extra tank 1st to see where it will fit.

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TJM used to do a Battery Tray that clamped to your Chassis Rail , think it was located under your seat. Not sure how it would cope off road

I run 2x105AH aux batteries in my storage unit which is fitted permanently in the tub. I've built my ute for touring and don't carry dishlickers et al so have used the tub to the fullest extent possible. (storage unit contains: fridge, 70ltr water tank, inverter, 2xlarge drawers, 2x batteries, storage boxes down each side). There is a carpeted insert that covers the battery access point.

I should also point out that I have the aux batteries isolated from the main by a Redarc isolator.....and large dia cables running to the tub and to an Anderson plug at the rear of the ute. When I set up camp for a few days I usually plug my solar panels directly into the Anderson plug and this keeps the aux batteries topped up (sunshine notwithstanding).

Finally got my 2nd battery set up re done last weekend, it's been in and working since not long after new but I've never been happy so over the last few months in between other jobs I've made a new tool/battery box that fits over the right hand wheel arch similar to what Matt76 did in his previous Nav. All works well, tidied up the wiring a bit and can fit nearly all the tools I need in there, but the plans worked as good as I expected so all is good. Glad that job is over, now it's time to re fit the interior based around a roof console.

the simplest and easiest way is to mount ya second battery say at the tray. leave all accessories wired to ya main battery, run some decent cables to ya second battery and use that one purely for starting. as for the "dual battery system" all u need is a heavy duty starting solinoid (cheap as chips)inline, excited by either rocker switch/keyed power or both inside the cab. can get fancy and go oil pressure?? but as i like to do, keep it simple. if something shits itself, just wack in a new solinoid and wola!

Bosshog said:

Here's mine
Battery

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Since I'm planning on getting my body lift certified (at some point) I was advised that I need to leave the coal canister in the engine bay. So I'm having to move the 2nd battery into the tub. Then I'll prob look at adding a third battery after it's certified and I remove the canister.

Just curious about battery boxes and mounting it.

Should I just stick with the simple box or what are the advantages of using the external terminal boxes around???

I already have the redarc isolator so don't need to go to the extent of the isolated box with the various plugs attached.

Where did you get the battery tray above??? Until I spend some time making up a set of drawers, fixing the box on top of the wheel arch sounds like the best alternative.

Also, the redarc instructions state that 32mm (2B&S) cable is required when placing the battery 3-6m away (ie, in the tub). In all my research i haven't heard of anyone using cable as big as this... what size cable have others used for tub mounted 2nd batteries???