ironbutt

The 2 battery concept is for the intake heater, for southern trucks you could get by just fine with one [drivers side] battery. I know 5 people who do it in Floriduhh.So if it doesnt get too cold ther in Alabama, it should work fine.

jonesm8

I think the coldest morning I've had is about 15 but mornings in the winter average about from 28 to 40.

Anyone have strong feelings against running one battery?

dropped2500

The crimp on fittings are in general better than solder for our trucks--as long as you do it correctly.


how did you come up with that?? when you crimp on a connector the only contact it is making is threw the crimp but if soldered the whole thing makes contact!

dkenny

solder has higher resistance than a proper crimp connections. also if the temps are higher enough the solder will melt. and yes current can cause the temp to go that high.

-dkenny

dropped2500

yea but if your battery cable is hot enough to melt solder then i think you might have a problem. what makes solder have a higher resistance?

dozer12216

If you have a duel battery holder avaliable for frame that seems right.
One battery with less than OO cables is setting you up for failure when you need it most. There are some really heavy commercial batteries avalaible, but you lose a holder perhaps. How about one larger battery on drivers side.
The wiring for everything from underneath is problematic to say the least. Soldered connections have been a problem from many sources. Crimping is best choice for BIG connections.

jonesm8

So, would One optima yellow do the job? Or are we talking bigger?

I took the passenger side out and the truck starts just fine. We'll see how it goes from here. I can always add the second batter back later.

dkenny

lead and tin don't conduct electricity as well as copper or silver. but don't use silver in a car. it corrodes to fast. also solder make a rigid joint. if there's flexing it break where is soldered.

no doubt if the solder in a soldered connection melts its not your biggest problem.

-dkenny

ironbutt

If you want to go for an optima, the red top 800 amp will do fine, but the yellow tops are deep cycle batterys and the red tops are starter batterys. Also the yellow tops cost more. It's your choice, The $70 battery from walmart will work as well [but will not be as colorful]. Just my $.02.

Rattlerattle

All welding cables are crimped. Pretty sure that they see more voltage and current that starting a truck and definately for longer time periods.

ne_plus_ultra_1

Number 2 wire is really small for this application.

Soldered is way way way better. It conducts just fine.

When its soldered it also reduces the corrosion that occurs around battery terminals.

The bed is an interesting idea (besides acid in bed) but if you could mount them under the bed far back with massive wire running up front, you'd actually do OK.

On a light car sometimes people mount battery in the back because of handling characteristics. Moving a 50 pound battery 10 feet back is equal to moving a 500 pound drivetrain one foot back. I love the book How To Make Your Car Handle but it's really not very applicable to these trucks as loads vary greatly and they are just so **** nose-heavy to start with.

braxton357

A few things...A, in this application a properly crimped connection is better than solder. B, show me some proof the starter draws anywhere near 1k amps when not shorted out. 00 isn't even rated for 1/3 that anyway. C, i gutted the worthless grid heater long ago and 2ga works fine for me. That's not to say that I wouldn't recommend going as large as you possibly can
I'll post up pictures of my setup when I get a chance.

jonesm8

Looking forward to your pics braxton.

Tate

Have you gone a big rig shop yet? They have battery trays I'm sure you could make work. The ones I've seen are usually 3 BIG batteries, but I'm sure you can get them for one battery as well. I'd go for a single group 31 battery. Lots of capacity, but in a single battery, its about an 1" larger in each dimension than the stockers. Just have to keep them upright, as they are wet cells.

CrashCade

This does work and you can custom make your own trays, however, take in to consideration any plans to install steps or running boards as this location could cause problems. My brothers dually is setup with the batteries under the front door on the frame rail.

Here is one battery that will be more than sufficient for your truck. We installed two of them into my buddies boat, one dedicated to starting and the other radio and accessories.

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/hc2400.asp