Dual Battery?

[guernsej]

I've got a small 18ah battery along with 3 12v sockets and 2 USB charging points in an electronics box behind the right wheel well in the bed...it's enough to power a fridge overnight and whatever else I need while solar recharges it and carries the load during the day. It's connected to the main battery for added versatility (4 position isolator, 50 amp circuit breaker, 8 gauge wire).

 

[SilverBolt]

With AGM type batteries you can mount them virtually anywhere. Lots of room under the truck so you don't have to give up valuable bed space.

 

[WhatExit?]

And I should have also said, it's may be possible to install 2 batteries under the hood using one of the aftermarket dual battery kits

 

[guernsej]

With AGM type batteries you can mount them virtually anywhere. Lots of room under the truck so you don't have to give up valuable bed space.

True, but unless you mount it high up in a wheel well where it's not very accessible you're creating a significant fire hazard by exposing the battery to rock strikes/water.

Batteries come in many shapes and sizes - if you don't need significant reserve capacity, it's easy to find one that fits in areas that aren't usually used anyways.

 

[Truckzor]

ive looked into it a few times for my gen1 rap, i think what i may eventually do is run the second battery to a box in the bed.

I've looked into this, as well, and I would not only put the second battery in the bed, I would put both batteries back there to move weight where it's needed. I've been hesitant to lose any bed space, though. But I may be doing a tire carrier/bed rack soon and if I do then I'll probably go ahead with the battery relocation / second battery.

 

[WhatExit?]

There are many good references online for adding a 2nd / dual battery.

Some good info:

"You can also keep your existing battery and add a deep cycle or marine battery. This option is a little different, because you have to wire it so that you can isolate each battery from the electrical system. The idea is to use the original battery when you're driving, and the bigger deep cycle battery when you're parked.

This has the added advantage that you won't ever accidentally leave yourself with too little power to start your car back up."

Link: https://www.lifewire.com/second-car-battery-for-high-performance-audio-534761

There are numerous products/ways to isolate the batteries so they charge but don't discharge at the same time leaving the 2nd battery as a backup

 

[wheelman55]

Solid state battery isolator.

There are numerous products/ways to isolate the batteries so they charge but don't discharge at the same time leaving the 2nd battery as a backup

This company makes highly reliable, solid state isolators. It's what I've been using for the past four years to charge both batteries. That's on my 93 F250.

Hellroaring Technologies, inc., Manufacturer of Solid State Dual Battery Isolator / Combiners

The owner, Mike, is very accessible via telephone and quite helpful.

I will eventually do a dual battery setup on my 18 Raptor...hoping that one of you beats me to it and leads the way

 

[psufan]

I'm actually in the planning process of putting a smallish LiFePO4 battery bank (probably 200AH or so) under the back seats in my SCREW. I'm putting a cap on the bed and have a dometic DC fridge to go back there. Will be putting some of the low profile 80 or 100 watt flexible solar panels on top of the cap. Have the cap on order, and already have the fridge, but the battery/solar is probably a few months away.

 

[wheelman55]

I'm actually in the planning process of putting a smallish LiFePO4 battery bank (probably 200AH or so) under the back seats in my SCREW. I'm putting a cap on the bed and have a dometic DC fridge to go back there. Will be putting some of the low profile 80 or 100 watt flexible solar panels on top of the cap. Have the cap on order, and already have the fridge, but the battery/solar is probably a few months away.

Will you use a BMS with the LifePO4 bank? What's the banks configuration, weight and dims? Did you consider an AGM bank?

Thanks.

 

[psufan]

Will you use a BMS with the LifePO4 bank? What's the banks configuration, weight and dims? Did you consider an AGM bank?

Thanks.

I'm still doing a bunch of research, but I'm leaning towards using GBS LiFeMnPO4 cells. 4x 200Ah cells in a 4S configuration weigh ~55lbs and measure ~20" x 5.5" x 10". 4x 100Ah cells in 4S weigh ~28lbs and measure ~11" x 5.5" x 10".

I likely will run a BMS (or some sort of protection circuit). I'm still researching this aspect of the project. There is a lot of info out there, but it's scattered everywhere lol. I'm an engineer - but this isn't close to my area of expertise lol.

I did consider an AGM bank; however, I've had an itch to build a LiFePO4 bank for a while. This is something that might get moved to a small off-road trailer at some point (when I find a nice M1101/M1102 lol) and is more or less a fun project to me. Given the Raptor's limited payload, I wanted to keep things light and compact. Ideally, I'd like to be able to mount everything under or behind the back seats.

I should note that Ideally I want the ability to have several days power for times when I'm camping in one location and relatively shaded (i.e. not able to make much use of solar). I wont have a ton of things running on it, but a fridge does take some power, and I'll probably also want to wire in a WeBoost 4g booster and some low power rock lights to use around camp.

I should note that I don't need the benefit of LFP's high discharge currents for any reason. I'm not trying to run an A/C off the thing or anything lol. AGM would suit my needs, I just want more power at less weight/space.