What battery for dual system

[BurbanAZ]

Ok I've put together my own dual battery systems on a few rigs in the past and never had any issues. Every time I've had different batteries but I've always heard you want similar batteries. I'm going to put together my dual battery setup on my 04 4runner this week. I always just use a 200amp solenoid isolator.

My question is does it hurt anything to have different batteries? I got a optima red top for a really good price so I was thinking of using that for my starting battery and buying a blue top for the aux battery. Also what determines what battery should be used for a vehicle? Is it mainly just what will fit and cranking amps? The red top I got wasn't bought for the 4runner so it doesn't come up as a recommended battery for the 4runner based on the model number.

 

[BigSwede]

My understanding is they should both be the same general type of battery...your proposed setup has both AGM batteries, so it should be fine.

Also what determines what battery should be used for a vehicle? Is it mainly just what will fit and cranking amps?

Pretty much. In addition to what fits physically, you might have to look at your battery cable layout and make sure they reach, or modify accordingly.

 

[bmac1996acc]

If you have an onboard charger you can use different battery types. If you only use an isolator that joins the batteries then they should be the same battery.

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