Reasonably easy way of adding a deep cycle battery to a Series 100 LX470?

[Power Wagon Family]

I use this box, a charge it with a solar panel. It's great, cheap and has a gauge and 12v outlets to charge my phone or other electronics plus run my frig. I also upgraded my drive battery just because I think the vehicle is better of with a good battery.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...0&kpid=25600&gclid=CNiQ3rXdx8MCFRQ2aQodL54ADQ

 

[cruiseroutfit]

But isn't the ARB supposed to shut down if the battery drops below a certain point?

Yes, assuming it is a later model ARB Freezer-Fridge. The older ARB (Engel) did not have battery protection settings. The ARB allows you 3 levels of protection. I've generally found that just about any Land Cruiser will still start after the fridge shuts-off (error light flashes too indicate power issue) on the two upper voltage settings (upper and middle), the lower setting however will continue running the fridge long after you'll get the "click-click" on some Land Cruisers.

What is realistically the longest you plan to be parked with the fridge running?

 

[peekay]

I called Odyssey and spoke to them about this battery and one thing the gal said was that most alternators don't have enough capacity to recharge the 31m properly and that you needed a high output alternator. The ones that come on the LC are 95 amps but 200+ amp alternators are easily available and fairly easy to install. Have any of you guys addressed that?

She is talking nonsense. The reality is that your alternator is usually not putting out that many amps to charge your battery because it only needs to top it off, e.g. 5-10 amps. Even if you were to discharge your battery very deeply, the alternator still does not charge the battery all that quick--maybe something like 25-30 amps, at most. I charge my two travel trailer batteries (both group 29), as well as my Tacoma group 27 batteries, and my Tacoma alternator is more than up to the task. I suppose a heavy duty alternator would be necessary if you were drawing down the battery very fast, e.g. using a winch, or heavy duty stereo system w/ an amplifier, or something like that.

As for your separate battery idea, go for it. It's not as clean nor cool as a dual battery setup, but it's much easier. Make sure the line charging the fridge battery is thick enough so that you don't experience too much voltage drop (and consequently make charging really slow). The longer the line runs, the thicker it has to be. There are charts on the internet explaining how thick it needs to be.

Don't overthink the battery thing. I've had great success with Walmart Evermaxx group 29 batteries. One has lasted 4 years, and it experiences heavy discharges. Personally, I believe that the "premium" batteries to be a waste of money. Lead batteries really are not rocket science.

 

[CSG]

Yes, assuming it is a later model ARB Freezer-Fridge. The older ARB (Engel) did not have battery protection settings. The ARB allows you 3 levels of protection. I've generally found that just about any Land Cruiser will still start after the fridge shuts-off (error light flashes too indicate power issue) on the two upper voltage settings (upper and middle), the lower setting however will continue running the fridge long after you'll get the "click-click" on some Land Cruisers.

What is realistically the longest you plan to be parked with the fridge running?

12-14 hours. I do realize the fridge won't be running fulltime during that period but cycling on and off.

I keep thinking maybe the simplest solution is to get a second starter battery, make sure it's fully charged via a Battery Tender before I leave, and just stow it in a battery box. Run the ARB via the vehicle battery and if it all goes wrong, I've got a fresh starter battery I can either jump from or swap out. Alternatively, get a group 27 deep cycle battery and plug into that overnight and then hook it up to the 12v accessory port in the back with some alligator clips and 12v plug while underway to recharge as much as possible.

The main reason I don't want to get too involved with this project is that I use my camping van far more often. It has a built-in fridge with a typical RV battery system (two Group 27 deep cycle batteries isolated from the engine battery). The Land Cruiser just can take me to places the van doesn't dare try.

 

[mhiscox]

Don't be too harsh on the ArkPak. I have both it and Honda EU1000 and EU2000 generators and almost never prefer to use the generators. The generators require fuel and make noise, and an ArkPak won't.

I suppose it comes down to how much flexibility you want and how much you value your time. With the ArkPak (mine has a Diehard 31M) I can have auxiliary power in any of my vehicles, and I didn't have to spend any time or money wiring up the trucks. And when I'm in Daily Driver mode, I don't have to carry the substantial weight of a battery, mount and cabling around to no purpose.

As ably pointed out earlier by SWITAWI, the ArkPak also includes an inverter, useful readouts on charging mode and voltage, lots of outlets and you can use either DC and AC charging.

Opinions will vary, but if you include the price of a quality tray and holddown, heavy cables, an inverter and so on, the increment for the ArkPak will be a couple of hundred dollars at the most to get something that offers everything you need. To my mind, that's not a bad price for the increased flexibility--you can even drag it into the house during a power failure--and the fact that you can be up and running without any time investment. (And if you want to give your Hundy back to a car dealer when you move on, you can keep your ArkPak and not lose your investment.)

Anyway, consider giving it a rethink. Your application seems to be ideal for this.

 

[texascrane]

FWIW, I think the ArkPak is a good, reasonably priced solution. It's actually quite a bit cheaper than a dual battery set up if you're going to use something like an IBS dual battery system.

 

[CSG]

After spending the day looking into alternatives, I'm coming to the same conclusion - Ark.

 

[CSG]

This morning, I called Slee to ask about their tray and the Sears 31M solution. After spending some time on the phone, I think this may be a better solution and certainly less money than the 31M in an Ark box. Less flexible, of course, but one less item to carry and fuss with. I'd been planning on an ARB but Slee suggested the Engle because it drew less current, had more even temps inside, and ran more quietly. As far as the sulfation and charging issues, the battery does have a three year replacement policy...

Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions and photos!

 

[SWITAWI]

For what it's worth, when I asked montypower and uscg2008 about their long-term experience with the Group 31M as a single battery (and possible charging issues), they said the following...

No issues whatsoever. People have many opinions and theories on single vs dual battery setups. I may have started the 31M battery trend for Tacoma trucks. It has been flawless for me. The argument that the battery never recharges is just not relevant for real world use. My 63qt ARB fridge ran continuously for 7+ months with many days only driving 5-10 minutes and at one point not running for 5 days (no restarting issue). It was also used for winch duty. Never had a dead battery. Never recharged it. I will say the factory Taco alternator is 130 amp which is better than most stock alternators.

Currently I'm running the same battery in my 03 Montero with the stock 120 amp alternator. Same winch and fridge. No issues. I've been running this battery since June 2014.

At the end of the day, try it. Single battery is simple, less money and more reliable. Worse case you may need to upgrade your alternator (maybe). I bring a jump box with me (especially when traveling remotely); so far I've helped multiple people with dead batteries but haven't used it on my trucks.

I can't recall which alternator comes in the 2nd gen Tacoma that has the factory 500w inverter. But, according to my battery monitor the battery is fully back into the top of full charge after about ten min of driving.

Let us know how it all works out! :beer:

 

[zimm]

you dont need to spend a dime with slee to put in a sears 31. the existing battery clamp can be curved. see the above posted pic with two batteries and an ahc.

there are also no brain marine hands free battery isolators or manual relay setups. dual batteries dont have to be and expensive proposition.

currently on my lx 470 i just use one sears 31 platinum. on the 40 i built a system using a 3 position relay. ALL loads are on the main battery and i engage (combine) the secondary battery for winching or jumping. i actually have found that to be the best setup throughout the years.