Battery Recommendations

[Lone Watie]

Looking for some battery recommendations for my 1999. I tried the search but didn't reveal too much, or I'm too obtuse to find them. I know I've seen some suggestions before, so any help greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[ISX]

Hmmm thanks for giving me a topic to do an article on Anyhow I worship the everstart maxx's you get at walmart. Never let me down and somehow always have plenty of cranking power.

[Lone Watie]

Hmmm thanks for giving me a topic to do an article on Anyhow I worship the everstart maxx's you get at walmart. Never let me down and somehow always have plenty of cranking power.

Thanks for the quick reply, which everstart do we need for our trucks? I'm sure can find one I need when I go there, but just doing some online searches until I get out for the day.

[Mopar1973Man]

Hmmm thanks for giving me a topic to do an article on Anyhow I worship the everstart maxx's you get at walmart. Never let me down and somehow always have plenty of cranking power.

Same here... Good price and easy to get. Another battery I would buy is a NAPA battery absolutely nothing wrong with them.

[ISX]

They should have some that are at least 900-1000 cranking amps. Those will spin it over like a top.

[War Eagle]

Hmmm thanks for giving me a topic to do an article on Anyhow I worship the everstart maxx's you get at walmart. Never let me down and somehow always have plenty of cranking power.

X2.

[Cummin Dodge]

Walmart everstart maxx is the only way to go I have an old military one ton chevrolet with a 24v start detroit in it and I have had those batterys for three years in it and it starts every time even after sitting for months on end.

[Mopar1973Man]

I've got 10 years from my factory batteries. Any lead acid battery that you keep maintained by topping with distilled water and keeping them charged you'll never have any problem with a lead acid battery. Most here know my house is battery powered by 24V battery bank costing about $3,800 to replace. So I'm a wizard when it comes to lead acid batteries.

[Homestead]

I have had Optima Red Tops in my truck for about a year now with never a power concern. I have been dealing with a few medical issues and haven't used the truck for about a month. During that month, up here in Alberta, we have been dealing with -20 Celsius and lower temps and the truck has been sitting not plugged in. This evening at about -36 Celsius, I cycled the grid heaters twice and twisted the key and she spun over and started!They are not cheap but they work.Jeff

[birchy]

The Kirkland batteries from Costco are very good as well. Keep in mind that - as with most things - there are really only a few big companies that make the batteries - they're all just re-badged. From what I understand, Johnson Controls manufactures the Kirkland batteries, as well as Optima, Diehard, Interstate, Motorcraft and Duralast. Everstart are made my Exide I believe.. The other big manufacturer is Delphi.

[Mopar1973Man]

The Kirkland batteries from Costco are very good as well. Keep in mind that - as with most things - there are really only a few big companies that make the batteries - they're all just re-badged. From what I understand, Johnson Controls manufactures the Kirkland batteries, as well as Optima, Diehard, Interstate, Motorcraft and Duralast. Everstart are made my Exide I believe.. The other big manufacturer is Delphi.

Very Very True!

[diesel4life]

Weve got 4 vehicles sitting around here and as the batteries have gone bad in them I replace them with Interstate. My dads always ran them in his trucks/tractors and they are a reliable battery, everyone he or I has owned has lasted well beyond the warranty. I can also get them right up the road from either the local parts store or the local repair shop, maybe a tad more money but I try to support my local peeps whenever I can Like Mike said the most important thing is to keep them topped off and the connections in sound condition as well.

[Rhagfo]

Well the batteries on my 01 were starting to let me down, it the truck set for about a week it would not start. Happened at the Airport a couple of times, sent a wimpy Ford Ranger to start me, took about 10 minutes of sitting with the Ranger spinning ABOUT 3k RPM to get enough charge to start the beast, 2nd time they sent two!I checked around and the best deal I came up with was local Dodge dealer $99 each, and this dealer has a 10% coupon on their WEB site. Two OEM 72 month batteries for $180!Mike got 10 years out of his, i how to do the same.

[Mopar1973Man]

Mike got 10 years out of his, i how to do the same.

Simple... If you leave the vehicle parked for any length of time pull the IOD fuse in the cab. The one with the funky fuse clip. This allows you to pull the fuse so all your Ignition Off Draw components are no longer draining down the batteries while being parked. Then if you knowingly start the truck and drive a very short distance be sure to extend your return trip home to give ample time for the batteries to recharge or use a battery charger when you get home. Batteries take hours to recharge not minutes. If you add water to the batteries make sure to charge the batteries well before leaving it sit. Battery electrolyte will separate to some degree and acid sinking to the bottom. Slight over charging of the batteries will stir the electrolyte and distilled water together when the battery starts to boil. This is called equalizing. This should be done with the truck disconnected because your battery voltage will be roughly 15.5 to 15.7 volts. That's how I got 12 years out of these big beasts of batteries that power my house. ($4,300 worth of batteries - [8] 6 volt batteries weighing right at 1,000 pounds.)

[Wild and Free]

Like I post in every battery thread asking this very question, I have tried about everything and It comes down to shopping for the best battery prorated warranty and price. I never look at specific stores or brands anymore, I shop around for the best priced battery with the best and longest warranty prorate.:smart:Lately one of our locally owned parts houses has had the best priced batteries with a 7 year prorated warranty with totally free replacement within the first 12 months.

[MoparFreak1988]

I just put two new ones in my 99 because mine went dead and froze I got mine from Napa. Just a FYI they are a group 27 series batteries and mine after cores was 90 a piece 18 month free replacement 75 month prorate. Furthering the statement on buying a brand if your battery is USA made and its a re-branded battery examples Napa, Dualast etc it will be made by either East pen, Exide, or Johnson controls they are the only 3 that manufacture "re-branded" batteries here stateside. Delphi got out of the auto battery business years ago (2007 maybe) they sold a plant an some other stuff to Johnson controls. Optimas are there own beast, and are now made in Mexico... Delphi got out years ago 2007 maybe and sold a plant an some other stuff to Johnson controlsRe-branding information was provided by a automation/electrical engineer whose company designed the operating systems for over 90 percent of these company's. I recommend you buy cheap and get a good warranty then your good no matter what

[h2obuffalo]

over the years i have come to love the spiral cell batteries (optima being the big "name" in the style), the ones that look like a overgrown plastic coated six-pack... having used optima yellow tops in my younger stupider days as extra power/capacitance for excessive stereos, i have seen them last easily 10 years... that being said, for heavier duty, more long term applications (such as winching and cold northern winter starts), i found that the motomaster branded ones (the house brand at Canadian Tire) are at par or better then the optima red tops. the technology is pretty universal, i suspect most brands are built almost identicallybeing maintenance free is a huge advantage to the average user, while i have the know how to monitor and top up a traditional lead-acid, i don't usually have the memory to think of it often enough. Spiral cells also they boast the ability to be mounted in any position, my first optima yellow top lived a few years mounted almost completely upside down in the trunk of my first car with zero leakage. this makes them great for adding extra cells to a system.as soon as i have the slightest issue from either of my factory batteries, i will be putting in a couple spiral cell replacements into my truck, without pause.

[AH64ID]

I used to be a HUGE Optima fan, but really there haven't been too many good reports out of them in the last 5-6 years. It seems they probably cut some corners somewhere along the lines and decided to ride on a reputation and not quality.. anyhow I hope they fix it some time. The other thing is they don't really fit out trucks, why not make more than 2 sizes, they charge enough they can make more than a 1 size fits all!! They also only have 750 CCA's, like stock. I am currently running a pair of Sears Platinum's in my truck. They are re-badged Odyssey's made for Sears. They offer 930 CCA's vs the OEM 750, and believe me you feel it. The truck cranks at 0° like it use to at 30°. I use the Sears gold in my wife's 4Runner and it works fine, but it never really gets tested being a small gas engine, and garaged. I have some non sealed Costco RV batteries in the TT and they don't last nearly as long as the pair of 6V did, but they also have 75% of the capacity (6V's don't fit my current setup, so a retro fit is coming next year). They hold the voltage fine (checked yesterday sitting at 12.5 after a month of 0° or colder at night and they haven't had a good charge since October, just a 10w solar panel for a week about a month ago). So in the end most batteries are pretty good, and will work. I put better batteries in the truck since I am often a LONG way from civilization with the family and it's good piece of mind.

[flagmanruss]

In the past, I have sworn by Sears Diehard batteries... I had to recharge them with a charger recently & I'm betting they've failed again. They always seem to fail just short of the warentee period. You go back thinking you'll get some coverage... and you do... $3-5 worth. I'm thinking it's time for a change of brand. I even had a little dash-top solar maintainer on it.I'd had good luck with the Everstart batteries in other vehicles.

[pepsi71ocean]

This is a first in this thread.I run interstate deep cycle marine batteries. The truck went through 3 sets over the life of the truck. The OEM ones lasted the longest, until i dropped a wrench across the battery one day and shorted the whole fricken truck.the battery i dropped the wrench on had a dead cell after that, sure it would hld a charge for a few days but squashed.Then the next set (the first set of Interstate Batteries lasted about 2 years until the moron mechanical shop that was dealing with my transmission did something, i still don't know to this day why they died. Anyways after that i had to buy another set of batteries that to this day still work like a charm. If i decide to cycle the grids or not doesn't matter this thing spins and goes even at 7F out. but then again 1000cca times two batteries will do that out.