looking to do up my sahara

Did you get a break down on the costs? When i got a quote some time ago it was something like $600 for a redarc bcdc, $400 for a deep cycle battery and a few hundred for labour. It all adds up to big dollars if you get someone else to do it.

I'm doing my own with parts sourced from EBay and have cut my $1500 quote down to about $600

All you need to do is isolate the battery,have a read on this site,you do not need all this fancy gear that people seem to push.

You are right, a $65 GSL isolator, use the original 2nd battery for a few yrs until a new one is needed, and $40 max for some wire ( maybe a bit more if you want to run wiring to rear of 4wd )..too easy.

I have a 200 with an OL bar, which was less than $2000 colour coded and fitted, and quality and strength seems just as good as ARB..

There are ways to get value for money without compromising quality !

You need to keep your eyes open when searching for "stuff".

I picked up an ARB winch bar for my 200 at the ARB garage sale last year for $1K, came with a new fit kit, I welded on extra antenna mounts and gave it a respray.

A mate gave me a hand to fit it, we bumbled along, took us most of the day.

AWESOME, well done on the finds, cheaper the better, you can shop for my next car now :-P
still you've got to get the other bar work..

also with the batteries, you might want to look at CAT batteries..

175-4390 product number, 1000CCA for 145, try beating that in your finds ;-)
Brilliant warranty, and superb starting grunt for any vehicle..

cheers

Totally agree, most auto sparkys take about an hour to wire them in, and all you need to do is fit the hardware ie; battery holder & isolator unit.
And you get the satisfaction of knowing it's working properly after they test it when finished.
Cheers
Flighty

Oh and forgot to add that the bullbar/rails etc is all bad news .....costs you heaps!! ARB bar will be $2.5-3K
We used to say that every 4wd accessory sets you back $1000......but these days every 4wd accessory sets you back $2000k.

The batteries in a 100 ser are only about 400CCA and are hooked together as one to give starting ability.
When you split them you normally replace both with something like 650 CCA ones. N70 as you say are good
I used 2 gauge cable the same as in the car to run to the isolator with professionally crimped ends.
Ran a 4 gauge to a Fuse block for rear circuits and a 4 gauge to rear for van batteries and 6 gauge for van fridge via 2 Anderson plugs
Waeco in the car had a Raps 12 to run it. All connectors were crimped with a professional crimper.
Total cost about $260 plus the batteries Ran for 2 years without problems.

Not hard to do as I measured all the cables and got a battery guy to crimp them for me after buying the cable and batteries from him.
Spent a day fitting it all up.

Simples

I don't know about pitting a third battery is a lot of hot air Phil (blah, blah, blah).

For long remote trips (CSR - three weeks) or when we will be stationary for more than two nights we installed a third battery so that the two fridges keep our food chilled and frozen. Otherwise we would have to fill the car up with solar cells and/or a generator plus fuel. A third battery fits nicely under the bonnet.

We split the factory two and added a third to the "second" one as a 4WD dual bank which can be used for starting if needed (rarely - only in the snow) with the aid of a switch in the cabin and a Redarc 200 amp isolator under the bonnet. All three are 105AH All rounders. The fidges ran for four days on test at home before I stopped the test. The single crank was not used.

DIY - Careful recommending this
I will never again lead anyone who does their own work and don't get it checked by, or isn't, a good qualified and experienced 4WD mechanic. Three of the cars in a mob that I led to a CSR trip didn't even get past Billiluna because of bad workmanship. Despite being asked strongly to get their DIY work checked!!!!

So please people don't push the DIY work system for critical tasks like rewiring the batteries, greasing bearings, fitting a long range tank or new alternator etc. Bar work maybe okay.Services possibly, but how many have heard the stories about drain plugs coming loose. The DIY maintained alternator came loose, and broke, on one of the tag-a-longs.

PS

Phil sorry mate that was not supposed to be an attack. Some of us have valid reason to fit extra items.

Nah, all good - thought your comments were fine, and thought my comment could have been worded better! But the original question was for dual batteries, not triple. And the point which I should have explained better is that some companies (eg ARB) will keep the original pair of batteries as crankers, and fit a third (smaller 10") battery as a single auxillary. You pay a lot for that type of installation (tray, relocation of bits etc) and only get 70Ah to show for it.
If I was running 2 fridges, I would have considered doing the same as you. But as it turns out the original poster has a 200series and it's a big struggle to get a 3rd battery under the bonnet, as the fuel filter becomes almost inaccessible when relocated.
Cheers

Tom, out of interest, the original batteries in the 200series are now 530cca each and I've known people who have kept them after splitting and say a single one cranks fine. But it's not what you or I would do. Most N70 crankers now are over 700cca, which is plenty for the TTDV8.

The fuel filter was a problem, but thanks to the conscientious mechanic who went to the trouble of an extensive search and found a good carrier and also reinforced the side wall, all is good.

Crowded - Yoi ain't kidding . . . .

Catchya

If you have a 200 and being quoted for a 3rd battery run away.

There is no reason for a 3rd battery other than to help ARB's share price. In fact Toyota put out a email specifically advising against it.

As Phil mentioned above, get a Redarc Isolator, split the batteries and replace them with larger ones and you are done.

Also DC - DC chargers are a solution waiting for a problem. Don't get one.

If I needed the extra capacity of a 3rd battery, and seeing as it would probably be a fridge ( or two ), then the 3rd batt would go in the back of the 200...not under the bonnet..

But back to the original post......split the 2 batts already there, put in an isolator and save a heap of $$..

When the aux battery dies in 2 or 3 yrs, buy a new deep cycle one then !!

Get a quote from ARB, Safari snorkel is around the $650 fitted, MSA drop down slide sounds about right, they are very popular and have gone up in price since I purchased, I have to say there are very easy to install yourself which can save you a few bucks.The battery tray under the hood is around the $200 mark plus install, wiring and redac isolator, the whole kit should be around $600-$800 fitted with you supplying battery. Rear draws can be priced what you have been quoted for a ute tray in a triton, the landcruiser's rear is a lot smaller so i would expect it to be cheaper anywhere from $2500-$3000 depending on quality.

Same here...hard wired together for years..no problemo's. No isolators and electronic over priced junk in between them.

Gday Michael, trust you are well!
The irony of what you and Hog suggest is that the 200series TTD (that the original poster has) is wired exactly that way out of the factory. Twin batteries in parallel. Each battery is 65Ah - if you were to just do a battery change (to 2x 100Ah crankers) then you'll have a heap of capacity - just need a low voltage cutout on the fridge set fairly high.
Put a twin battery setup in my son's FJ Cruiser last week and wired it in parallel - I even used the big lead that came out of my 200. But he will only use it for short trips with daily driving so is unlikely to run it down. Only hassle is if one battery dies, you get 2 flat batteries.
Cheers, Phil

Hi Phil, I see the problem now. I wired mine in parallel as I have a very thirsty 90 litre fridge. I set the voltage cut out to 10.5 volts and it starts easily with the extra current from the pair. For me it save a lot of unecessary wiring and clutter. I agree about the one dead battery but fortunately haveny had that problem. A manual gearbox, old technology clunker like mine helps i guess! regards, Michael