Deep Cycle Batteries-Which is the best?

i would consider the a.c delco brand of battery if they do a deep cycle, i run a n70 a.c delco and qlthough its not a deep cycle ive run it flat a few times with lights and fridges,its just sat idle for 6 months inbetween vehicle changeover and although its over 2 years old it still performs like it was brandnew and the after sales service is brilliant last time i flattened it i took it back to the dealer for a charge as my charger was too slow and they charged it up overnight for me free of charge. absolutely fanstastic i reckon.

Hi PG, Can't comment on the Imperial, but I've been running the 95 Ah Federal DC27 for about 12 months now. It's also slightly larger than a N70, but fits in the Patrol's aux battery tray. It works great. Just got back from a weekend at the beach in Far North Queensland. The car wasn't started since we arrived at 7:00pm friday night, and ran an EvaKool 68 litre fridge the whole time, plus a few calls on the HF. After the half hour drive back home, the battery had 12.2 volts. I use a Rotronics independant charge system (RFC12), supplemented by an overnight charge from a Arlec 10 amp (rms) charger before and after trips.

I have an anderson plug on the back of the car to connect to the trailer, and I also use that to connect the mains charger when in the garage. This means I don't have to lift the bonnet and also can't forget to disconnect as the cable is tied to the (hinged) garage door that must be opened before I can reverse out.

PG, if you are after the best then you should probably consider the Optima battery. They are more expensive but have several advantages, including longer life. This has been discussed before - just do a search using 'Optima'.

Optima's deep cycle is only a 55 Ah battery, hardly able to replace a 130 Ah battery.