duel battery price

If you do some of the running around yourself you can save some dollars.
If you get the extra battery tray, which you could fit yourself if you wanted, then take it to an auto electrician to do the wiring.
The Redarc Battery Isolater is about the best going on a value for money basis:
http://www.redarc.com.au/sbi.htm
Cost about $110 incl GST
Proper deep cycle battery 75 amps - about $130 incl GST.
Fitting - material $40 approx (should be close)
Labour - $80

Gus, earlier in the year I had a Dual Batt system fitted to my 90' Hilux (Dual Cab diesel). I had a Rotronics (RFC12) system fitted (http://www.rotronics.com.au/ or contact Rod Street on 1800 644 620). They have a wide range of systems for different uses. Rod will be be able to tell you which one is best suited for your needs. I had them ship it down to me (in Syd) and then had my mechanic fit it all up when I had the truck in for a service (I simply didn't have the time to do it myself). I have the 2nd battery situated in a case in the tray. The battery is a Overlander 700 (same as my starting battery) and ran my fridge and inverter for a 2 week trip up around Cameron Corner, Innaminka, down through Gammon and Flinders Ranges and had absolutely no problems with the setup at all. But it is a case of each to their own. Different setups suit different people. This one suits and works for me. This may not be the case for yourself. cheers, Sam.

Hi Gus,

We've recently gone through this exercise for our GU Patrol. In the past on other vehicles we've had a simple solenoid system and a manual switching system. Solenoid system worked very well for us to run the fridge on longish trips, with most stops being 1 to 3 nights with varying amounts of driving in between.

For the GU we were happy to go with solenoid system again but due to sensitive system management systems in cars these days, we were advised to fit only a ARB smart solenoid or a fairly new type of solenoid available through auto electricians, both with surge protection.

As far as batteries go, your choices are to fit a heavy duty or deep cycle battery. Without getting too technical, deep cycle batteries are really designed to be fully discharged, then fully recharged. Failing to do this will drastically reduce the life of the battery. In simple terms, this means that unless you intend stopping for at least several days at a time and running your fridge and lights enough to fully discharge the battery, then driving for say 8 to 10 hours to fully recharge the battery, this type is probably not suitable.

A heavy duty battery, on the other hand can be drawn down a bit and recharged bit by bit without causing any problems. So if you are planning 1 or 2 night stops with a bit of running around, weekend trips away etc, a HD battery is more suitable.

There are hybrid/gel based batteries around that can also complicate the mix and all have their place and application, but what I have given you is the basics. Rotronics and Pirhana have battery management systems that offer a bit more control and flexibility but you need to talk the experts to figure out the nuances. If you intend to use solar panels at a later date, you might be better off to go with one of these systems.

My last piece of advise is to shop around. We found a big variation is prices for all systems both fitted and unfitted. The biggest difference was from two auto sparky's to supply and fit a solenoid system; one quoted $450, the other $660!!!!Shop around...

:o) Melissa

Alrighty! Thanks a lot everyone. You've been really helpful, and now at least i know a little bit about it. Now I'm only part sucker and easy target. I'll start shopping around tomorrow. Much appreciated.
Gus