Battery Management

My truck has two separate electrical systems. A 24v system to run the truck systems such as starting, lights, engine etc. The engine has a second 12v alternator that provides power to 12v batteries for other purposes as I choose. At present I just have an old 12v starter battery connected to it to suck up the charge. I want to develop this system to runs my fridge, other 12v requirements and on occasion a 12v electric winch.

I have decided to not go for deep cycle batteries (to much trouble and excessive cost) and have decided to install two heavy duty starter batteries of about 100-120 ah each. I accept the shorter life of the batteries. As I do not need to protect my main starter batteries from running down I do not need a dual battery system management system as such. These 12v batteries will be rigged in parallel but I will rig a switching system so that power can be drawn from either batteries or from both.

So to the question - do I need a management system to keep both these batteries charged equally or do I need just connect both direct to the alternator. Also I assume it is a good idea to have a low voltage cutout on the output to protect the batteries from going flat. Is there one that will automatically switch batteries if one gets low?

Thanks in advance.

Garry
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