'Soft' 4wds with dual battery?

Hi Ligoland,

I recently just up sized to a Ford Ranger, prior to that I had a Nissan x-trail. I took that car off roading on a regular basis & got it into the Simpson, out to Birdsville, down on the dunes at Stockton as well as many other tracks local to Sydney.

I had a dual battery set up in the back of the car that worked well. I couldn't fit it under the bonnet, but put in a sealed cell battery in a battery box & that worked without missing a beat.

You may not be interested in an x-trail, but the batteries can be put into the backs of the smaller cars quiet easily & just as effectively. I actually have the dual battery in the back of the Ranger as it didn't fit under the bonnet?

Just some thoughts....

Cheers,

Hi Ligoland

In the Subaru we put a small Gel battery into one of the side pockets in the back. Ran the Engel and a C pap. OK for a day stationary but needed more capacity after that.

Also tried a portable set-up with a sealed deep cycle in a battery box strapped to the cargo barrier. That worked well but took up more room. two up was never a problem.

Looking at mounting a Gel under the front seat in the Tiguan as soon as I can work out safe charging system with all the electronics.

The biggest issue is running the wiring somewhere safe and protected and managing the voltage drop from the longer wiring runs into the cabin.
Oh and making sure wiring holes through bulkheads are grommetted and wiring is properly fused.
Actually also remember how heavy the battery is and make sure its secured as well.
While these are all relevant under the bonnet they become really important when the battery is in the cabin with you.

The advantage of getting the battery inside is it doesn't get as heat affected and theoretically lasts longer.

I have heard of ML Mercedes having the standard battery replaced with two high capacity Gel cells in the same cradle. Apparently worked well but I didn't actually see it.

Regards

A

Suzuki make small, very capable 4WD vehicles that have high and low range. I don't know about the battery issue, but if you want a serious 4WD check Suzuki out. See quote from website Suzuki

"The Suzuki Grand Vitara offers a rugged full-time 4-Mode 4WD, with limited-slip type center differential with a low-range transfer case. Unlike other compact SUV's that make do with AWD, the Grand Vitara can go where these wanna-be's don't dare."

We had a 2001 Mazda Tribute for a few years before the 80 series. I investigated install 2 batteries under the bonnet. One Auto-Leccy reckoned it was possible to get 2 smallish batteries into the place where the main cranking one was. I wasn't so convinced and never went ahead with it.

We managed a trip to the Red Centre in July running a fridge off the main one. Didn't have dramas but we weren't set in one place for very long.

SEriously look at a battery set up in the rear of whatever vehicle you choose. I had a Sidewinder Flyer in the Jackaroo, transferred to the x-trail then to the triton & now in the Mahindra. No matter where the battery is you need a long wiring run to the rear. My Flyer came with sufficent wire for any length vehicle. No heat issues with a rear mount. The original battery (Trojan 110ah) lasted near 5 years of travel & on & off use & is now in the van as a house battery. Bill