New Battery

[ridgerunner]

Looking to get a new battery for the 94' 4.0. The one in there is ok but I will be hooking up a winch real soon and winter is coming so... Can anyone recommend one for me, brand, size, etc.?

 

[RonD]

I have been using Interstate batteries for many years and have no complaints.

Winch power is at the opposite end of the spectrum from starter motor power.

Car batteries have thin plates which allow them to discharge high amps for a short period, like starting the engine.
The thin plates don't like to be discharged over long periods, and don't recover well when they are drained.

Winches want med amps for a long period, so want a Deep Cycle battery, these have thicker plates, so can't provide high amps all at once but can provide med amps for a long period and recover quite well from even a full discharge.

People often run dual batteries when adding a winch, but you can run a compromise battery, deep cycle with enough amps for the starter motor, but that's only if you have a manual transmission, so you can bump start the engine after pulling it out with the winch, because battery will probably not start the engine after a long pull.

If you have an automatic then I would look at a dual battery setup, that way engine will always start even after a long pull.

 

[ridgerunner]

I do have a manual trans. What about the AGM batteries? I see Interstate has those now too.

 

[RonD]

Absorbent Glass Mat(AGM) battery would be fine, although they used to be sensitive to over charging, i.e. long drives, I am sure that has been dealt with.

They are a "no fluid" battery, so like a dry cell battery, their main purpose is that they can be mounted at pretty much any angle and are sealed so great for aircraft and marine applications.

Never read anything about their use with a winch through?

 

[ridgerunner]

OK, how about Optima and Odessey batteries? I've heard good things about those too.

 

[RonD]

Those are brands so I would check the reviews.
Maybe others will chime in if they have used them.

No one can make a battery that does a starter motor and a winch that can equal two separate batteries design for each purpose.
A compromise battery can do both OK, but not great, which may be fine for your uses.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Unless you have a bunch of high powered lights, a massive winch, competition stereo, high compression big block, or some other crazy electrical load... MTP65 Interstate. The MT series(green top) is good, the MTP series (black top)are perfect, even work great with 8k winches and a pair of Daylighters.

That's an amazing battery. That's coming from the guy who had an Optima in his last truck.

Really need some info on the truck's use to recommend a battery. I could recommend TSL Boggers to you, when you really need G Force BEGs...

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mark_88]

Why not get a gas powered generator and run the winch off that...save your battery power for the truck...or run an inverter that charges the spare battery for the winch and gives you an a/c option for running power tools and the like...

You can probably buy one for the price of a really good battery...or at least put a chunk down towards it...you'd really impress others with a power source in the middle of nowhere...

I'm thinking of building one as a project...mini power generator...already have a 6.5 hp gas motor and looking for a base, alternator and bracket, and inverter to go with it...I've seen a few plans for them and they are pretty simple to make...

 

[ridgerunner]

Nothin' too big for this little truck. Still has stock everything. Typical daily set up in the pic, not much room for anything else. Fabing 2" receivers front and rear next week for winch.

Installed this yellow top today...how did I do?? The welding cable is for the rear winch.

Cable costs about $2.48 per foot.