Best Dual Battery Setup?

Greetings fellow 4Runner Forum friends!

I've read about all the different dual battery systems. Highly interested in advice from those who actively and actually installed their own dual battery system. If you have done so, please let me know what system you went with and a link. Love to see what people are using these days and learn from you.

My use case: 3-7 day off grid camping trips with a 12v fridge.

Best - Raimie

 

Is a dual battery set up the best option? I ask this thinking of the weight if this your daily driver. Originally I was all in on a dual battery set up, but as portable power stations are easy to charge and convenient to move … I’m rethinking a big power station and only wiring for a 25-30A DC-DC charger outlet to it. Wiring stays in truck, and rest in the garage when not on a trip. Prices out a bit more per watt, but a lot more convenient.

 

Like 5six is saying I got a power station with solar pannel. 1,000 watt battery. Pretty light weight. Lots of outlets. 160 watt pannel. Can charge off the cars AC outlet. Going to use it to boil water, charge radios and laptops, power a starlink.

 

Here is my dual battery setup I installed myself. It has worked flawlessly.

https://www.4runners.com/threads/cowboys-dual-battery-install.219

I run a Dometic fridge / freezer and have gone 3 days without charging (as in camped ai one spot).

 

I'm starting to think you're 100% on. Looking at installs, huge time cost, huge materials cost, and heavy. The portable power can go with you anywhere!
Does anyone have a link to installing the wiring for power station to charge from the back of the car?

 

I have a solar panel on the hood from cascadia and I like it, but it's overpriced because there is no real competition.

I have a genesis dual battery system - I like that it's drop in and plug and play - but I regret it. I have a gen 2 system for sale if you want it. Bottom line - the genesis dual battery system is good for dummies (why I bought it) but the far better option is putting the second battery on the passenger side and keeping two full size batteries.

For your use case you're going to want solar panels of some type and you'll save a lot of money if you can live with a portable solar panel and portable 1000 watt battery. Pro tip: cool down the fridge a full day or two before the trip.

Wiring a plug to the back isn't hard at all. Just running wire to a plug. The biggest difficulty is deciding where to cut to install the plug. You want to be sure you have a controller so that your cranking battery doesn't die charging up your lithium battery.

I'll get some pictures of my setup up later.

 

You could put a solar panel on your hood but then you don't have the flexibility of moving it out of a shaded area and into sun or angling it, or changing the angle and position throughout the day so it gets best sunlight, which makes a huge difference.

You could run a dual batter setup, but that's a serious pain in the ass wiring it all up and what if you camp away from your car? you're going to have to run an extension cord over to your camp site or something.

Or you could get a battery station and folding solar panel that you only carry with you when you need or want it and is super portable and gives you a lot more options and flexibility and is just flat our convenient. My battery has 6x AC outlets and 6x USB with 2x USB-C. Up to 500watts of solar charging means you can really boondock. LiPO4 battery means it's going to last 10 years and thousands of charge cycles, more than it will be used.

I got this guy - up to 1800watts of power. You're end up spending this much on a dual battery but these have everything, charge controllers etc all built in. Throw it in the closet when you don't need it. Loan it to someone if they need it. Throw it in the trunk of your car if you might use it with another vehicle. bring it to your parents house if their power goes out.

$799 EF ECOFLOW Portable Power Station Delta 2, 1024Wh LiFePO4 (LFP) Battery, 1800W AC/100W USB-C Output, Solar Generator(Solar Panel Optional) for Home Backup Power, Camping & RVs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9XB57XM?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

 

Thacrow has the right suggestion for your use case.

Dual battery is for crazy people who run their fridge 24/7 just so they always have a cold bottle of water. Some people are just too dumb and waste money. [But, having a cold drink is nice]

 

I run a fridge on a Jackery 500. Pass through charging when the truck is on and a Duralite 100 watt panel to charge when parked. The Jackery can run the fridge for about 48 hours from 100% so if I’m moving between camp sites I don’t even need the solar panel. I had debated the dual battery but I want to the keep the electrical system as stock as possible.

 

"Dual battery is for crazy people who run their fridge 24/7"

Yea, thanks for calling me crazy. I've been called much worse. I run my refrigerator 24/7 just to have something cold to drink and to keep food cold. I don't work in an office or in town. I work out of my 4 Runner in remote areas of the western Mojave Desert. This is the system that I use.

2010-Current Toyota 4Runner Dual Battery System – Off-Grid Engineering (offgridpowerproducts.com)

It has worked flawlessly for me. For what it's worth, I have a lithium battery pack (716 Wh LiFeP04) for some stuff, but I don't see it as a long-term solution for me. It may be fine for weekend warrior types.

 

No one was insulting you but this is clearly an emotional response.

While a dual battery setup, practically speaking, is totally unnecessary and probably down right less convenient, there are those like myself, who is 36, who always wanted a dual battery setup and still think it's bad ass even though there are more practical solutions in the modern day who's breakthroughs of cutting edge science gave us an easier, more practical, and more economical option.

No one is trying to insult you.

 

Despite being crazy, the system Glenn recommended is by far better than the genesis system. Instead of cramming two small batteries in the space where the OEM battery is they use two full size batteries.

 

Here’s what I did

https://aguyagirlandatrail.com/custom-power-distribution-system/

 

What's the cutoff for that kit? On the genesis the auxiliary battery will automatically charge from the alternator if the starter battery is above a certain voltage. I can't tell how your system does that. I'm hoping you're going to say the charge controller is much more sophisticated than the one in the genesis system and that it's user programmable.