1998 Prado VX Grande with LPG - Dual Battery questions (and some general ones)

[jasonbourne Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close jasonbourne]

Hi,

I just bought a brand new "old" 1998 Prado VX Grande and am now a proud owner.
It has 225.000km on clock and I do want to convert it into a camper for weekend trips to endeavor Australia.
So far I don't plan to get into too serious offroad driving, though the car is equipped with a snorkel, a lift kit (2inch) and a winch.

I do want to fit in a 2nd battery to run a small 12v coolbox/fridge and charge my laptop.

The old owner said he used the Anderson plug in the back for a dual battery set up, what I didn't get.
Under the hood in the engine compartment there's no space for a 2nd battery, it's really tight upfront with the LPG system and the winch (wires, electrical) using all the space.

So now I ask myself:
How can I fit in a dual battery system?

As far as I understand, that Anderson plug in the back is just a regular connection (12v) to the starter battery, so is there a chance to use the existing cable for a 2nd battery in the back?
Basically if there's power, the 2nd battery could be charged, it just needs a switch/dis-connector and I have to figure out if that setup would be save?

I think about buying one of these kits from supercheap auto, a battery container and than installing it in the back? Is this possible especially if you think about safety aspects, e.g. cable diameter of that anderson plug cable?

I would also appreciate any other solution or hints for a new 4wd owner.

Thanks a lot,

Jason

P.S. I think if I have to move the air filter box or free up some space upfront I'm pretty sure I would give the system a pass, also If I have to rewire the whole car to fit something in.

[Guest Close Guest]

The cable needs to be 6B&S to prevent voltage drop and the battery needs to be AGM for in cabin stowage.

[bigbore52 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close bigbore52]

Jason,

I tried replying earlier but it never happened so here goes again....

Went down that path when I got my petrol Prado in 98.....all the 'experts' including specialist electricians and off road places said my only options were option one to either carry a spare one wired in to main battery but located in the cargo compartment or under a seat while option two was to move components in the engine bay and place a smaller second battery at right angles to the main battery cradle. Biggest problem there being you had to have smaller batteries to fit as space is pretty tight - means new cradles and harnesses as well....

I ended up getting advice from a bloke who makes batteries in Melbourne who told me that by having a battery bigger than the standard one, fitted in isolation might solve all the issues but it depends on what you want to run. Those batteries cover the same surface area of the cradle base but the cells are much taller so it sits higher than normal giving greater plate area hence more current and cca for the same base area of the standard battery cradle...or just slightly larger but importantly will fit without mods

Aside from winching, the biggest current draw I run from the battery not under motor running is the Chescold 3 way - it's an oldie that draws a measured 8 amps on max from start up temperature to freezing ...most of the modern stuff including fridges and lights etc, draw far less due to newer technology as with led's etc - they draw very little amperage and are far more efficient.....but I can leave my fridge running in the car without charging for an easy 8 hours without draining it to worrying levels - considering my battery is a minimum 880cca and it's in excellent condition but I couldn't guarantee that with a standard battery

My fridge runs best on gas or 240 so no need to run it on the car that long and when driving, the draw is minimal once the fridge is up to temp required....Engels etc, work differently but if mine runs easily without draining my battery, then other brands will work far better.

My recommendation is work out what you want to run from your battery, how long you want to run it, what current draws you have and then see if you actually do need a dual battery system given the problems you already know on space required - if you are worried about using one battery only, fit some measuring instrument for a few bucks and get yourself one of those new jump start packs for less than a hundred $...they will jump start a dead flat battery and are easily carried in your glove box - doing it that way will work out far less than getting an after market dual battery system which may not be the most efficient anyway.

I've just returned from 6 weeks bush in Arnhem land in my 98 which only has the one battery - it performed flawlessly running everything including the fridge but most importantly, I never had a warm frothie at any stage....perish the thought....

Hope that helps......