So there is so much info about batteries and I was wanting to get some recs from y’all. Overall, which battery bank does everyone recommend? Should I do a dual battery in my tacoma or just go with a portable battery bank? We don’t have a ton of charging needs and don’t plan on running solar so I was thinking more along the lines of something like the yeti 500x or anker 535 powerhouse. Then we can either charge it in the car while driving or in the cab of the truck while driving via the plug in the bed. I don’t think I am quite handy enough to install a dual battery and don’t really want to run solar panels up top.
I plan on living semi-full time out of the truck within the next year for some med school rotations so being able to charge a phone/laptop will be key but I think the 500 size battery bank should hopefully be good for that?
Just curious as to y’alls recs! Thanks in advance.
I use jackery but there are a ton of options out there. Main thing you need to figure out is how many watt hours you need. This page give you a good break down of how long you can power or charge items:
It mostly depends on what you need to power as far as size. There are big differences in the amount of time the various devices need to charge, so that may your key factor. If you aren’t driving very far, charging with the vehicle may not work with any of them.
Depends on your driving habits would be my answer.
My wife dailies our Jeep and doesn’t drive much, we have a dual battery kit and large alternator that keep the battery topped up for most of the year running our CFX3 45 fridge. In the summer months we generally clean it out durning the week and only fire it up if we’re heading out for the weekend. The benefits are that it takes up no extra room, and charges quickly directly from the alternator during short trips.
In my truck, I have a 20 amp DC to DC charger and a 100ah LiFePO4 battery and another CFX3 45. I drive a lot during the day and the battery stays topped up even on the relatively small charger. It has enough capacity to keep the fridge rubbing all weekend while the truck is parked even when it’s 105+ degrees out. The benefits are the battery should outlast the truck, it was the cheapest, and easiest to install. This system works in the truck because it gets driven a lot and needs to power the fridge over 2-3 day weekends without running the truck.
My Jackery 1000 doesn’t see much use anymore, and generally comes out when our house power goes down. However i used it in my truck a few times before I set up a house battery. The benefits are that it includes an inverter, is self contained, solar ready and portable.
Just really think about your needs. If you don’t want solar it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be paying for a unit with a solar controller. Same goes for 120V. Do you need 120 plugs? The Yeti 500X has a 300w inverter which is very low and wont work with many things.
If you just want to run a fridge and 12V, and are living semi-full time it would be hard to beat a dual battery setup in price and function. Don’t have to ever think about it and it could save you if you have a dead primary battery. With a popular truck like a Tacoma you can find complete solutions that require minimal handy-ness.
I am running (2) 100AH 12V Lithium Battle Born Batteries, 2000W Inverter, 200W Solar, and a Victron 30AMP DC to DC Charger in the bed of my short bed Tacoma. I went with (2) Batteries to make sure I can charge my kids’ Stacyc’s, our OneWheels, and other electronics without getting battery anxiety.
Like a lot of people have mentioned here, what you NEED will vary on your power use. Currently I have an Odyssey AGM that replaced the starter battery in my truck and I coupled that with a hood-mounted 90w solar panel (Lensun brand) and connected to the battery via a Victron solar controller. I have my IceCo VL60pro connected to the odyssey 24/7 and the battery stays topped off.