2 questions, batteries and tires

[8madjack]

it seems that two of my batteries have gone bad, I normally keep my truck on the Noco genius 24 volt charger through the slave port oh, I was putting it around on the property using it and I noticed once or twice when I hit the start switch it didn't crank and then when I hit it again a second later it cranked fine. After I was done using the truck and I put the charger back on it wouldn't reach the green light and I think it indicated a fault. I separated the batteries and hooked up a new NOCO genius 10 and did them individually, two of them wouldn't Reach green. The way I understand things I should replace all 4 batteries together instead of just the two bad ones. My truck does a lot of sitting and is mostly used for short periods. I've seen people go to a two battery system I always hear about the group 31 or the 8D, I know it's cheaper but I also don't want to have trouble in the winter oh, it doesn't get super cold here usually in the 30s, so I wanted to hear people's thoughts on the batteries.

If I'm reading the date code correctly I think they are 2015 batteries.

The tire question is about my 14 x 20 good years the date codes on the ones I've looked at are all 2007/2008 , I know they're starting to get old but I don't know if I should be really concerned or keep it off the road until I get newer tires. Usually when I'm cruising on the road the truck is empty or close to it but on my property I have 1600 gallons of water in the back.

 

[simp5782]

Run em as much as you want at a safe speed. All 1400s are just about that old. Especially in XZLs.

Battery wise two group 31s will be fine. Especially if you keep it on trickle charge. I went with batteries plus group 31s that have a 4yr warranty. Little expensive but the coverage is what I was after.

 

[jasonjc]

Check with your big truck shops , my local Freightliner just had Group 31's for $59ea.

 

[8madjack]

Thanks for the replies. I figured if the tires were getting too old I'd look for newer 395s. Mine look good, just the age was concerning me, for on road use anyway.

What about running the 2 good military batteries for now, just removing the 2 bad ones?

 

[simp5782]

Thanks for the replies. I figured if the tires were getting too old I'd look for newer 395s. Mine look good, just the age was concerning me, for on road use anyway.

What about running the 2 good military batteries for now, just removing the 2 bad ones?

Ive got 12R24.5s for sale in the classifieds. These allow you to run duals on the rear and a 395 on the steer axle.

 

[8madjack]

Thanks, but I like the singles, I'm not looking to go to duals in the back, but Dual 395 would look pretty badass! There's a water truck on Instagram called tactical Nessie that I follow that has them and it looks pretty tough

 

[98G]

What about running the 2 good military batteries for now, just removing the 2 bad ones?

If the two "good" ones load test fine then that is exactly what I would advocate .

 

[Jbulach]

Aren’t those AGM batteries? I thought most people where getting well over 5 years out of them. Are you running your Noco on the correct setting? There’s several threads around on a process for bringing AGM’s back with good success. I mixed and matched two sets ( of 2012 flooded batteries and got a few more years by only running two batteries, but I’m cheap!

 

[8madjack]

Mine are maintenance free I don't think they're AGM, at least I didn't see it on the battery anywhere.

I've had my genius 7200 set on 24 volt and had it maintaining the truck through the slave Port since I've owned it which has been a few years now

 

[fasttruck]

Check the place where the negative line from the batteries is attached to the frame for same being loose or corroded. What kind of truck is this: deuce or 5T. 1600 gallons of water is an intense load for a deuce. but would fit into a 5 T.

 

[8madjack]

5 ton

Ill check the connections, the recent charging and testing has been with the batteries separately on 12v chargers.

 

[98G]

Mine are maintenance free I don't think they're AGM, at least I didn't see it on the battery anywhere.

I've had my genius 7200 set on 24 volt and had it maintaining the truck through the slave Port since I've owned it which has been a few years now

Those are the best batteries going.

You can probably resurrect the two "bad" ones.

I have 2 of those in my HMMWV, dated 2011. It was the only one of my MVs to start at 17 below.

 

[8madjack]

Those are the best batteries going.

You can probably resurrect the two "bad" ones.

I have 2 of those in my HMMWV, dated 2011. It was the only one of my MVs to start at 17 below.

That's great news to hear,
I'll have to educate myself on how to resurrect them, the repair function of the battery charger didn't do it.

 

[tobyS]

The 1400CCA 8D is massive battery. O Reilly just quoted $205 each (I have account). They are large enough that the wood underneath has to be removed. It's the best deal going in my opinion with massive cca.

My hawkers seem to have no reserve and the conditioning charger does not work on mine either.

 

[74M35A2]

I don’t understand battery chargers. Meaning, I dropped two grp 31’s in my truck years ago, and can go over 6 months without starting it, and she fires right up. Every 5 years, I chuck them out for brand new ones at a cost of $200 even though they are still cranking perfect. Never had them even seem weak. People try to run batteries as long as possible and it never pays off from a frustration and maintenance perspective.

 

[98G]

The 1400CCA 8D is massive battery. O Reilly just quoted $205 each (I have account). They are large enough that the wood underneath has to be removed. It's the best deal going in my opinion with massive cca.

My hawkers seem to have no reserve and the conditioning charger does not work on mine either.

Someone here may have more knowledge and experience than I do, so i welcome comments...

But this is what I do -

I take a deep cycle RV battery with two sets of posts. I connect one set of posts to the battery charger. I use jumper cables and connect the other set of posts to the "bad" AGM battery. I set the battery charger to charge. I have a battery charger that starts charging around 20amps, and gradually slows the rate of charging down to a float rate. I leave it for a week or two.

If the charger has decided that the batteries are charged and has dropped to the float rate, I try to connect the AGM battery by itself and run the reconditioning function. Frequently after couple of days I'll get an error message and the whole process starts over with connecting it back with the RV battery. But after an iteration or four, it frequently brings a battery back to life.

I have a couple of old optima redtops that are now showing 13.4V after doing this. They started the process with the charger unable to even see them.

Clint probably has the best and least aggravating approach. But I'm cheap and hate to dispose of anything that still has life in it. And as long as one of my MVs will start, slave cables will start the rest, so individual reliability isn't critical for me.

 

[74M35A2]

Thanks for the credit, but no big deal really. It is the only MV I own, so if it does not start, it is going to take a while to jump it with a bunch of 12v stuff spaghetti’d together like we are giving Frankenstein CPR. I’m not as organized on my time management as I probably should be, so, when I need the truck to move or be used, she needs to do exactly that on the spot, otherwise burn it in place and call the scrap yard to come get it. Just more of me being impatient and not wanting to own a bunch of 24v life support equipment. The 5 year thing really has proven no jumper boxes, slave cables, or chargers needed for me. Like anything else, you pay for it one way or another. I even left the solar charger wires off when I dropped the 2x grp 31’s in. No right or wrong way. Just FYI for other members to help them make their own choices.

The mil over-equips with battery power so the truck can sit for very long times and still crank up. Tremendous jump capability as well. If you just want to own and drive it, you don’t need that much battery power.

 

[Jbulach]

Looks these are not AGM’s, If I’m reading his tag tag correctly?

Yeh, I probably use more electricity on my chargers than it would cost for new batteries at times. I ended up going with 4D’s to match my Cat loaders batteries.
These where heavy enough, just pictures of 8D’s make my back hurt.

 

[simp5782]

By the part number they are AGMs

 

[8madjack]

Thanks for all the input I definitely appreciate the knowledge and experience. Since they are agm according to simp (thanks) ill try the parallel charging method.. I'll just run the 2 in the mean time and go back to 4 if they resurrect.