Our old battery is lifted out. Note that it is a traditional flooded acid battery with vents. This type of battery must have the electrolyte level monitored and maintained which of course we never did. It can also spew acid and spill. With the Optima we will never have to worry about these issues ever.
Ok, our battery box is ready to take our new battery.
Our Optima Blue Top is unboxed and readied to go in.
It’s a simple matter to drop it right in place.
The trailer’s terminals are connected, and whoops, we forgot to hook up the power for the winch.
Everything is in place and ready to go. One thing to consider is that trailers don’t have shocks and if you look in your rearview mirror much, you might be surprised how much your race car is bouncing around over bumps. Having a highly bump and vibration resistant battery definitely doesn’t hurt!
When installing a new battery it is always a good idea to assess it and give it a full charge as it might have been sitting around for some time waiting to be sold. This is super easy with the Optima Digital 400 charger.
6 comments
Because you have two batteries, being charged with the alternator, did you also use a battery isolator? Where it automatically switches between batteries at a pre-determined low voltage? They seem great in theory, cheap too, but I never see a mention of it, so I’m not sure of the real world limitations/issues/shortcomings….
Here is an example of one : https://nvx.com/nvx-xsbi200.html there are higher rated ones and lower rated ones, and I’m sure dozens of other brands too.
I think the truck doesn’t draw high amperage current from the trailer so the OEM wiring must already isolate the battery from supplying the truck, although the truck does charge the trailer battery.
Not really a concern unless they’re permanently mounted together, like in a diesel pickup or RV. Occasionally hooked up overnight for a weekend? Meh.
I have a drag car with no charging system. I have a red top that is 12 years old still working perfect, I charge between runs with a regular battery charger at 30 amp sitting. I have a electric fan and water pump when it finally dies do you recommend blue top or other set up. Thanks
Your car is a perfect candidate for a dual-use deep cycle battery like this. The only disadvantage is that it weighs a couple of pounds more in the same size.
do you have motorcycle batteries?