Adding A Second Battery On A 08 2500hd

philbricks · June 15, 2011

I have an 08 Silverado 2500HD 6.0. I want to put a second battery in the spot by the fuse block behind the drivers side headlight. just for added battery life in my Lance camper when have it on the truck, can i just connect to the stud on the fuse block? I want it to be seperate of the main battery but to charge when truck is running like it does for the battery in my camper. I have looked online and cannot find anything that is helpful. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

HawkScot · June 15, 2011

Try and search on "dual battery" without quotes. There are quite a few threads on it. You can go factory style or aftermarket.

Boyzbad · June 16, 2011

My 95 2500 has 2 batteries. It was ordered with the factory camper option. The extra one is separate from the main system via a solenoid. It is wired so when the truck is on or running it completes the circuit and will charge but when you shut it off it isolates the battery from the main one. My brake controller and my 12V hot is what I have off it feeding a gooseneck trailer. This would be very simple to hookup. You could get a solenoid from a parts store and some 6 or 8 gauge wire and use that instead of the current 12v wire you have in your pig tail and it will be 100% separate. I'd be more than happy to send you some pics.

Reason I say replace the wire is you prolly have a small 10ga. wire now which will work but it isn't as efficient as a larger gauge due to the length being over 20'. Also it's a good idea to put a fuse or breaker in the 12v wire also just incase.

Gary

Sir Dan · June 16, 2011

Check out the Painless Performance system. It charges the aux battery and connects it when needed, but doesn't drain it if the main goes dead. Easy install.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PRF-40120/?rtype=10

philbricks · June 16, 2011

My 95 2500 has 2 batteries. It was ordered with the factory camper option. The extra one is separate from the main system via a solenoid. It is wired so when the truck is on or running it completes the circuit and will charge but when you shut it off it isolates the battery from the main one. My brake controller and my 12V hot is what I have off it feeding a gooseneck trailer. This would be very simple to hookup. You could get a solenoid from a parts store and some 6 or 8 gauge wire and use that instead of the current 12v wire you have in your pig tail and it will be 100% separate. I'd be more than happy to send you some pics.
Reason I say replace the wire is you prolly have a small 10ga. wire now which will work but it isn't as efficient as a larger gauge due to the length being over 20'. Also it's a good idea to put a fuse or breaker in the 12v wire also just incase.

Gary

If you have pics, I would like to see them