High Country Battery Upgrade or Dual

[clowe1243]

Before I tear all the crap off the top side of the battery, has anybody upgraded to a larger battery that fits.  19 HC, and I have my dash cam running off a direct battery power circuit.  Was a great idea during the summer, when someone hit me and took off.  Now, during the cold, and working from home (not driving 3 to 5 days a week), I've been running into starting issues.  Infact the dash cam is the only drain, but the trucks are supposed to have low voltage protection, atleast on the open circuit I tapped, but doesn't help in the cold.  Either way, I am not running the dash cam until I get a new battery (largest cca that fits) or run secondary for the dash cam.

 

I have the wiring to put a secondary behind a tender, which is a simple solution.  But has anyone found a decent mouting/safe spot.

 

Factory is 720 CCA supposedly.

[voided3]

Is your dash camera running off of a typical 12v accessory outlet ("cigarette lighter plug") or hardwired? I know on our truck I switched the 12v auxiliary power over from always on to switched with ignition so I can leave phone chargers plugged in and not worry about battery drain. These are controlled by fuse F27 on the passenger side fuse block. The socket has three prongs, but only two can be used at a time and by default the circuit is always on. If you move the fuse over to bridge the other prong, it will be switched on and off with the ignition.

[clowe1243]

I want it to be 24/7, that is the issue.  And yes, the LVP circuit.  I'm thinking I have no choice but to run a secondary battery with an isolator, have that on alternator charge when running, and run aftermarket accessories off the secondary.  Probably going to mount a tender plug to the outside from the secondary just to keep in charged when not driving it.

 

Honestly just wanted to know if anybody else has solved this.

[clowe1243]

The LVP circuit is in the fuse box on the pass. side.

[voided3]

What if you use something like a Jackery to power it? They charge off of a 12v outlet while you drive and you could probably hide it under your back seat. https://www.jackery.com/products/explorer-550-portable-power-station

[clowe1243]

I have more aftermarket I want to run.  Rock lights, accessory lights, etc...

[voided3]

Gotcha. It sounds like an auxiliary deep cycle RV/marine battery fed by an isolator as you described might be a better option, then.

[clowe1243]

Quick drawing while I'm sitting at a bar.  Higher CCA?  Higher Amp Alternator?  Same battery as secondary?  Isolator will keep the secondary charged when running, tender when not driving frequently.  Probably overkill, but I like to solve a problem so I never have it again.