Best battery for a tow rig.

I have heard good things about both Interstate and Diehard (sears). I have 2 interstates in my truck (came with em) and they seem to do well even when it is cold out (dont remember the CCAs). They arent nearly as good as the Optima red top in my Jeep though. I plan on putting optimas in my rig when these bite the dust.

 

intersate megatron plus's. be shure to get the "plus"

 

Interstates...I just threw two new ones in about 3 months ago. Cost me $160 something. Not the best "value" but they are some of the best if not the best batteries out there.

If you go Interstate, don't get Workaholics. They are designed to fight vibration, offroading, heavy equipment, that sort of thing. They don't have the service life the Megatrons do.

 

I recently picked up a pair of Die Hard Truck and Suv batteries before the last cold snap we had. 875 CCA in the "north" battery, better than the megatron plus' which only has 800 CCA. They had zero problems starting my 6.5 when it was -4* and not plugged in, in fact other than the smoke, it started exactly the same as it does when its 40* out.

 

Optima.... they are some great batteries. you pay for them up front but I've heard they last forever. I just put one in my wifes yukon.

 

For the time and money you are going to shell out for 2 batteries you might as well do it right the first time and do Optima's. I am going to do Optima's in my CTD when the current batteries say goodbye. I am a huge fan of Optima's. I run them in my K5 and CJ5, and I made my Dad switch over to them when his LA batteries died in his vehicle. He really likes them too.

I am having good luck sofar with the Interstate's that came in my CTD but IMO Optima's are the ticket. I have abused them in the Arizona heat and the Colorado cold and they have preformed very well for me. If you are going to spend the $100 to get a good LA battery you might as well spend the $130 to get the Optima. There warranty is pretty good to boot.

Harley

 

I would do Interstate LA's.

Many of the batteries sold in the US as far as I know are made by one company- Johnson Controls, my employer (http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/bg/, http://www.autobatteries.com/default.asp).

 

That was my thinking exactly when I went with Interstate batteries in my 97. I really don't know much more then personal experience with batteries (I work for JCI, but do a completely different job), and I have always had good luck with Interstate. You might want to try and locate an Interstate wholesale dealer near you and check there price. They usually only sell to commercial account holders only ( maybe you know someone, or could open an account yourself), but might still give you a good price on a cash sale. I used a dealer in Denver that the company I worked for there had an account, but paid cash for a red top Optima for around $60.00, and think I got my Mega-Trons for about the same. Much better then a retailer.

 

Just my .02, but over at the deiselstop and including my self think that the optimas are crap. well, not exactly crap, but way overpriced. What many of us and I do mean many, we use the duralast red tops. They are $59 each! I have benn using them with no problems whatsoever. They come with 36 mo warrenty, i think, and 750 cca. I NEVER plug my truck in, and its starts strong every time(southern illinois). I just hate to see people spend money for something, thats really nothing. ....but, like i said, just my .02 worth

fyi, there are also a lot of posts about the optimas that are very negative. but in the end, its up to the owner to chose.waytogo

 

I've heard multiple things about Optimas.

1. They are overpriced for what they are, not much better than a Workaholic or Megatron.

2. Their quality in the last few years, or maybe even more recent, has gone down and a lot of people got bad ones.

3. I hear they don't like to take a charge like a regular battery, they require a slower charge when they have been completely drained.

I wouldn't buy Optimas, they cost too much and I hear guys claiming 6-7 years out of them like that is really impressive. My Megatrons are under WARRANTY for 6 years and have heard that if a guy gets a good one and never abuses it, they can last longer than that.

 

Sweet!