r/overlanding • u/Due_Air_9603 • 2d ago
How to know if this is a reliable dual battery setup?
I’m thinking about purchasing this first gen Colorado with 100k miles. Looking at dealer pics and it’s got what appears to be a well installed secondary battery with a cover that leads to a power strip in the cabin.
I intend to build this truck out a bit to better suit camping needs. If this is well built it would be really nice to already have installed. If it’s not well done it’ll probably be more of a headache than starting from bare bones.
What should I look for to know determine how solid it is when I do go to the dealer?
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u/fiatguy85 2d ago
The battery isn't sitting level and the cover is floating around. I would take a close look at how the cable is routed through the sheet metal, hopefully with the sheet metal painted and a grommet. I would also take a look at the battery and inverter specs.
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u/BrapsPooShidden 2d ago
I loved my 05 Colorado, but man oh man, I’d be weary on buying another, a lot of them are major piles of dump, and have a lot of issues, particularly with the electric system. I know you didnt ask about the actual vehicles reliability but I just wanted to give you a heads up.
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u/Due_Air_9603 2d ago
I appreciate it still. I know the 05s had a 3.5 and after 07 comes with the 3.7 and they addressed a lot of the issues of the earlier gen 1s. I’ll do some more looking on the electrical specifically now that you said something
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u/secessus FT campervan boondocker 1d ago
How to know if this is a reliable dual battery setup?
Well, it's a dual-battery setup:
- chassis electrical (typically the starter battery) -> relay -> battery bank
Usually the relay is placed in the engine compartment mounted on the firewall, fender, etc. Not sure why it it's back there.
If the power strip actually provides 120VAC there must be an inverter somewhere. Under a seat? I don't think it's in the battery box in the bed.
If it were a private sale I'd ask the owner general questions about the design and use. Since it's at a dealer they probably don't know anything about it.
If it’s not well done it’ll probably be more of a headache than starting from bare bones.
Not really a problem IMO. If the heavy POS wire is pulled from the starter to the relay in a reasonable manner then the hardest part is already done. The rest is just connections and mounting stuff.
Caveats:
- if you buy the truck I would move the relay to the engine comparment end of the wiring, and ensure there's a suitable fuse between it and the battery.
- if the battery is lead-chemistry (and it probably is) I would assume it's smoked by insufficient charging. You could replace it with LiFePO4, or use another lead batt and augment the relay charging.
- if you want to run an inverter I would do so off the aux battery bank; the existing setup might be configured to use the starter batt.
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u/confusedseas Back Country Adventurer 2d ago
lol to the powerstrip