I need to replace the batteries in my diesel van. It takes two for cranking and I'm going to add a third for a coach/RV battery on a switched solenoid.
I want them to be better than the average parts-store battery and don't mind spending a bit more, but there have to be better options than the pricey Optimas and other boutique batteries.
Your thoughts?
I've always gotten the most life out of good, old-fashioned flooded lead-acid, you-need-to-check-the-water-level type batteries.
Maybe it's because I'm a bit picky about battery and battery related item maintenance.
I've had far too much trouble from crappy battery cables and poor terminals.
The guys at the battery shop recommended that I use two 6-volt batterys in series for my slide-in camper and our customer's "land behemoth" RV uses two 12V units in parallel for the engine and two parallel banks of series-wired 6v units for the coach. I think the guys at the battery store said that the 6 volts units had better capacity than the 12v units.
I'm done rambling, hope it helped.
I wish I had something more awesome than the Yellow Top to recommend. I've had it for 7 years now, killed it plenty of times, and it still bounces back and outperforms every battery that I've ever had.
Trans_Maro wrote: The guys at the battery shop recommended that I use two 6-volt batterys in series for my slide-in camper and our customer's "land behemoth" RV uses two 12V units in parallel for the engine and two parallel banks of series-wired 6v units for the coach. I think the guys at the battery store said that the 6 volts units had better capacity than the 12v units.
The 6v "golf cart" batteries are excellent for deep cycle use, but terrible for cranking. They are big with a lot of reserve capacity, but not worth the expense to me.
The amount of time that the third battery will get used is even of minimal concern as far as HD deep cycle use is concerned.
But I agree... series 6v golf cart batteries are excellent for RV use.
Wal Mart Everstart batteries are pretty decent and cheap.
About a million years ago, I bought a "heavy duty SUV" battery at Costco. Kirkland brand. Good battery. I replaced it after about 6 years, but I was an idiot. The problem was my alternator, not the battery.
It probably won't make it through the winter, but my original equipment John Deere battery in my lawn tractor has never been replaced. I bought the tractor in 2003 and the dang thing is freaking me out because there is no way a lawn tractor battery should last 10 years!
So my advice is to see if John Deere sells a battery that will fit your diesel! 
I know you are looking for an alternative to the Optima, but we just got 9 1/2 years out of the red top in my wife's Wrangler. The red top I had in the Barracuda lasted about 11 years, and I didn't use a trickle charger on it when it sat. Not sure if the current batches of Optimas are getting that life out of them or not, but I just moved the current red top from the Cuda to the Jeep.
For the Barracuda I wanted to shave some weight off the nose and went with a Deka powersport AGM. For your van, I'd consider their truck line of AGMs.
In reply to mguar:
I don't want to meet the guy who can slosh around a forklift battery...
If you boil a deep cycle battery, it does a good job of lifting off the sulphates. I just recovered one by hitting it with a 200 amp charge for 20 minutes every time I came into the shop over a couple of days. It seems to have all its reserve back. I learned that from a friend with a bumper boat business.
Also I think Trojans seem to have the best reputation for plate size and quality construction. If you start googling, that name comes up a lot.
I found an interstate batter distributor - new blemished batteries go for $20.
1988RedT2 wrote: About a million years ago, I bought a "heavy duty SUV" battery at Costco. Kirkland brand. Good battery. I replaced it after about 6 years, but I was an idiot. The problem was my alternator, not the battery. It probably won't make it through the winter, but my original equipment John Deere battery in my lawn tractor has never been replaced. I bought the tractor in 2003 and the dang thing is freaking me out because there is no way a lawn tractor battery should last 10 years! So my advice is to see if John Deere sells a battery that will fit your diesel!
JD has batteries in all sizes to start their bigger equipment.
Good tips, all of you. I'm going to try that cleaning tip, mguar. In fact, maybe I'll buy up someone's "scrap" battery on CL and try to refresh it. I also have a couple deep cycle batteries in my boat that could use some of that help.
Off to CL...
I've had the old Walmart Everstarts with the yellow tops last for-friggin'-EVER. They flat out refuse to die.
The way undersized walmart lawnmower battery in my MX6 has lasted over 3 years already and shows no signs of slowing down. That car has been down for work a couple times for months at a time, not put on a charger, and it starts right up every time. I'm completely floored at how strong that damn thing is.
The Walmart battery in my Jeep has an '01 build date.
So yeah. I'm a Walmart battery fan when i'm not worrying about weight.
In reply to curtis73:
There used to be a little hole-in-the-wall shop in town that sold "rebuilt" batteries, I always wondered about that but never stopped in.
I think he must've been doing what mguar was talking about.
Certainly sounds like it's worth a shot, next time I get a bad battery, I'll give it a try.
Shawn
How much are you willing to spend to ditch weight? Lithium-polymer batteries save weight at around $20/lb.
chaparral wrote: How much are you willing to spend to ditch weight? Lithium-polymer batteries save weight at around $20/lb.
Considering that my van weighs about 5500-lbs and I frequently tow 12,000 lbs, shaving weight is not an issue that concerns me 
Dollar for dollar, I've found the Walmart batteries to be the best deal in batteries anywhere. They cost about 1/3 of what auto stores want, and last about as long.
If Walmart doesn't carry a particular size, or you need a special purpose battery, any of the battery specific stores will usually hook you up just fine. I've not seen enough difference between them or the batteries they carry to even make me cross town.
Special blingie batteries like Optima or others haven't shown themselves to be worth their price to me in any of my applications so far.
My Costco Kirkland battery rocks. Way more than the Optima Red top that stranded me. My buddy has the same experience with the same batteries, different car though.
Does anybody know if Walmart batteries in Canada are the same as these great ones we're hearing about from the States?
I used to go directly to the biggest Cdn Tire battery I could get, but the last couple have been... unimpressive.
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