Decent place to buy batteries?

usafk9 · Jun 7, 2009

My frugal self cannot come to grips with paying what I think will be high prices for batteries through Freightliner.

Anyone have reasonably-priced chain store recommendations for 2 batteries?

Dakota · Jun 7, 2009

Not sure if they carry truck batteries.
I've always used Sears Diehard and have never had a problem

Dakota · Jun 7, 2009

Not sure of there prices but check out Batteries Plus battery store - All your battery needs for Laptop, camera, cell phone, camcorder, SLA, batteries recycling and much more they carry truck batteries
Might check out Napa also, if you have a AAA card you get a discount at Napa

spudhead911 · Jun 7, 2009

Sam's Club also sells truck batteries at a good price.

piper1 · Jun 7, 2009

They may be expensive, but the Freightliner (Alliance branded) AGM batteries are made by Deka/East Penn. Not to many batteries on the market better than theirs. Turtle can chime in with the real reasons but ya get what ya pay for!

Dakota · Jun 7, 2009

spudhead911 said:
Sam's Club also sells truck batteries at a good price.

Walmart might carry them too if they have the tire and lube section

spudhead911 · Jun 7, 2009

piper1 said:
They may be expensive, but the Freightliner (Alliance branded) AGM batteries are made by Deka/East Penn. Not to many batteries on the market better than theirs. Turtle can chime in with the real reasons but ya get what ya pay for!

About ten years ago, after having repeated problems with batteries in my Freightliner Century,I was told to stay away from Alliance batteries as they were an inferior battery. This came from a Freightliner dealer and a Fleet Pride parts center. After I changed to another brand of battery my battery problems went away.

redytrk · Jun 7, 2009

Bentz turned me onto Crown Batteries. I find them very good and reasonable. I especially like that they closed up their MEXICO plant and now only manufacture in the USA.

Crownbattery

FJK1954 · Jun 7, 2009

I had tons of battery issues with my fl-112 until another contractor told me to buy interstate series 61...around 100.00 each...all problems went away. frank

Turtle · Jun 7, 2009

Chances are you've got an AGM battery, like Piper said made by Deka. You will definitely want to replace yours with AGM batteries (Type 31 if I'm not mistaken). You can use Deka, Werner, Concord. I'd check Batteries Plus first.

They'll run you $269 from here:
LIFELINE Batteries

Expensive, but with batteries, especially AGM, you really do get what you pay for. These ae true deep cycle batteries, not yer run-o-the-mill truck batteries. Just don't abuse them by discharging too deeply (more than 50%) and when recharging make sure you ALWAYS fully recharge them.

piper1 · Jun 7, 2009

spudhead911 said:
About ten years ago,.......,I was told to stay away from Alliance batteries as they were an inferior battery. This came from a Freightliner dealer and a Fleet Pride parts center. After I changed to another brand of battery my battery problems went away.

A lot has changed with the Alliance brand in 10 years. Freightliner learned their lesson about selling cheap parts (which cost them $$$$ to warranty). Funny how FTL only learns when it costs them a chunk of money!

Penske up here uses them as standard equip (the AGM's made by Deka). Lease customers with liftgates who care little about their trucks until they won't start, Sounds like a decent endorsement.

SHARP327 · Jun 8, 2009

NAPA sells 925cca batteries that come with a 18 month exchange warranty and 18 more
months pro-rated warranty...36 month warranty for truck batteries is hard to beat.

I paid around $85 for the ones I bought a couple years back and when there was a problem
they replaced the faulty battery/batteries no problem and with NAPA being coast to coast
it was always easy to find an outlet.

Dakota · Jun 8, 2009

SHARP327 said:
NAPA sells 925cca batteries that come with a 18 month exchange warranty and 18 more
months pro-rated warranty...36 month warranty for truck batteries is hard to beat.

I paid around $85 for the ones I bought a couple years back and when there was a problem
they replaced the faulty battery/batteries no problem and with NAPA being coast to coast
it was always easy to find an outlet.

Don't forget the discount if your a AAA member

Turtle · Jun 8, 2009

If you replace a $300 AGM battery with an $85 traditional battery, you'd better make sure you know what you're doing, or that you get lucky and it all works out OK.

gotta go · Jun 9, 2009

I was able to get 3 Interstate batteries, installed, at the "J" in Dallas for $117. (Of course, I did have a nice stack of FF coupons

)

usafk9 · Jun 12, 2009

I ended up buying two of them at Tractor Supply in St. Marys, PA. They're made by Exide. Not sure if that was a good choice or not. I paid $85 each.

Thanks for everyone's help. I'll definitely post further if I have any problems.

Slo-Ride · Jun 12, 2009

I know usa's problem is solved but i want to ask...
Since my factory batteries are just about junk,,,I want to know if anyone has gone to a 1 battery system? like the 8-D??(I think thats what they are called)...When I worked in a shop we switched over from a 3 battery system to these 8-Ds.this stopped the proplem of 1 bad battery pulling the others down and elimated the guess work out of finding a bad cell...
Just wondering if anyone is using these batteries and how they hold up with the sleepers pulling power,,,My exp with the 8-Ds come with off road equipt not over the road living...

layoutshooter · Jun 12, 2009

I have not tried them. The problem is you need to different types of batteries on a truck. Starting batteries for starting and deep cycle for the sleeper. Generally speaking that is. Some AGM's can do double duty. Charging is always a problem as well. I like to re-condition my batteries often.

Slo-Ride · Jun 12, 2009

layoutshooter said:
I have not tried them. The problem is you need to different types of batteries on a truck. Starting batteries for starting and deep cycle for the sleeper. Generally speaking that is. Some AGM's can do double duty. Charging is always a problem as well. I like to re-condition my batteries often.

So your saying ya running two batery boxes?
I am only running the one set of factory batterys for both the truck and sleeper
I thought of going this way,,but now ya got two sets of batterys to maintaine along with added weight..It propley is the best way to go I guess..I just lke the idea of having one starter battery...

layoutshooter · Jun 12, 2009

Slo-Ride said:
So your saying ya running two batery boxes?
I am only running the one set of factory batterys for both the truck and sleeper
I thought of going this way,,but now ya got two sets of batterys to maintaine along with added weight..It propley is the best way to go I guess..I just lke the idea of having one starter battery...

Yes, I am running two seperate battery boxes. They are isolated from each other with automatic switches as well as a manual switch. My APU has a battery monitor on it and will start automatically when the batteries run low. Nice feature.

Two boxes have other advantages as well. Much lower chance of draining your starting batteries is the most important. It can be very difficult to find a jump at 2am. A proper system allows you to use the proper battery for starting and deep cycle as well. If your batteries are isolated it is possible to jump start your self if need be. It also increases battery life. Using a battery for the wrong application can kill it much faster than it should be. Using a starting battery for starting and a deep cycle for slow drain work will save you money in the long run.