Interstate makes a good, cheap cranking battery. After that, it's pretty iffy.
Not sure why the dealers aren't carrying Trojans anymore, might be something to take a closer look at. But if you have easy access to US Battery batteries (
) then I'd go that route. You might also look online for batteries, a sometimes you can get good deals, except the shipping usually kills it. However, if you can order online and then go pick it up yourself, you can save a bundle.
Good batteries aren't cheap, and you generally do get what you pay for. US Battery is a solid company with a solid battery. Been around since the 1920's, and everything they have is American made. I've delivered to all three of their plants, two in Georgia and one in California. Of course, Trojan is an American made company, too, except for the ones they make and sell overseas, not much is imported. Trojan invented the deep cycle battery, so they've been making them longer than anyone else.
For flooded wet deep cycle batteries, Trojan is usually the first choice, but there are others who are just as good, like US Battery. For sealed lead acid AGM batteries, Concord is the one who invented that one, and is usually the first choice, but there are others who are just as good, like Discover Energy, Odyssey. Deka is another brand that makes good batteries in both categories, as is Crown, a Fremont, Ohio company that recently recalled all of its Mexican production back to Ohio. And Sears has a pretty good AGM battery, although their non-AGM batteries are made in the same Johnson Controls factory that makes Interstate batteries, among many others, like the house brands of many auto parts dealers, in many instances the only difference between them is the case and the label. Not a big fan of Optima batteries.
Beyond that, there are Rolls, Surrette and HuP Solar One batteries, but now you're well out of the truck and car battery universe and into off-the-grid applications with 2 and 4 volt batteries with Ah ratings in the thousands, and priced to match. Like, a 2-volt battery weighing in at 258 pounds, and 6 of them put together to make a 12 volt battery weighs 1550 pounds, gives 1990 amp hours, and can be had for the bargain price of $4700. But, for a battery that is guaranteed for 5500 cycles at 80% DoD and 15 years, it really is a bargain.
Incidentally, the batteries in military ordinance is most often either a US Battery or a Concord Lifeline battery. Concord is almost sure to be the one inside military aircraft.
