I need to replace the battery in my truck. Thing is I use my trailer a lot and have had to boost the truck a couple times because I left the lights in the trailer on too long.

I'm thinking of getting an optima yellow. Their sales pitch says it can withstand a deeper discharge than regular truck battery. Reviews are generally good. The bad reviews all have the same issue. Battery went bad after a year and Optima warranty tells you to take it back to the store you bought it. Optima claims most of the bad batteries were find just needed a proper charge.

Are these batteries as good as the company says? Are there other deep cycle batteries that are suitable for pickups. Are there other issues that could come up with using a deep cycle battery in a pickup like damaging the alternator? I live in a very cold climate.

 

A deep cycle can be used in an automotive start application, but not the other way around. The problem is usually a deep cycle battery that has enough CC is huge and costs an arm and a leg. There are some modern hybrids like AGM that can pull double duty. I'm sure a yellowtop would work for you. I'd want to know the charging requirements, they may be a little different. Be sure to follow them. They cost more, but if they last 10+ years it might be a good value for you.

 

Batteries were nearly all sold out. I ended up getting the store brand and took it home because they wanted $35 for install.

 

I was gonna say a couple weeks into a nationwide deep-freeze probably isn't the best time to be comparison shopping.

 

I don't use the trailer much in winter. When the weather's nice I want to set up some kind of auxiliary battery to run the lights and not run down my truck battery.

 

I Run two Optimas, A red one and yellow *i can't remember which model*. Ive had mine for about a year. These are the second set of batteries for my f250. I was stranded at work when my batteries went out. A dude I was working with was running two opitmas. His batteries were 8 yrs old. No issues what so ever. I figured I spend the extra money.