Lesson learned
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Tuned
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 268
Likes: 79
From: San Antonio
Lesson learned
I bought my truck used in Sept 2020 and in Nov, had to replace both batteries. I didn't do much research on the batteries for these trucks at the time and could kick myself for not doing that. I found two Group 65 AGM batteries at Sam's Club for $140 each (Duracell branded) and went with those. Fast forward 2 yrs and 8 months and guess what? One battery tested at 55 CCA and the other at 333 CCA. Both of these batteries are rated at 750 CCA and to be that dead after less than 3 years, to be blunt, sucks. Fortunately, they had a 3 yr free replacement on them so I got them swapped out yesterday for free (minus state fees of $3 per battery). When these die again (I'm sure they will, just a matter of when), I'll spend the money on a pair of Odyssey batteries or another top quality brand and remember the lesson learned. By the way, these batteries at Sam's went from $139 up to $199 each in that time period. So for now, I'm back on the road with new batteries and things seem to be working properly again for me.
More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 717
Likes: 188
I bought my truck used in Sept 2020 and in Nov, had to replace both batteries. I didn't do much research on the batteries for these trucks at the time and could kick myself for not doing that. I found two Group 65 AGM batteries at Sam's Club for $140 each (Duracell branded) and went with those. Fast forward 2 yrs and 8 months and guess what? One battery tested at 55 CCA and the other at 333 CCA. Both of these batteries are rated at 750 CCA and to be that dead after less than 3 years, to be blunt, sucks. Fortunately, they had a 3 yr free replacement on them so I got them swapped out yesterday for free (minus state fees of $3 per battery). When these die again (I'm sure they will, just a matter of when), I'll spend the money on a pair of Odyssey batteries or another top quality brand and remember the lesson learned. By the way, these batteries at Sam's went from $139 up to $199 each in that time period. So for now, I'm back on the road with new batteries and things seem to be working properly again for me.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 2,413
Likes: 1,124
I bought my truck used in Sept 2020 and in Nov, had to replace both batteries. I didn't do much research on the batteries for these trucks at the time and could kick myself for not doing that. I found two Group 65 AGM batteries at Sam's Club for $140 each (Duracell branded) and went with those. Fast forward 2 yrs and 8 months and guess what? One battery tested at 55 CCA and the other at 333 CCA. Both of these batteries are rated at 750 CCA and to be that dead after less than 3 years, to be blunt, sucks. Fortunately, they had a 3 yr free replacement on them so I got them swapped out yesterday for free (minus state fees of $3 per battery). When these die again (I'm sure they will, just a matter of when), I'll spend the money on a pair of Odyssey batteries or another top quality brand and remember the lesson learned. By the way, these batteries at Sam's went from $139 up to $199 each in that time period. So for now, I'm back on the road with new batteries and things seem to be working properly again for me.
I call it a win to get three years out of a set of batteries 6.7
I have over 300 batteries in my fleet in one form or another.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2022
Posts: 4,293
Likes: 2,416
From: Everywhere and nowhere
You may be disappointed with Odyssey batteries. For the price of 2 batteries you might as well buy cheaper batteries with a 3 year warranty and even if you have to replace after 3 years still cheaper to buy 4 cheap batteries than 2 Odyssey batteries with no better warranty. Unless you get them from Batteries + Bulbs you might have to deal with shipping back to the manufacturer directly yourself and then wait for a new battery to show up. I bought mine from Auto Zone and 2 years later I needed a warranty replacement my truck was down for a week waiting for them to receive the batteries and send me a new one UPS ground.
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 8,640
Likes: 2,435
I have a friend that uses Costco for batteries. He sets a reminder prior to warranty expiration and takes them in for replacement. They don't check the old batteries, just give him new.....according to him. I went the Odyssey route.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 779
Likes: 427
i put those Sam's Duracell in my Mercedies and got 6 years of Colorado winters out of them before i changed them out on time. I have them in several vehicles. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. i wonder what the battery killer was in this case?
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2023
Posts: 1,157
Likes: 648
From: McKinney, TX
I just buy my replacement batteries at O'Reillys. In the Texas heat, starting and stopping like I do for work, it beats them up pretty quickly... almost always before the warranty is up. O'Reilly's does test the battery before replacement... so it would genuinely have to need replacement.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,477
Likes: 4,973
I bought my truck used in Sept 2020 and in Nov, had to replace both batteries. I didn't do much research on the batteries for these trucks at the time and could kick myself for not doing that. I found two Group 65 AGM batteries at Sam's Club for $140 each (Duracell branded) and went with those. Fast forward 2 yrs and 8 months and guess what? One battery tested at 55 CCA and the other at 333 CCA. Both of these batteries are rated at 750 CCA and to be that dead after less than 3 years, to be blunt, sucks. Fortunately, they had a 3 yr free replacement on them so I got them swapped out yesterday for free (minus state fees of $3 per battery). When these die again (I'm sure they will, just a matter of when), I'll spend the money on a pair of Odyssey batteries or another top quality brand and remember the lesson learned. By the way, these batteries at Sam's went from $139 up to $199 each in that time period. So for now, I'm back on the road with new batteries and things seem to be working properly again for me.
Batteries are strange sometimes, not necessarily make any difference what brand, sometimes they last a long time, sometimes not.
I bought walmart batteries, regular flooded not agm and they have a three year free replacement.
Bought them because I travel so much and there is a walmart on almost every other corner wherever you go.
And, I also added roadside assistance to my insurance, super cheap, way cheaper than AAA, in case I ever get left stranded.
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FTE Community Team
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 3,341
Likes: 1,057
From: Florida
We had 200+ vans in our service fleet in South Florida where techs brought their vans home with them. . We kept the vans for 3 years and very rarely were we able to get 3 years out of a battery. They would fail at the worst time causing either overtime or losing te tech for the day because his van was out of service.
I implemented a mandatory battery replacement at the 2 year routine service interval we and never had another fail battery after that.
I implemented a mandatory battery replacement at the 2 year routine service interval we and never had another fail battery after that.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 996
Likes: 132
From: Oklahoma
My truck was built in November 2019 so I'm approaching 4 years. Is there a general rule of thumb as when they should be replaced or do you just wait till they die at some inconvenient place? We have some long trips planned for the fall with our fifth wheel and don't want any problems while on the road.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 23,174
Likes: 1,679
From: Stephensville WI
My truck was built in November 2019 so I'm approaching 4 years. Is there a general rule of thumb as when they should be replaced or do you just wait till they die at some inconvenient place? We have some long trips planned for the fall with our fifth wheel and don't want any problems while on the road.
Have your batteries tested by a competent mechanic.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 996
Likes: 132
From: Oklahoma
Costco has Interstate AGM's for $190 or lead acids for $130. Interstate gets bashed quite a bit for their marine batteries but I've run them in my bass boat for several years with no issues. I have a load tester, somewhere, but I'm sure the OE batteries will test fine. I'll probably just leave well enough alone for now.
Cross-Country
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 81
Likes: 34
I just purchase a new a new truck after 3 years. No replacement of batteries nor the worry of purchasing extended warranty past 3 years. Amazing enough if the truck is well maintained you will get big bucks for a 3 year old truck.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 996
Likes: 132
From: Oklahoma
I've certainly thought about it but the hassle of finding a replacement has stopped me. I have a Ford premium warranty that's good thru the end of December 2025. I only have 39K on the odometer as the truck is used mainly to pull our fifth wheel. I try to drive it at least once a week, keep the tank full with some conditioner added, have all the maintenance performed when due and all recalls are completed. When it's off duty it sits inside our garage. It's so comfortable and quiet on our long rv trips and does a super job pulling our Jayco Pinnacle. The only changes I have made were dumping the OE shocks and installing a set of Fox 2.0's and adding a set of Sumo Springs. The batteries are not something that has crossed my mind until I read this thread.