OEM dual battery installation?

[AKcub]

I sorta caught the van bug after buying my Delica. Now I am looking at replacing my 3/4 ton dodge with a Freightliner Sprinter. One of the factory options is a second, isolated battery like the delicas have. It wouldn't be big enough to use for anything but interior lighting so if I was going to set this up as a utility/camper style rig I would probably have to do a different setup anyhow.

My question, for those of you with a dual battery setup- would it be worth the extra 340 dollars to have the dual battery setup installed from the factory or should I save that money and put it towards an aftermarket isolated battery setup I can use for more than lighting? It seems expensive to pay for an OEM setup that I will have to supplement anyhow down the road.

Sorry if I dropped this in the wrong forum, wanted feedback from Deli folks with aux battery setup that use them for camping.

Scott

[Growlerbearnz]

The Delicas don't have a second *isolated* battery, just two batteries connected together so they behave like one big battery.

The OEM price seems ok if it's for a deep-cycle battery, isolator, cables, tie-downs, and installation. Once you have the isolated setup working it's easy to add additional batteries if you need them, it's the initial installation that's the pain.

I'd probably not pay it if it was just for a second battery, installed next to the main battery, and connected together.

[AKcub]

Ahhh, I was looking at the Dino deli stuff and assumed that the batteries came out of the box isolated. Makes more sense now.

The "additional battery package" adds a second 100 Ah AGM style battery that is isolated and even has a sort of aux bus bar to make tapping power off of it easier. Actually, the oem/primary battery has a pretty convenient busbar for tapping power off as well. Still researching the AGM style battery for use as a load cell for low amp draw items like lights and such.

Looking at the option sheet, the price for the isolated battery is 370$. Seems like there is no way I could buy the battery, hardware, and do the install for that. And it will be integrated with OEM electrical setup out of the box.

Thanks Growler,

Scott

The Delicas don't have a second *isolated* battery, just two batteries connected together so they behave like one big battery.

The OEM price seems ok if it's for a deep-cycle battery, isolator, cables, tie-downs, and installation. Once you have the isolated setup working it's easy to add additional batteries if you need them, it's the initial installation that's the pain.

I'd probably not pay it if it was just for a second battery, installed next to the main battery, and connected together.