Crap Batteries

Idk. I have used both in conjunction with a APU and prefer the CCA of the starting battery. Doesn't seem to matter for life expectancy. I can't get but two years or 200,000 miles out of any of them. Running in the south it is always the heat that takes one out. I have found having a APU does little to extend the life, only makes it easier to deal with when they start going bad.
In retrospect I guess 400 bucks every two years isn't bad, but when I turn the key I want some juice!

 

I'm with you. With all of the crap I run off my inverter living and having my office in the truck I think 4 batteries every 1-2 years is a steal, especially if it keeps all my electronics and this truck's electronics happy. I still can't believe the quality I'm seeing with these for $69 per and from a dealer at that. I'm probably going to start putting these in all my personal stuff too.

 

That’s right. The price of car batteries everywhere has gotten high. $120 and up, for less CCAs.

 

An APU is not the same as Opti Idle. Opti Idle starts the truck engine and runs it for sleeper cooling, and battery recharging.

Starting the truck 40 times per day in summer in hot states is brutally hard on batteries.

 

Just because they are made by the same company doesn't necessarily mean they are the same battery. The battery manufacturers can make budget batteries, or higher quality batteries, depending on what the customer wants.

 

Oh no. I just installed 2 TRP suspension airbags on my 579. I hope I didnt make a huge mistake.

 

A little late to the discussion, but here's what I learned from digging into battery tech some years ago.

There are two premium brands that aren't the same as the rest. The rest being the ones that are essentially the same battery with different labels slapped on. Those two premium batteries are Odyssey and Northstar. Northstar is who makes the Batteries Plus PowerX2. Supposedly the edge comes from higher quality lead in the plates, and a more rugged design. Odyssey makes the same claims about construction, and usually sells for $100 more each than the Northstar. I think they spend that money in advertising, as it's a better known brand.

In the T600 I just sold, the battery box arrangement made battery service a half day project on that truck, just a miserable job. I wanted something that would last longer than the average bear, so I wouldn't have to get in there so often. The first brand I tried was Optima yellow tops. Two sets of those, one I paid around $800 for and the second a warranty claim. Both sets made it to 20 months. So with the extra swap, nothing gained really, either on cost or touching them.

The brands I mentioned are yet another notch higher in cost. The set of PowerX2's I put in the KW in January 2017 ran about $1100 if memory serves. I haven't checked recently, but the last time I looked I think that set sells for $1600 or more now. They're still in it, and the cables haven't even been taken off and wire brushed in 3 years. Turns the engine over like new batteries today, even after running the bunk heater all night.

I got another 1.5 year old set that came out of the 387 I sold last year, sitting in my garage. I haven't decided whether I'm going to swap them into my new truck that's supposed to come in about a week, or maybe put two of them in my reefer units. I'm gonna be in the battery box cabling up my inverter anyway, so swapping them "while I'm in there" isn't a complete time sink. If they test out good after sitting on the floor for a year, I might just do it.

Whatever battery Mack puts in new trucks is holding up good so far in the other truck that's a year old, even with the bunk heater and refrigerator. I expect the new truck will have the same ones. Another factor in my battery buying is: a while back I decided to get on the buy new and trade every 5 years bandwagon. Both my reefer units are going away next year. When they do, they aren't going to have $350 batteries in them. More like $50 Penn Power blemish no-label wet cells with their outta sight warranty, if the last $90 Batteries Plus wet cells don't make it. Same thing with the trucks if the OEM batteries only last a year or two. At least on the new Macks, battery service can't be any easier, so changing them isn't the chore it was in my old trucks.

 

406,000 miles and they have officially been replaced. Went back to a lead acid battery (Deka) as I was not going to spend $430 a piece to put agm’s back in it.

 

Curious, I went and looked up the Batteries Plus price. List is now $389.99 (excluding core charge). I know they offer 10-15% off just for setting up a business account with them, and have just a little more haggle room at the counter. So $350 each is about what I'd expect to pay. If you're considering buying these, the stores rarely have a set of 4 in stock. They're just too expensive and not a fast mover. B+ stores get a weekly battery delivery. Depending on what day you order, it could be up to 8-9 business days before they get there, so plan ahead.

Same as other expensive truck parts, if your state offers a sales tax exemption for rolling stock used in interstate commerce, this purchase is an excellent time to use that. In Georgia that lets me keep $98 if I were buying these today.

 

I need some, what are they going for?