Truck batteries-

[Kev Williams]

So while moving my truck around the yard, the fact that I COULD move it still somewhat amazes me...

It's my trusty 2002 Ford F-250 supercab, bought it brand new in March of '02; almost zero options, has 4WD, an automatic trans and air conditioning, and that's IT. Because I've been self-employed for nearly forever, and work from home, I don't need to drive it much. Right now it has just under 64,000 miles on it, and it's been at 63-something for about 5 years now. It's basically pretty much like new.
Pics below, first one was taken in Sept '09, just before I was about to change out the first set of tires, 2nd pic is from Nov '19, and that's the newest pic I can find at the moment-

As for the 'batteries' subject, it's because, like the tires that's on it, which are only the 2nd set of tires it's ever seen, it's also on only it's second battery-! The factory battery had to be changed in August 2013, over 11 years in, and not because it was going dead, it was still starting the truck just fine; but because the thing 'exploded' just after launching our boat! -Wasn't a BIG bang, it was more of a firm *POP* when it went, but the case blew apart, apparently it shorted out within itself.

--Anyway, that battery I put in later that day is still starting the truck just fine, and it's near 10-1/2 years old! I've never had ONE battery last 10-11 years, let alone TWO, and in the same vehicle!

So I got to wondering if anyone else has a battery story, or has some other 'thing' that should've given up long ago but just won't die-?
MyTruck-09.jpg
MyTruck-19.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

One of the tricks I learned a long time ago to help a battery survive a long time is to keep the top of the battery clean. A build up of dirt, especially with a little oil or other moisture can conduct and drain a battery.

Wipe the top completely with a dry rag.

Another thing is to check that the terminals are tight and the wiring should also be kept clean. Make sure both ends of the cables and wiring is solidly connected.

jtk

[Rick Potter]

Had a '97 F250 which I sold in 2005. After it left home, I got to thinking about the battery and realized it was still on the original one.

On the other hand, the replacement for it was 2005 F250 diesel, which had two batteries, and ate them continuously at the three year mark until I sold it to my Grandson in 2022.

[roger wiegand]

I just bought my third set of batteries (it takes two) for my 2009 F350. 6-7 years seems about average for me; I imagine there is a distribution of battery lifetimes and that some percentage last 10 years. If it's 2% then your chance of having two is about 0.04%, or 1 in 2500. Maybe you should buy a lottery ticket!

[Jim Becker]

While batteries "generally" have a 3-5 year lifespan, I've seen many folks talk about situations where they got much longer. The battery in the MY12 Grand Cherokee I owned was actually still fine at about 7 years, but I elected to replace it proactively at that point. I'm pretty sure that the fact that it lives inside the cabin on the JGC certainly didn't hurt the longevity. I only got three years out of the OEM battery on the MY19 Ascent and grabbed a new one from Costco with a little better spec. I'm actually surprised the battery in my Kubota tractor lasts as long as it does...I think I've replaced it maybe three times in 20 years.

Now tires...this is something that someone owning a vehicle for a long time and not putting miles on it has to pay attention to. Tires can become degraded after about five years or so after date of manufacture. For safety reasons, one sometimes has to replace them even if they are not significantly worn. Dry rot, etc, can cause poor handling and blowouts. The rule of thumb for trailers is five years and replace so serious consideration of that should be in play for a truck or car, too.

[Bill Howatt]

Neighbor has a 2013 RAM with the original battery. The original one in my 2017 Grand Caravan croaked in about 3.5 years. I tend to go with Roger's 6-7 year number and consider anything can happen at the 5 year level.
It appears to me, at least around here, that you used to be able to get a 7 year warranty on the more expensive batteries but now 5 seems to be the limit. This isn't based on an exhaustive search.
It's the heat that kills the battery, it's the cold when it shows up - nice general thought, but it doesn't always wait until it is cold.

[Curt Harms]

While batteries "generally" have a 3-5 year lifespan, I've seen many folks talk about situations where they got much longer. The battery in the MY12 Grand Cherokee I owned was actually still fine at about 7 years, but I elected to replace it proactively at that point. I'm pretty sure that the fact that it lives inside the cabin on the JGC certainly didn't hurt the longevity. I only got three years out of the OEM battery on the MY19 Ascent and grabbed a new one from Costco with a little better spec. I'm actually surprised the battery in my Kubota tractor lasts as long as it does...I think I've replaced it maybe three times in 20 years.

Now tires...this is something that someone owning a vehicle for a long time and not putting miles on it has to pay attention to. Tires can become degraded after about five years or so after date of manufacture. For safety reasons, one sometimes has to replace them even if they are not significantly worn. Dry rot, etc, can cause poor handling and blowouts. The rule of thumb for trailers is five years and replace so serious consideration of that should be in play for a truck or car, too.

I've seen 'talk' that Pennsylvania is considering making tire age an inspection item. Don't know what there's to it. The OEM battery in my 2001 Ranger went about 10 years. No replacement has done as well. When I install or remove the battery I put a light coating of grease on the terminals. No special grease, just wheel bearing grease. Keeps the terminals nice and clean, no corrosion.

[Dick Strauss]

We replaced the battery on our 01 Camry in 2013. The old 89 Civic was on the OEM battery when it was traded in for the Camry.

"Sealed" or "Maintenance Free" batteries still lose fluid over time. Pop the sealing caps and add DI or distilled water when the levels fall below the plastic tubes for each battery cell. If the cell becomes exposed, the battery capacity drops off significantly.

Possibly the rate of charge versus the battery capacity comes into play with poor longevity. If you are charging a 700 CCA battery using a 200A alternator (2010 F350 used to use this size for HD versions iirc) versus a 90A alternator charging the same battery, the battery may get hot charging at 200A and the fluid can be lost quickly. If you don't replace the lost fluid, the battery won't last long. We routinely saw this situation with electric forlifts being put on fast charge circuits in industry causing the batteries to need more water at least every week and usually several times per week. The batteries placed on the slow charge circuits needed more fluid less than once a month while working in a 120 degree environment.

[Jim Becker]

I've seen 'talk' that Pennsylvania is considering making tire age an inspection item. Don't know what there's to it.

I haven't heard that but it would not be difficult for a state to do that given the date codes are molded right into the tires. Most folks don't have tires last longer than a few years with normal driving patterns so this would largely affect a smaller portion of the owners out there who keep vehicles a long time without driving much; largely like a pick em up truck that doesn't get used very much.

[Bruce Volden]

Well Kev,

This is a sneaky way to try to sell your truck!!
You forgot to ask how much I am willing to pay!
Bruce

[roger wiegand]

After having a couple trailer tires with 1-2000 miles on them disintegrate from age I'm now a believer. Five years and off they go, no matter what they look like. I was told that it is less of an issue on more frequently used vehicles because the flexing of the tire helps distribute the plasticizer. I suspect that's hogwash, but it's only a potential issue on my truck that gets only a couple thousand miles a year. The car tires way out much more frequently.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

IMG_8313.jpg
This monster has 4 batteries wired in parallel and series to make a 24v deep cycle system. The batteries went dead and they are $650 each. I found a place that sells adapters for Optima batteries, which are much cheaper. I read a lot of bad about optima batteries after moving production to Mexico. Two of the batteries went bad in short
order, but they were replaced free of charge under warranty.

[Bruce Wrenn]

For heavy duty truck batteries, stop by the PeterBilt store, AKA the Pete store. Way better than other sourced batteries, and cheaper. We average around nine years on batteries in our vehicles. Last batteries we bought (three) were the one year ones from Walmart. All three are now in their fifth year of use. Battery on stand by generator has 2009 manufacturing date, which means it's at least 14 years old now. On Monday, I will find out if it still works during monthly generator test. It did the first of this month. One thing that hurts batteries in newer cars is for fuel economy, alternator doesn't continously charge. It waits till battery is well drained and then charges, rather than continously. Kinda like deep cycling the battery.

[Rich Engelhardt]

For heavy duty truck batteries, stop by the PeterBilt store, AKA the Pete store. Way better than other sourced batteries, and cheaper. We average around nine years on batteries in our vehicles. Last batteries we bought (three) were the one year ones from Walmart. All three are now in their fifth year of use. Battery on stand by generator has 2009 manufacturing date, which means it's at least 14 years old now. On Monday, I will find out if it still works during monthly generator test. It did the first of this month. One thing that hurts batteries in newer cars is for fuel economy, alternator doesn't continously charge. It waits till battery is well drained and then charges, rather than continously. Kinda like deep cycling the battery.

The battery in my 3.5 year old Hyundai Kona with 19k miles on it died a few months ago. The guy that came out from road service pretty much told me that exact same thing - about the charging system.
He said my battery died because it never had the chance to charge up enough because I didn't run the engine long enough to charge it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

The battery in my 3.5 year old Hyundai Kona with 19k miles on it died a few months ago. The guy that came out from road service pretty much told me that exact same thing - about the charging system.
He said my battery died because it never had the chance to charge up enough because I didn't run the engine long enough to charge it.

A Battery Minder, or Battery Tender is your friend. Using quick connect, keep it connected when not driving vehicle. That's what is on stand by generator battery, so it's always topped off, with out over charging. Twice a year, I check electrolyte level and add distilled water if necessary. Remember that the maintainance free batteries are designed to have enough distilled water to last them thru the warranty, and no more. Peel sticker off top, and using a sharp tool, pry out caps and top off electrolyte. Distilled water is a lot cheaper than a battery.