Dual Battery for 2018 Raptor

I'm looking for some ideas on where to put an auxiliary battery in my soon to be delivered 2018 Ford Raptor. I've been running an aux battery in my 1993 F250 to power my ARB fridge for years now and hope to do the same in the Raptor.

Anyone with knowledge out there?

FYI. The Raptors have the 5.5 foot box.

Thanks loads.
 

OCD Overland

Explorer
No advice for you, but I'll be doing the same when mine arrives. I was originally thinking I'd get a small LFP battery and put it under the back seat, but I've been gifted a couple 6v flooded Trojans so I may mount those in the bed instead.
 
I've been using a pair of X2 Power AGM's in the '93 F250 mounted in the engine compartment. One for starting, the other for AUX. I put in a solid state isolator from Hellroaring. It's worked perfectly for me. I want to replicate that in the Raptor. Just need to figure out where to mount the battery. After that the install is pretty easy.
 
I've been gifted a couple 6v flooded Trojans so I may mount those in the bed instead.

This past winter I used two 6 V T105's in series to power the fridge, laptop, iPad and phones. I charge them up with 120v and a 3 stage charger using a Honda EU2000. They need charging every 4-5 days.

The system in the truck only works if the truck gets driven more than an hour every day or two. The T105's along with the charger work better for me when I'm stationary.

Someone must have done this already. Can't find anything via google searches though.
 

MagicMtnDan

2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Obvious options are (1) dual battery under the hood using something like the Genesis Dual Battery kit IF it will fit, (2) put it on the floor in the back seat or, (3) put it in the bed.

Genesis dual battery kit:
131-JKDBK-2.jpg


I don't like the back seat installation so, for me, putting it in the bed might be the best option. However, if I'm going to power my fridge (on the floor in the passenger area of the Super Crew Cab) I'll need to run thick gauge cables from the main battery to the house battery in the bed and then run power to an outlet in the back seat area.

For the time being I still have to use FORScan to turn on the power outlets on the back of the center console so they're always on instead of turning off on the factory set delay.
 

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
I'm running triple batteries on my Power Wagon, with a G31 for starting and a pair of G34s for backup, winching and fridge power. I wasn't willing to give up any cab or bed space so I hung the G34 Optimas on the frame rail under the passenger side of the cab. Bought a couple of battery boxes from Summit and then fabbed some angle iron to securely mount them to the frame. They are tucked up above the rails and the skid plates and are pretty well protected. Never had a problem, even when submerged.

Other alternatives include getting a box that relocates a battery to the rear of the truck, inside the fender (drag racer parts) or fabbing something similar. Those fat Raptor fenders should have plenty of room for batteries. You might also be able to fit one or two batteries between the grill and the radiator, but you'll have to fab the mounts. I know there is plenty of space in the PW (that's where I mounted my compressor) and in my Tundra (that's where the compresssor is going).Battery box 6.jpg
 

whitenoise

Adventurer
The P552 Raptor already has a tiny payload capacity.... 1000 lbs for the supercab and 1200 lbs for the crewcab (yes, 1/3rd of the base F150's best payload configuration!!). The truck was designed to go fast with 2 people in the desert, not as an overland hauler. I would advise looking into more modern options like a single large AGM or even lithium battery if you can find one, and a high quality lithium-ion jump starter. Supplement the run-time with a small 100w or so solar panel. The only reason you would NEED a dual battery is if you had a winch, or use high-draw appliances like a microwave or hair-dryer.
 
Supplement the run-time with a small 100w or so solar panel. The only reason you would NEED a dual battery is if you had a winch, or use high-draw appliances like a microwave or hair-dryer.

I'm keeping this thread alive in hopes that someone has come up with a dual battery solution for the Gen2 Raptors.

Whitenoise, good suggestion on both the solar and the Li-On jump starter. Re: need for a second battery....running an ARB fridge in the high desert heat drains the 2nd G24 AGM battery in my F250 in about a day. Even with a jump starter I don't want to take the risk of a non start situation.

Anyone out there with a solution?
 

Guapo

New member
I'm interested in this thread as well. I have a 2018 Raptor. I use it as a daily driver 95% of the time and Overlanding 5%. National Luna has a portable power pack ( https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.c...gement/national-luna-portable-power-pack.html ) that looks like a clean option. I want to simply strap the fridge and a portable option (like the national luna) in the second row for my trips and remove them the rest of the time. My question is how to get the heavy gauge wires from the battery to the second row of the truck. Anyone have any suggestions?
 

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
I have been trying to figure out where to mount a second battery in my Tundra CrewMax with the short bed, similar configuration to the Raptor. Not willing to give up any space in the bed or the cab, but had a brainstorm over the weekend. Seems that a lot of the aftermarket bumper makers for the Tundra are using a "hidden winch" configuration, with the winch plate inside the bumper and just a hole for the fairlead. Since I'm not planning to put a winch on the Tundra, I'm thinking I could mount a decent size AGM in a Grp 24 or 34, maybe a 27, laid flat on the winch plate inside the bumper. It's an expensive way to get a battery box, but my spousal unit just bent the OEM bumper, so I have to replace it anyway.
 
I added the dual battery setup in the early summer of 2018 to my 2018 Raptor. It's been working really well for me.

This winter I added a ZAMP 180 watt folding system to keep the battery charged when I stay in the same spot.

Here's what I used for the dual battery setup:
  1. Hellroaring solid state isolator.
  2. ARB Elements fridge.
  3. ARB slider. ARB Elements tie down.
  4. Battleborn LiFeP04 12v 100ah battery.
  5. Plastic battery box to hold the BB battery.
  6. Wire, crimp on connectors, heat wrap, clamps, heat shrink, etc. from Tony Candella/CEAuto Electric Supply.
  7. Anderson connectors.
  8. Mac's Tie Downs - tracks and connectors
Here's how I did the install:
  1. Pretty easy install as I had done one in my '93 F250.
  2. Mounted the isolator on the passenger's side firewall. Used nutserts in the aluminum firewall.
  3. Ran 8 gauge stranded wire from isolator to the bed. Installed a hole in the inside passenger side of the box near the top to run the wires.
  4. Installed the aux battery in the bed. FYI there is room next to the passenger side frame rail if you want to install the aux battery under the bed.
  5. Anderson plugs connect the aux battery to the new harness, and connect aux battery to fridge. Allows the battery and fridge to be removed when I need the entire bed.
  6. Mac's versatrack rails installed in the bed. I used three versatrack rails: driver's side, passenger's side, and #3 to the left of the passenger's side versatrack spaced to hold the ARB slider.
  7. ARB Elements slider attaches to the Mac's rails with screw on connectors.
  8. Battleborn LiFeP04 12v 100ah battery, in a plastic battery box.
  9. Made a simple cage to fit the bottom of the box with 1-1/2" aluminum angle, cut to size. Drilled holes in the corners of aluminum angles to attach to the Mac's versatrack rails. The aluminum angle cage attaches to the Mac's tracks, the battery box straps into the cage.
  10. ARB slider bolts to the Mac's tracks. Fridge attaches to the slider with an ARB tie down.
Have fun!

Links:
Battery isolator
Wire, heat shrink, crimp connectors, and great advice
Harbor Freight - nutsert/rivnut tool
Track - I used the "wide contour" versatrack
ZAMP Solar - Back Country Solar - great service

arb slider and mac versatrack.jpg
 

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I added a photo of the Mac's versatracks with ARB slider and a pic of the Hellroaring isolator, the truck is parked 1,500 miles from me so no more photos for a while.

If you are doing an install in a Gen 2 Raptor, I can offer some suggestions.

I have a BakFlip MX4 tonneau cover. The ARB Element on the slider just fits. It has an inch or so of top clearance.
 

Jspeers89

Member
Thanks. I have a gen 2 but the original 50l with a slide so I'm trying to find a cover that will work since it's taller.

Did you support the tracks on the under side of the bed to keep them from stripping due to the weight of the fridge?
 

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