Trickle charge on truck's 2 batteries...?

Same truck and engine, quite a few years ago I started using 5W40 synthetic in the Cummins.
If your into 15W40 in the cold its sort of like molasses in there.

Plus it takes a long time to get to the top end etc...

The starting circuit will have to work overtime to crank the engine to firing compression..

With syn 5W40 it starts like summer...

I have a friend up above you in Alberta with a fleet of dump trucks , they all are on 5W40.

Thank you. Overnight trickle started it right up even in the below zero weather.

Kayteg1 wrote:

The $6 gizmo is rated at 0.5 amp

I know that many folks seem to get by with something like that but I just can't bring myself to trust a "$6 gizmo" with my $500 batteries.

Search Amazon for: Optima Digital 400 12V Performance Maintainer and Battery Charger - 150-40008

I love that charger, it has brought back several batteries for me, I have friends give me dead batteries and I use that on them and now have a battery stockpile.

I have dual batteries in my truck on battery MAINTAINER since last October.
The $6 gizmo is rated at 0.5 amp and recommended up to 100 amp-hr battery, so theoretically I should have 2 of them, but single works just fine.
Read carefully what your charger does. Some trickle chargers can deliver 18V and not only mess up electronics, but boil the battery dry on long use.
Battery maintainers have float circuit that keeps 13.5V

gitpicker2009 wrote:
Wait a minute, I thought they were wired in parallel. If so, wouldn't you have to put the charger across both of them or am I seeing this wrong?
In other words connect the charger to negative on one and positive on the other? Assuming they're still attached to the truck?

Parallel is correct and you can connect to negative on either and positive on either and the do NOT have to be the same battery.

A 2 amp trickle charge will work fine. If you are in cold weather a block heater will really help.

Wait a minute, I thought they were wired in parallel. If so, wouldn't you have to put the charger across both of them or am I seeing this wrong?
In other words connect the charger to negative on one and positive on the other? Assuming they're still attached to the truck?

towpro wrote:

I would recommend more than a 1.5a charger for 2 truck batteries.

Good point.

And for use just overnight, most any "normal" charger should do fine.
I suggest something around a 10 amp capacity.

BUT.....more importantly, you need to check the battery voltage and how they are wired first.

IF they are 2 6V batteries wired in series, then the charger will need to be connected differently.

I don't think any "standard" pickup is ever equipped with a 24 V system....but the point is that you NEED to know what you are dealing with before making any connection.

I ready Trickle charger and I assume one of the small chargers like for motorcycle batteries.

I would recommend more than a 1.5a charger for 2 truck batteries. Schumacher Electronics (maker of battery chargers) used to have a warning in there small charger paperwork about not using it on big batteries as it did not provide enough current to ever really finish charging the batteries.

I have a 15a I use on my truck. Plus my 2018 ram has AGM batteries in it from the factory. newer battery chargers have a setting just for AGM as they don't like to be de-sulfate charged.

It is a yes (they are hooked to each other) for my 2012 Dodge RAM.