New truck batteries

Arcamper wrote:
My 2014 Ram 3500 Cummins is starting a little slower now days and I know it's time to replace the original batteries. I have been using Walmart batteries for years and have had fairly good results. I decided to check at Sam's to see what they have and the Duracell brand is what they carry. After some reading it seems they have a good rating and I can get the AMG version for only a little more than the flooded cell. I am not looking to put Optima's or any super high dollar batteries in. Are any of you running the Duracell and if so what do you think about it?

I can't tell you how good it is yet but I found out that the local Kenworth dealer sells commercial truck batteries for $75 after exchange. That is what is going into my diesel next.

I think there are about two or three manufacturers that make all automotive batteries in the US, so the brand doesn't matter much. I put Duracells in my truck last fall because that's all I could find on short notice and they seem fine so far, but being just a few months old they should be fine. I don't know who actually made them. If your batteries are starting to get spotty I'd change them sooner rather than later.

X2 and wal mart are as good as any.

Based on relatively recent experience

- Change sooner rather than later;
- Don't use "SuperStart" branded batteries....I think it might be a house brand for O'Reilly's. Recently purchased two of them; although new and fully charged, not enough CCA to spin the motor (didn't produce the CCA advertised). When I took them in for refund (which was given without any problem), the counterman said "Oh, another bad set of those..."

Duracell are made by EastPenn Mfg. Same as a Dekka. Great batteries for the money.
Check Baterries Plus if you have one. Order online and pick up in store and save 10%. Sometimes makes them cheaper than Walmart or Sam's Club.

IdaD wrote:
I think there are about two or three manufacturers that make all automotive batteries in the US, so the brand doesn't matter much. I put Duracells in my truck last fall because that's all I could find on short notice and they seem fine so far, but being just a few months old they should be fine. I don't know who actually made them. If your batteries are starting to get spotty I'd change them sooner rather than later.

You are correct. I have done a few factory tours through some of our battery suppliers. There is basically only Exide, JCI(now Clarios), East Penn, and Odyssey in the US and Atlas along with a few other small players overseas. The most recent was at Clarios which is the largest in the US and world if I am mistaken. Walking through their assembly lines and warehouse, you would be amazed at how many different brands that they made batteries for. From Motorcraft to Interstate battery. I even saw many NAPA brands all coming from the same factory. East Penn and Exide also make batteries for many different brands too.

There is not a lot of difference between them in regards to each brands good, better, best battery meaning that most brands price point "good" battery is just about the same as the rest in virgin lead content quality. The "better" batteries usually labeled "silver" or something of that sort will generally have better lead quality and will be bonded on the inside keeping the internals together better. The "best" battery usually labeled as "gold" or "platinum" depending on the brand generally has the best quality lead of the brand and has other features along with being bonded.

By far the best battery manufacturer is Odyssey. They use the best virgin lead and their casing is very high quality. They also make batteries for a few brands generally labeled as "platinum" as well. These batteries are pricey, but they are the best of the best if that is what you are going for.

Atlas in Korea generally makes the cheapest price point battery, but you get what you pay for.

I changed mine last year and put the Kirkland ones in from Costco. I've found them to be good quality, good price, and it's pretty tough to beat a 100 month warranty....

I have batteries from Autuzone that were 3 yrs old back in Dec. which replaced the OEM delcos in my 2012 Chevy. My bat's on the 2 diesels I have owned never give any signs of going south. Good one start then DEAD. Only reason Autozone was it was Sunday and only parts place in our small town with (2) correct size .

Groover wrote:

I can't tell you how good it is yet but I found out that the local Kenworth dealer sells commercial truck batteries for $75 after exchange. That is what is going into my diesel next.

Don't expect those batteries to last long. We sell the exact same group 31 batteries that we get from PACCAR(the parent company of Peterbilt and Kenworth). The group 31 batteries on those trucks are made to have high cold cranking amps so they have much larger internal plates. Generally the larger the plates are the more cold cranking amps it can output, but you cannot fit as many plates so the battery life is shorter.

If you are going to go this route, then get a 6XX or 7XX instead of the 950 CCA battery. They have more plates and will last longer. They are also a little less expensive. We have the TRP(PACCAR's branded battery made by East Penn) 760 CCA for $73 and the 950 CCA for $75.

I wall also add that if I had to rate each manufacturer's battery based on consistent battery quality and what I have seen in the factory, it would be Odyssey followed by Clarios and East Penn tide in Second and Exide a distant third. The only reason why I would choose Clarios and East Penn over Exide is because they don't let their batteries sit in warehouses for long periods of time filled with acid. Once you fill then with acid, the charge life starts degrading. Clarios and East Penn both acid filling factories across the US while Exide does not as many. This means that they can ship just the cases with the lead to these facilities and fill them when a customer like Autozone orders them so you know they are fresh. Since Exide does not have as many of these type of facilities throughout the US, they have to fill them with acid and store them in a warehouse even before they are ordered just to keep up with demand. East Pen and Clarios batteries or no more than 10 days old once they hit our dealerships while Exides can be anywhere from a month to two months old.

The last go around on batteries I went with AGMs from AutoZone. The thing is a lot of my driving is short trip and they recover quickly. Time will tell.