Thanks to CBI's new battery trays for the 3rd Gens, I am in the market for a group 31 battery. As much as I'd love to have a DieHard Platinum 31M, I'm not sure I can swing $300+ on a battery.

I'm still not even sure I really need an AGM battery. I'd say 95% of my T4R's time is on the street, with a camping trip every month or so. I get a discount at NAPA, so I'm tempted to go with one like this:

NAPA AUTO PARTS

Anybody else have a recommendation besides the DieHard Platinum?

Well what are you doing that uses power? what is the goal for the group 31? playing music with car off? 12v fridge?

That battery would work fine but its built to produce lots of cranking amp not provide power over a long amount of time.

Winch, stereo, and lights are my main power draws. Truthfully I much prefer things to be overkill just for peace of mind. The 31 gives me that, but I'm not sure if I need $300 worth of peace of mine or if I'll be fine with $100 worth.

I'm guessing from your post I need to be looking more at marine batteries. Anybody tried the Interstate AGM7 yet?

We use the Optma Blue Tops on outboard powered fishing boats here in FL. Good for electronic systems being used while engines are shut down. I think the "Yellow Tops" would be better suited for 4X4. We also at the same time have a cranking battery dedicated to engine start. Having (2) or more of each is common also.

There's some info on the Optma Battery site. Tractor Battery | Forklift Battery | YELLOWTOP® | OPTIMABATTERIES

I bought a Diehard Platinum 34M last summer. It has plenty of power for what you describe. It has 850 CCA (the Toyota battery it replaced was about 560 I think). It fits in the stock location with minor mods. It was $180 on sale (20% off). Unless you plan to run a fridge for days on end, 31M is probably way overkill.

Optima Yellow top with 900+ cold cranking amps....

Optima is not an option. Heard far too many horror stories about how far their quality has dropped off since moving their production outside the US.

The 31 battery tray has already been ordered, so it's going to be a group 31 battery. I was just looking for help deciding which 31 to go with.

I bought a refurbed 31 from my local Exide distributor for $22. I will probably keep it on a trickle charger and keep it around as a spare.

As far as the primary battery, I thought I had a good deal on an Interstate 31-AGM7 for $240 instead of the $310 they are listed for, but it turned out to be a different battery that wasn't as good. Sears said they have no plans to have any sales on the DieHard batteries any time soon.

As much as I'd like to have an AGM battery, I think I am going to get the one from NAPA I linked above. It has the same 3 year warranty as the AGMs, a comparable reserve capacity and plenty of cranking amps, all at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost.

I'll post up pictures once I get it installed.

I know you have a battery already, but im just gonna throw out there that I love my Odessey 31m. they may be a bit pricey but for what its worth they are the best battery money can buy lol

Any particular reason you went with the Odyssey over the DH Platinum? I've heard they are identical, but maybe you know something I don't.

If I was going to really spend some $$$ on a 31, I'd probably go with this:

NSB-AGM-31 Battery*| NorthStar Battery

All I can say is that last I checked, thier is a prorated 10 year warrenty on the die hard platinums.

I believe you are correct. I am not sure Sears will be around long enough to honor that, though.

wait for it to go on sale at sears. they mrk them down quite a bit from time to time. I got my 31M before I did the tray.

That was my hope, originally. However, after speaking with the manager, I don't foresee any sales or discounts happening any time soon.