Battery options for 99 Ranger

[MEWolf]

I have a 99 Supercab 4X4 and just installed a winch on the Affordable Off Road front bumper. That winch is an older Ramsey unit and it pulls a lot of amperage in use. I have only would the synthetic rope on it and the battery gauge indicated it took a lot of power to do that (the winch had sat idle for about 15 years). I put on a 130 amp alternator knowing the winch would pull some amperage. Everyone knows under hood space is at a premium in these trucks and I don't how I would put a second battery in it other than in the bed which is not too desirable. A group 59 battery is not very big. Does anyone know of an AGM type for these trucks and/or how to get a bigger battery installed, or even dual batteries without much effort? I am interested in how someone else approached this subject. Thanks for informative replies in advance.

 

[RonD]

Quick look at Ramsey winch had 10,000lbs rated at 80amps
So look up the model to get the actual amps for your unit

Starter motors use 50-70amps and they need those BIG cables so they can pass that many amps quickly
So don't skimp on cable size to winch, smaller cables heat up and cause higher amp draw, which causes more heat and higher amp draw, and so on............lol

130amp alternator means it can do 60% of that at idle, so about 75amps
Which is good but double up the wire at B+ on the back of alternator
If it is a 10ga then add another 10ga wire from B+ to the MEGA fuse terminal

A good group 59 battery should be OK as is, and assuming 80amp winch should give you 1/2 an hour, engine OFF, pulling and leave enough amps to start engine, most "car/truck" batteries have 80amp hours but you need 40amp hours left to start engine
If engine is running then longer pulling is possible

You don't need a full size 12volt battery, Group 121R is 8" x 7" x 8.5", aka 21 and 21R
So a bit smaller, if you want to add a 2nd battery and isolator

For winch use you do not want a Deep Cycle battery, you want a "starter" battery that can release high amps quickly, so something rated with CCA(cold cranking amps)
Not amp hours in this case

 

[MEWolf]

Thanks! I forgot to include the winch is about 32 years old and has supposedly never operated. Hope that doesn't matter as it is a RAMSEY.

 

[RonD]

Well if it has brushes then they are probably frozen in their holders
If it has oil in it, then change it, after you see if it works, it uses gear oil

 

[4x4junkie]

Yeah the battery tray on a 1999 isn't very conducive to putting larger batteries in there, you're kindof stuck with what you have without significant reworking of the tray area.

Unfortunately I don't see much available in the way of group-59 AGMs.
I did find this one from Odyssey... It doesn't specifically say group-59, but the dimensions seem to be close enough that it may fit. But compare them yourself just to be sure.

Dual batts are generally the better way to go, although as you said, the 2nd batt would have to go in the bed or back of cab area.
To run a winch off it will require some fairly heavy cabling (#0 at minimum) because of the distance (cable length).

I have a 1994 (different tray style, originally came with a group-65 battery), so I can't help much beyond the above. Hopefully someone else on here has figured out ways to get more battery capacity on a '98 or later, and can offer something further.

Quick look at Ramsey winch had 10,000lbs rated at 80amps
So look up the model to get the actual amps for your unit

Starter motors use 50-70amps and they need those BIG cables so they can pass that many amps quickly
So don't skimp on cable size to winch, smaller cables heat up and cause higher amp draw, which causes more heat and higher amp draw, and so on............lol

130amp alternator means it can do 60% of that at idle, so about 75amps
Which is good but double up the wire at B+ on the back of alternator
If it is a 10ga then add another 10ga wire from B+ to the MEGA fuse terminal

A good group 59 battery should be OK as is, and assuming 80amp winch should give you 1/2 an hour, engine OFF, pulling and leave enough amps to start engine, most "car/truck" batteries have 80amp hours but you need 40amp hours left to start engine
If engine is running then longer pulling is possible

You don't need a full size 12volt battery, Group 121R is 8" x 7" x 8.5", aka 21 and 21R
So a bit smaller, if you want to add a 2nd battery and isolator

For winch use you do not want a Deep Cycle battery, you want a "starter" battery that can release high amps quickly, so something rated with CCA(cold cranking amps)
Not amp hours in this case

Those numbers are much too small.
A typical winch draws around 250-350 amps at it's rated load (the starter motor, around 150-200A; more when it's cold).