....I should [b]NOT[/b] use a marine/deepcycle battery in my Truck?
E6

If my memory serves me, the deep cycle batteries in my boat say not to recharge until they are completely run down. Designed for long useage such as troling motors. Your truck will caharge at all times it is running. Shortens the life.....fullclip

Alternative = Optima battery. Will provide the deep cycle power and made to be used in an everyday driver

I would see no harm in using one that is for starting/deep cycle.
This would be a battery that is used as the main engine starting battery in a boat, but be sure to get one with at least 600 cranking amps.
I looked at a marine battery for my boat today and it had a spec for cranking amps, but not for cold cranking amps, so I am not to sure how it would perform in a truck at say 0 degrees F.

Lee

The deep cycle bat I have is listed as having 750 cranking amps. I dont think I have to worry about cold morning starts here in south Florida :)
E6

I dunno. Back in the day, when I used to work on car stereos, people would install deep cycle batteries to run their multi-k watt systems off of so the car battery wouldn't get drained. That is all I know of them in car applications.

IIRC, you will just end up spending more, as they cost more to make to withstand deep cycle use. They have a larger number of thinner plates, or something like that. A starting battery will have a much shorter life if it is frequently discharged too much between chargings, but I don't think it would hurt a deep cycle to use it in a starting application. It wouldn't surprise me if deep cycle batteries worked better in very cold climates, but probably are overkill in moderate climates.

[added in edit]
Looked up a couple things, got most of it backwards. Starting batts have lots of thin plates for maximum cranking amps, but will be damaged by deep discharge. Deep cycles have a smaller number of thicker plates, which are more durable, but may not be able deliver the cranking power of a comparable sized starting battery..