[24hrsparkey]

Unless you plow/ salt , winch allot OR have a giant sound system i would not bother or spend .
Better to have 2 good batteries , real good battery terms ect ect IMO

 

[24hrsparkey]

I solder instead of crimp just because I don't have any other reason to buy a crimper. I buy the ends that fit the tightest and sometimes I need to,drill,them out a tiny bit to get the best fit. I use the fluxed solder lugs and I add a little extra No Korrode flux and a few more bits of wire solder to make sure they solder fully. Then finish them with self sealing heat shrink.
The negs. already go to the block but I also run both pos. cables to the starter for less voltage drop to it. There's plenty of room on the starter lug and plenty of room to installi it.

True one can solder , but i always fear of the solder wicking up the wire , making it stiff . But this is just a matter of Technique + skill + to me solder is a higher resistance connection .
To each his own. I think once you get the solder thing down , its def a viable connection.

I greatly like crimping better , with glued shrink tubing , and TINNED copper lugs .
But then there is the crimper and the dies. Dies are expensive . BUT being an electrician a crimper set up is not an issue for me.
The hammer , die crimper is useless .
BUT there is a CHEAP 39$ ( yes ) yellow china 3 ton hyd crimper on Ebay that can and will work for several sets of cables. Comes with metric dies , just take an educated guess on which is correct and make a test crimp.
I have made my own cables and military battery terms for 2 trucks AND pre fabbed a set for my son in Colorado , and sent the china crimper .
So all in all , 3 sets which i believe is a life time achievement . No more please . lol
Materials are expensive ( also ebay ) and will cost 180-230$ depending how far you go .

 

[24hrsparkey]

It's a toss-up. I've had to rewire a few large commercial 480 RTUs because of crimp connectors that arc flashed and burnt up most of the control cabinet. Crimps can still corrode but my soldering doesn't. Whatever trips your trigger!

Ha Ha , yes to each his own opinion !!
Me ? Ill just be happy not to make any more sets . Like i mentioned 3 is a lifetime achievement although i learned some fine points and slightly improved them along the way .

 

[24hrsparkey]

Not going to see allot of lead solder ( the low lead alloys for small electrical connections is brittle , just ask Dodge and their cluster manufactures ) come back in vehicles because of the Gov and EPA . They are determined to limit lead disposal / end of life in just about every thing .
Even the military battery terms ,, the cheaper ones off Ebay are an alloy , allot harder than plain lead and can break . Just went thu this on the set i shipped out to my son in Colorado . I did find a USA made set of military terms , more expensive , I HOPE from a better alloy and sent them out to him.

Crimp vs solder is an age old argument . And will go on and on .
In this application ( trucks) i prefer hyd crimps on tinned copper lugs , with glue shrink tube.
Just one old sparkys preference. To each his own . The first set i made is 10 years old , the next is 5 years old and no heat or visual issues . The first set has copper lugs , they did discolor a bit ( no corrosion ) and then i switched to tinned copper lugs as an improvement .

BFD , if hyd pressed lugs in a panel burn up on a regular basis , that must be some kind of load and harsh environment and right up against / over the 80% rating for continuous duty .

Good luck and work safe out der