Posted: 2/20/2026 2:47:23 PM EDT
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My 2021 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 26DBH is coming up on 6 yo and still has its original lead acid battery. It's time, but I know nothing about the new lithium battery technology. I know a consideration is whether I boondock, but I am pretty much always plugged in. I believe my camper is prepped for using lithium, but I am not sure what I need to do check or to make it work(if it is automatic or I flip a switch). Considering my use, is it worth it to even change from lead acid? If I go lithium, what do I look for since there seems to be so many options? Any other things to consider? |
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Originally Posted By lizARdman15: My 2021 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 26DBH is coming up on 6 yo and still has its original lead acid battery. It's time, but I know nothing about the new lithium battery technology. I know a consideration is whether I boondock, but I am pretty much always plugged in. I believe my camper is prepped for using lithium, but I am not sure what I need to do check or to make it work(if it is automatic or I flip a switch). Considering my use, is it worth it to even change from lead acid? If I go lithium, what do I look for since there seems to be so many options? Any other things to consider? Just remember that lithium chemistry batteries don’t do well in the cold. They aren’t supposed to be charged at 32f or colder. The only 2 kinds of vehicular use I could see, are a tracked car, or sport bikes (where the lighter weight is a benefit, and neither of which would see use anywhere near freezing). |
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There should be a switch on your fuse panel to switch to lithium batteries. I had to take mine loose and the switch was on the side. It will be shown in the owners manual for the panel. I've been using Redodo lithium batteries with pretty good luck. It gets down in the 30's at night here, and I've never had a problem with them at all. I have 300 watts of solar on the roof, and they stay charged all the time. I'm using 3 100 watt hour batteries wired in parallel and have all the power I need for dry camping. I've even run thrm down low enough to shut themselves down, and they came right back to life once the sun came up and started charging again. |
Looking back I realize, nothing have I done
Left to die with only friend,
Alone I clench my gun
Left to die with only friend,
Alone I clench my gun
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Originally Posted By lizARdman15: My 2021 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 26DBH is coming up on 6 yo and still has its original lead acid battery. It's time, but I know nothing about the new lithium battery technology. I know a consideration is whether I boondock, but I am pretty much always plugged in. I believe my camper is prepped for using lithium, but I am not sure what I need to do check or to make it work(if it is automatic or I flip a switch). Considering my use, is it worth it to even change from lead acid? If I go lithium, what do I look for since there seems to be so many options? Any other things to consider? Lifepo4 batteries kick the shit out of lead acid. Way lighter, more compact, you get more energy out of them, they are cheap and you can get them with built in heaters and bluetooth. Cold won't be an issue, and you can check the state of the batteries on your phone. Your charger needs to be able to charge to 14.6v for full charge on a lifepo4 both solar controller and ac chargers. A lead acid charger doesn't give a full charge to them. |
World ain't what it seems, is it Gunny?
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Originally Posted By lorazepam: Lifepo4 batteries kick the shit out of lead acid. Way lighter, more compact, you get more energy out of them, they are cheap and you can get them with built in heaters and bluetooth. Cold won't be an issue, and you can check the state of the batteries on your phone. Your charger needs to be able to charge to 14.6v for full charge on a lifepo4 both solar controller and ac chargers. A lead acid charger doesn't give a full charge to them. Came here just to say what he said. Your onboard charger/converter can be upgraded to a Lithium friendly one if it doesn't currently work with lithium. If you dry camp often, its well worth it. |
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I replaced the lead acid battery with a LiFePo4 battery a couple years ago in our travel trailer. Went with a LiTime battery. The LA was rated 50AH and the LiFePo4 is rated 230AH, so, quite the upgrade in capacity. I also added 400w of solar on the roof and a charge controller inside. The battery has low temp charge protection, but does not self-heat. We don't camp during the winter and find sites that at least have electric so we can plug in. Once the kids are grown, we plan to try more boondocking camping. I need to add an inverter, though. Probably a 1500W or 2000W just to have some 120V power for limited activities. A LiFePo4 battery is a hell of an upgrade from the lead acid. You can discharge the LFP almost all the way without harming the battery, where the LA doesn't like to be below 50%. LFP doesn't off-gas and is way safer than the old Lithium Ion. However, we still keeps ours in the battery box on the frame. Based on recent findings, I'd stay away from Battleborn. Check out Will Prowse on YouTube, he's done a ton of independent testing and doesn't pull punches. |