While in Reno, NV, home of Battle Born Batteries, we scheduled a consultation with Battle Born to see what they recommended to upgrade our current RV lead-acid batteries.  We don’t plan to boondock more than a night or two at a time, and we are not interested in a solar system. So, with our glamping parameters in mind, we sat down with Brandon from Battle Born Batteries. He discussed our power consumption, additional needs for our system, lithium vs. lead-acid. Best of all, he walked us through how we could install the new lithium batteries ourselves. So, if you are like us and not big boondockers but still want the confidence for occasional overnight dry camping, check out our easy Lithium Battery Upgrade.

Installed the following for our Lithium Battery Upgrade:

100 Ah 12V LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery (2x)

These lithium batteries are the heart of the upgrade in an otherwise complex world of amp, chargers, and volts. We bought two batteries to replace our current lead-acid deep cycle RV batteries.

We have previously run down our initial lead-acid batteries until they were completely dead in just a couple of nights of boondocking. Killing our batteries so quickly really instilled a fear of not being able to boondock. Upgrading to lithium batteries will give us the confidence to try a Harvest Host or Boondockers Welcome. Two batteries are perfect for our usage with our residential fridge and means we can go a night or two without recharging. And if we do need to recharge, our generator can eaisly recharge the batteris. The ten-year warranty gives us peace of mind that we won’t need to worry about our batteries for a long time.

12-Volt Lithium-Ion Batteries are composed of 4 cells, each with a voltage rating of 3.2-volts wired in series, providing a total output of 12.8 Volts. Lithium Iron Phosphate type cells are the safest and most common type used,
however, they must never be charged to a voltage over 4-Volts and must never be discharged below 2-volts, or they will be damaged. All this means, our current 50amp converter, made to recharge lead-acid batteries would need to be replaced as well.

Progressive Dynamics 60Amp LiFePO4 Converter Charger

Lithium-Ion Batteries require a special converter charger. As Brandon explained to us, each Lithium-Ion Cell is different (i.e., they will charge and discharge at different rates). These cell differences make recharging Lithium Batteries fairly complex. They require that the battery manufacturer install electronic balancing circuits inside the battery to prevent overcharging a cell or discharging too much. While these balancing circuits protect the cells, they can increase recharge times, depending on the mix of cells in each 12-volt battery pack. This increase in recharge time is especially apparent in higher voltage and or higher current battery packs. Lithium-Ion Batteries also require battery chargers to produce a higher voltage than standard 12-volt or 24-volt lead/acid battery chargers. Trying to recharge a Lithium-Ion Battery with a standard lead/acid charger will result in a partially charged battery and MAY REDUCE BATTERY LIFE!

Victron Energy BVM712 Battery Monitor

The Victron Battery Monitor is one of the essential parts of our installation. Our RV has a command center with gauges for the fresh water tank, black tank, grey tanks, and a four-lighted battery monitor. We thought our current battery monitor may still work. Brandon explained the primary battery monitor that came with our RV is rudimentary to a Victron battery monitor. The older monitor would show our lithium batteries full until they were dead. In addition, Bluetooth connectivity allows us to monitor our batteries from anywhere in the RV.

Easy Battle Born Lithium Battery upgrade

While at Battle Born, Brandon walked us through the steps to install the lithium batteries, converter, and battery monitor. Even though I tried to bribe him with a home-cooked meal to do the install for us, he assured us we had the knowledge and talent to do it ourselves.

Our initial impressions of our easy RV Lithium Battery Upgrade

We are pleased with both our time at Battle Born Batteries and our install. We completed the easy lithium battery upgrade install with few problems. On our initial travel day, we monitored our battery usage via the Bluetooth app, something we have never experienced before. And finally, and most importantly, we have the confidence to try overnight boondocks or two. We want to share fun locations like Harvest Host, or a Boondockers Welcome overnight. Our new lithium batteries mean the stress of waking up to a warm fridge is now a thing of the past! We hope we have inspired you to try an upgrade of your own for continued Bright Dais Ahead!

These are RV products we love and recommend to everyone. Purchases made here are private and it’s a great way to support our channel without any additional cost to you. 

Other posts to check out

Other posts to check out:

• RADRUNNER POWER UTILITY E-BIKES – ONE YEAR REVIEW AND OWNERSHIP
• HOW TO PRESERVE THE LIFE OF YOUR RV WATER HEATER
• HOW TO REPLACE RV SLIDE TOPPER AND AWNING MATERIAL
• RV STATE STICKER MAPS – BRAGGING RIGHTS AND THE RULES
• HOW TO INSTALL 22″ RV STEP COVERS AND A COMPARISON TO THE CAMCO STEP COVERS
• WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BOONDOCKERS WELCOME HOST?
• RV PERFORMANCE UPGRADES – BIG DECISION TO MAKE
• HOW TO PROTECT YOUR RV INVESTMENT
• RV HOME TOUR – A LOOK INSIDE AND OUT
• FOR ULTIMATE SAFETY, USE A TPMS TO PREWARN A POSSIBLE RV TIRE BLOWOUT.