Campervan Batteries

Campervan Batteries

A source of electrical power is key to the full campervan experience. That might mean using free, eco-friendly solar electricity, pulling off the national grid with campsite hook-ups or just running off internal power for a long weekend. Either way, you’ll need a good, reliable campervan battery at the heart of your electrics.

When the time comes to buy a new battery, you might struggle to make sense of all the ratings, types and capacities on offer. How can you be sure to get the right one? Well, we’ll help you demystify the deep cycle,and generally choose the perfect battery for your needs without spending too much.  

Do I need a starter battery, or a leisure battery?

Starter batteries, sometimes called ‘crank’ batteries, are designed to deliver a great deal of power quickly, so that they can get the largest campervan engines to turn over and start in cold weather. By comparison, leisure or ‘deep cycle’ batteries are designed to supply relatively light amounts of power for long periods – perfect for keeping a small refrigerator or a television running between charges. Starter batteries can run appliances, but they don’t tend to be as efficient at the job as leisure batteries. Leisure batteries might be able to start a campervan engine, but it had better be a big leisure battery and a small engine!

Finally, there are ‘dual purpose’ batteries that aim to be all-rounders, working both to start your engine and to run 12v appliances or an AC power inverter. Dual purpose batteries tend to be reasonably good at both roles, but excel at neither.

What is a ‘Battery Cycle’? What does Depth of Discharge mean?

A battery cycle is a complete discharge of a battery – using all the power stored inside it that you safely can – and then fully recharging it again. Depth of Discharge means how much of a battery’s total power you can draw off of it safely, without much risk of anything bad happening.

What the depth of discharge really is depends on the technologies behind the battery itself. A lead-acid battery might only have a safe depth of discharge of 50% of the total amount of power stored on the battery, and taking it too far could severely limit its life. A lithium-ion battery may be able to deliver up to 80% of its total charge safely and efficiently.

Deep cycle leisure batteries are designed to be discharged slowly and steadily. You should never drain them completely. Most can be charged by the same alternator hook-up which charges your main, crank battery.

Types of campervan batteries

Assuming you aren’t exploring expensive high-tech options like lithium-ion batteries, you’ll be choosing between ‘wet’ or ‘gel’ lead-acid batteries (also called open, vented or flooded batteries) and sealed lead acid batteries whose workings depend on valves.

Valve-regulated batteries are ideal for campervans, as they are lower maintenance – they do not need to be topped up with deionised water – and they do not emit hydrogen and oxygen gasses. Open or vented lead acid batteries allow for the emission of gasses through the vents. Before selecting a wet battery for your campervan, make sure it is rated for use in motor homes, camper vans or other such vehicles.

We offer a wide range of batteries which are well-suited to campervan use. This includes everything from Wet Campervan Batteries, Gel Campervan Batteries and AGM Campervan Batteries to high end Lithium Campervan Batteries.