They are more dangerous

Lithium is a reactive metal. It’s so reactive it will react with water. What that means is if the electrolyte ever dried up somehow and the two metals inside came in contact, the battery could explode or at the least catch fire.

That drawback kept lithium batteries from coming to the major consumer market for some time. It is also a worry you will find discussed in many RV forums. Many have heard of manufacturing defects in laptop and cellphone batteries melting or catching fire next to a person’s face.

To put this in perspective, millions of lithium-based batteries are manufactured each year, and very few malfunctions happen. You are more likely to wreck an RV on the road than have your cell phone spontaneously combust. RV lithium battery comes with a battery management system or BMS built into them that regulates charging, discharging, and other factors to prevent damage.

They don’t work in cold temperatures

Lead-acid batteries have an advantage when it comes to cold weather. They will charge, and though their performance is reduced, they will work in sub-freezing temperatures. Lithium batteries will discharge in cold weather more efficiently than lead-acid batteries, but charging them in below-freezing temperatures can lead to damage that renders them unusable.

It might seem that cold weather campers are stuck with a lead-acid battery, but some companies are finding ways around the cold flaw of RV lithium batteries. RELiON’s LTS series of batteries use a built-in battery heater. The heat generated by the charging circuit is used to warm up the battery before charging in freezing temperatures. The whole unit is contained within the battery.

Other companies like Battle Born Batteries have a built-in circuit that protects themselves from being charged when the battery reaches a certain temperature. They recommend keeping the battery in a heated area such as a compartment or even in the rig to prevent the battery from reaching cold temperatures.

Are RV lithium batteries worth the cost?

RV lithium batteries are lighter, hold more power, can be discharged deeper, and last longer. Though they have problems in freezing temperatures, many companies are making products that address that issue. Thanks to the current materials used in RV applications and technology, they are safe as well. The only real drawback is their price, but they may be cheaper than lead-acid batteries if you factor in lifespan.

There isn’t anything wrong with lead-acid batteries. If you only use your RV a few weeks out of the year, a good quality deep-cycle battery will probably do just fine.