WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WEIGHED YOUR 4WD?

You might be in for a surprise to see how much weight a loaded 4WD for a family getaway can weigh in at. The weight of every accessory you add to your 4WD should be included in your purchase decision; this includes your dual batteries.

When considering battery choices for your 4WD or caravan setup, there are a few things you want to consider. On a school holiday adventure when battery storage is a necessity, do you have enough space in the 4WD to cater for two larger capacity batteries? The typical size of 2 x 100Ah AGM batteries easily weighs in at 65kg. Can you afford the space and weight these batteries incur instead of your camp essentials? Camp stove, swags, fridge, tables, and chairs, it doesn’t take long to pack on the kgs, which will no doubt extend your power to weight ratio of your 4WD.

How much power will you consume?

Phones, tablets, speakers, lights, fridge, air pump, or even your coffee machine, powering your equipment off-grid determines how many Amp hours and battery capacity you’ll need.

Considering the above, this is where the Lithium Batteries take the number one position on all levels. Not only are they efficient, powerful, and light, they come in unique sizes that can easily be installed in many locations of your vehicle, like under seats, in drawer wings, or false floors. 65kg can easily be reduced to 14kg, while taking up significantly less space.

Stay under weight, stay compliant

Often 4WDers are unaware just how much their vehicle weighs. One of Bainbridge Technologies customers recently had to spend a small fortune upgrading his vehicle suspension to be re-certified to carry the extra weight of batteries and camping gear. His basic set-up without passengers already sent him 200kg over the legal limit for his vehicle make. Having three 110Ah AGM batteries quickly adds up to the weight of one passenger! Whereas a lithium equivalent of those three AGMs would weigh in at just 22kg.

Time to slim-down

Baintech have recently released the new slimline 110Ah Lithium battery, measuring just 50mm in thickness and weighing 8kg. Not only slim and light-weight, the added benefit of lithium is that you can install them in any orientation, meaning you can lay it flat, upright, or on its side. Unlike lead acid where you cannot fit these on their side due to acid leak.

Why not all lithium batteries are the same

When looking at Lithium batteries not all LifeP04 batteries are the same, here are some things to look out for:

1. Batteries with small cylindrical cells are welded together with brittle connections do not do well in harsh Australian environments. Particularly when in a 4WD travelling across corrugation. This is a cheaper Lithium to have hit the market.
2. There are two classes of Prismatic cells, these are far superior than the cylindrical type. The first class is the soft cell prismatic. While very good, they are not as mechanically robust as the hard case prismatic cell. The hard case can also be classified into two categories, 1. Being plastic the other being metal. The Baintech range of Lithium batteries are made using tier one metal hard case prismatic cells.

Key features of the Baintech Lithium Range:

• Rugged design, powder coated, durable outer casing
• BMS protection – to protect the battery from operating outside its safe operating area
• Integrated Anderson plugs in the 110Ah Slimline
• Triple guard protection
• 5-year warranty
• Locally manufactured in Australia

Same capacity for half the weight? Find the perfect Lithium battery for your set up. Shop now.