614 truck campers answered our Big Battery Poll and—oh my—there are some big surprises and critical findings for our industry. Positive to negative, let’s short this out.
Way back in 2015, batteries were simple. You installed Group 24, Group 27, Group 31, or 6 Volt GC batteries and called it a day. Put two of any of the above in a camper and you had enough to power an entire 12 volt system with aplomb. Add LED lighting and a solar panel or two and you were Captain Nemo, sailing the off-grid seas with autonomy, and battling giant squid with your left hand.
We know this from our first battery poll nine years ago, but I suspect the poll results would have been similar nine years before that. For decades, truck camper batteries were Group 24, Group 27, Group 31, or 6 Volt GC; boring and reliable for about five or six years. Then you got new batteries; rinse and repeat.
Today, batteries are no longer just the aforementioned fab four. Lithium batteries for campers had barely broken the surface in 2015. Since then they have transformed the marketplace, and proliferated into a myriad of shapes, sizes, and products. Some lithium batteries are the size of a traditional Group series, while others are almost unrecognizable as a battery. Like everything else with technology, the old-school rulebook has been tossed and batteries are changing fast.
So how do we get a grip on where truck camper battery preferences are in 2024? And how do we find out where those preferences are going? You create a Big Battery Poll and ask Truck Camper Magazine readers.
Buckle up battery buffs. These results are fascinating.
CURRENT BATTERY RESULTS
1. What is your current camper battery type?
In 2015, the overwhelming majority had flooded/lead acid batteries (54.8%) and AGM batteries (39.2%). Believe it or not, less than one percent (0.74%) had lithium batteries.
In 2024, it’s a whole new world. Today, 47.1% have lithium batteries, 22.9% have flooded/lead-acid batteries, and 22.5% have AGM batteries. Even when you add the flooded/lead-acid and AGM battery results together (45.4%), the total doesn’t eclipse lithium batteries.
2. What size are your current batteries?
In 2015, the number one battery size was a Group 27 (34.8%). The next most popular was Group 31 (22.2%), then 6 Volt Golf Cart (17.8%), and Group 24 (16.3%).
In 2024, Group 27 is still the number one battery size at 32%. Then Group 31 at 18.1%, Group 24 at 15.4%, and 6 Volt Golf Cart 8.9%.
Non-Traditional Battery Size was checked by 17.1%. Many of the ‘non-traditional battery size’ respondents reported the brand and Ah size of their batteries, most essentially being Group 27 or Group 31 in size. For example, Battle Born’s popular 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 battery is a Group 27 in size.
However, a growing number of lithium battery companies throw traditional battery Group sizes out the escape hatch. For example, Renogy’s 100Ah LiFePO4 ‘Core’ 12 volt battery is 10.24 x 6.65 x 8.31 inches. That’s shorter in length, narrower in width, and shorter in height than a Group 27.
At the other extreme, Battle Born’s Gamechanger 270Ah LiFePO4 battery is 22.83 x 7.09 x 13.15 inches. That’s nearly 10 inches longer, 0.29 inches wider, and 3.71 inches longer than a Group 31. What this means is that you can no longer assume a lithium battery is a standard size, or that it will fit into your camper battery compartment.
Installed all-in-one lithium systems came in at 5.8%. Hang on to that number as it’s going to play an important role in the wrap up.
Portable lithium power stations came in at 2.7%. I suspect if we had asked if folks had a portable lithium power station as a secondary battery system the number would have been higher. We have one and use it all the time.
3. What size is your current battery bank?
We did not ask about the Ah size of battery systems in 2015. Back then most battery bank size conversations were about what size batteries you had (by group number) and how many of those batteries you had.
As lithiums gained traction, amp hours became the new way we talked about the size of a camper battery bank. Today you’ll hear folks say, “I have 200 Ah of lithium,” where ten years ago they would have said, “I have two Group 31 AGMs.”
The 2024 poll shows 45.5% of respondents have 200 Ah on board. Unless you’re regularly running 110 volt appliances, or want to run your air conditioner off-grid, that’s plenty of power. Before we got our new Goal Zero system, we had 210 Ah (two Group 31 Duracell AGMs) and had no complaints. We supplemented that power with a Goal Zero Yeti 400 portable lithium power station for a fantastic set-up.
Back to the poll, 19.8% had 100Ah, 12.3% had 300Ah, and 9.7% had 400Ah. I believe most of these systems consist of multiples of Group 27 and Group 31 batteries; aka, traditional battery banks.
Then things go to crazy town. 12.4% reported having 500 Ah of more. Heck, 1.5% reported having over 1,000 Ah onboard. These are air conditioning off-grid systems, or welding in the desert systems, or Death Star blow-up-a-planet systems. We may reach out to the 1KAh club to see exactly why they built such huge systems, and what they do with that much power. “That’s no camper. It’s a space station.”
4. Do you power a 110-volt inverter?
I was honestly surprised that 41.4% reported not having an inverter. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as nearly everything in a truck camper runs off 12 volts, and some people prefer to use a generator when they need 110-volt power.
On the other hand, 58.6% reported having a 110-volt inverter. The most popular size was 2,000 watts at 19.2%. A 2,000-watt inverter is enough to run anything anyone would use in a truck camper, as long as you didn’t use two of those things. Microwave and then the coffee maker, not microwave and coffee maker at the same time.
5. Do you power an air conditioner with your current battery bank?
82.6% said no, they do not power an air conditioner with their battery bank. Given the required investment, I was actually more surprised to see that 17.4% reported that they do run their AC off-grid.
I would bet a stack of Torklift turnbuckles that this result will radically change if we run this poll in another five years. Right now efficient air conditioner technology exists, but it’s expensive and requires additional and/or updated solar panels, battery banks, and electrical systems.
We checked the ‘Yes, I power a 110-volt air conditioner’ selection. While we technically have this capability, we need a more efficient air conditioner to make it practical. I will be writing more on this topic for our upcoming Goal Zero Escape Ecosystem review.
DREAM BATTERY RESULTS
6. What is your dream battery type?
In the least surprising result of our battery poll, lithium is the dream battery type at 57.9%. I know, shocking.
What actually is shocking is the 23.9% result all-in-one lithium battery systems received. An all-in-one lithium system includes a lithium battery, converter, solar controller, and 110-volt inverter in one box. What’s amazing is that these systems are less than a year old and have already garnered huge interest in our poll.
On that same note, portable lithium powers stations jumped from 2% to 6%. Again, we didn’t poll this question, but I bet more and more truck campers use portable lithium power stations in combination with their house batteries.
AGMs came in at 8.0%. That’s a big drop from where they are now (22.5%). I suspect most AGM users will upgrade to lithium when the right price and/or opportunity presents itself.
Lead-acid and Gel batteries came in last with a total of 4.3%. I would not be surprised to see these battery types discontinued in the future as demand continues to drop, and lithium battery prices continue to fall.
7. What size would your dream batteries be?
Another surprise. Installed all-in-one lithium systems came out on top for the size question with nearly a third of the total (32.0%). This helps to confirm the interest in these nascent systems.
Many readers stuck to the traditional battery sizes; Group 27 (19.4%), Group 31 (18.2%), Group 24 (5.4%), and 6 Volt GC2 (2.6%). All totaled, that’s 45.6% that want a traditional truck camper battery size. That’s also something everyone in the truck camper business needs to pay attention to.
8. What size would your dream battery bank be?
We had guessed the ‘1,000 Ah or more’ tab would run away with this. And as a dream battery bank, why not?
Well, our readers were more thoughtful and conservative with their answers. 400 Ah was the winner at 26.3%. And realistically, 400 Ah is a good amount for a modern 12 volt truck camper that includes a 12 volt compressor refrigerator. 400 Ah is not enough to run an air conditioner off-grid for hours on end, but a lot of readers have no interest in that.
200 Ah (12.8%) and 300 Ah (11.1) were not far behind. Again, our readers are thinking more about what they actually need, rather than going crazy.
Admittedly, I checked ‘1,000 Ah or more’.
9. What size would your dream inverter be?
Where most folks with an inverter said they had a 2,000-watt model, a 3,000-watt inverter came out on top. Perhaps 2,000-watt inverter owners sometimes find they need more. Or 3,000 is the next logical size to progress to.
Perhaps the most important result here is that only 10.1% stated they, ‘do not want an inverter’. That means 89.9% of our readers want an inverter. Pay attention industry. That’s huge.
10. Would you power an air conditioner with your dream battery bank?
I must admit that this question was where I was focused. If the majority of folks want to power an air conditioner off-grid, the thinking needs to change throughout the industry.
The result? 61.1% want to power an air conditioner off-grid. That leaves 38.9% who do not.
I would bet that the majority of the 61.1% who want to power an air conditioner off-grid are hard side truck camper owners; aka traditional RVers who chose a truck camper over every other RV type. I would also bet the ‘no’ responders are predominantly pop-up camper owners who identify as overland enthusiasts.
Six Important Industry Take Aways
1. If there’s anyone in the truck camper industry who’s not on the lithium battery train, it’s time to get on board. I am still somewhat in the, ‘two Group 31 AGMs are enough’ camp, but even we have dived head first into lithium battery systems. I will have a lot to say on this topic for our upcoming Goal Zero Escape Ecosystem review.
2. Some may interpret the data differently, but I see Group 27 sized lithium batteries as the current battery standard. This makes sense as Group 27 was the previous standard in lead-acid and AGM variants. There are gains to be had with different size lithium batteries, but there’s a lot to be said for sticking to a standard and designing everything to work with that size.
3. Truck campers want at least 200 Ah in their truck campers. That should be considered the standard (or minimum) for a truck camper rig in 2024. For the future, 400 Ah is the dream. In a sentence, truck campers should come with 200 Ah and be easily upgradable to 400 Ah, and beyond.
4. While less than half of truck campers have an inverter on board, nearly 90% want one in the future. Make the inverter at least 3,000 watts and you’ll hit the mark.
5. Only about 17% of respondents power their air-conditioners off-grid, but 60% of truck campers would like to power an air conditioner off-grid in the future. The takeaway here is to make this path possible in future truck campers. This could be through a manufacturer option, or as a dealer upgrade.
6. All-in-one lithium battery and electrical systems like the Goal Zero Escape Ecosystem are the dark horse. We are auditioning the Goal Zero system now and can see why the interest is strong for this product category. We’ve also had numerous conversations with industry leaders who are currently testing all-in-one lithium battery systems. When these systems become better known and proven, I think the interest will skyrocket.
