Best Battery for Overlanding
Tips & Support
- Sponsor
- OPTIMA Batteries
- Location
- Glendale, WI
When it comes to choosing a battery for overlanding, the first thing to consider is a second battery. What do we mean by that? When you go overlanding, you're probably driving out to some remote location and camping overnight. If anything were to happen, you'd want to have some backups and redundancies baked into your plans- a winch, spare tire, etc... A spare battery would definitely fit into that equation.
People who go overlanding often use 12-volt battery power to keep food cold, power lights and other accessories when camping out. If you use the same 12-volt battery to power your camping activities that you use to start your engine, how will you know if your battery still has enough power left to start your engine, when you're done camping? That's why people who go overlanding are smart to add a second battery to their overlanding rig.
The question then turns to what battery is appropriate for a "house" or non-engine starting battery? You typically have two options between lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. If you tie your house battery into your vehicle's charging system, it either needs to be properly isolated from the engine starting battery or it needs to be identical in age, size and type. If you choose a lithium battery, that battery and your vehicle's charging system need to be compatible with each other.
Lead-acid batteries are generally less expensive than quality lithium batteries, but won't offer as much cycle life or capacity, when comparing comparable sizes. AGM lead-acid batteries, like OPTIMA's BLUETOP batteries can last up to three times as long as a flooded lead-acid battery, but a quality lithium battery can offer even more lifespan and capacity, although they generally come with a higher price tag.
Our recommendation when selecting a house battery for overlanding is to buy the largest battery you can physically fit in the space available. This is often a Group 31 battery. In the case of OPTIMA's D31M BLUETOP battery, it offers both threaded studs and SAE terminals for connection points and is rated at 75Ah. OPTIMA's Q31M-DC150 ORANGETOP lithium battery offers quad termination and is rated at 150Ah.
Capacity, not cranking amps should be your focus when looking for a house battery for overlanding. While OPTIMA's ORANGETOP would appear to offer twice as much capacity as OPTIMA's BLUETOP, the true difference is even greater than that, because quality lithium batteries offer a higher percentage of rated capacity for actual use than lead-acid batteries.
You may notice we keep referencing "quality" lithium batteries. Why do we make that distinction? Because the lithium battery space has a vast range of battery brands with an equally vast spectrum of quality. We know some online retailers are selling lithium batteries at prices that seem too good to be true and often that is the case. How can you tell if a lithium battery you are considering is a quality lithium battery? We always say the sign of a battery brand you can trust is an actual sign.
Many lithium battery brands are being sold out of rented mailboxes, third-party warehouses and even home addresses. Legitimate battery brands will have a commercial business address with a sign out front. The "company" behind some of these lithium brands may just be an individual who bought a dozen batteries off a website and is re-branding them. Once those batteries are gone, there's no guarantee they'll buy more to re-sell. If you can't find a commercial address with a sign out front or it looks like batteries are being sold as a side hustle out of another business, consider other brands.
A quality lithium battery brand will also have a toll-free number you can call for technical or warranty assistance, that is answered during regular business hours, by someone who speaks English as a first language. If the tech support for the lithium battery brand you are considering consists of a Facebook group, where other owners of the same battery try to trouble-shoot issues for each other, you should probably consider other brands. The same is true for battery brands that will only communicate with you via email. These brands are often based in other countries and if a warranty replacement is needed, they may try to negotiate a discounted price on a new battery instead.
OPTIMA's batteries come with free replacement warranties with no pro-ration fees and if you purchase an OPTIMA D1200+ battery charger from us when you purchase your OPTIMA battery, we'll add an additional year of free replacement warranty coverage to your OPTIMA battery. Why would we do that? Because we know proper battery voltage maintenance will maximize battery performance and lifespan.
People who go overlanding often use 12-volt battery power to keep food cold, power lights and other accessories when camping out. If you use the same 12-volt battery to power your camping activities that you use to start your engine, how will you know if your battery still has enough power left to start your engine, when you're done camping? That's why people who go overlanding are smart to add a second battery to their overlanding rig.
The question then turns to what battery is appropriate for a "house" or non-engine starting battery? You typically have two options between lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. If you tie your house battery into your vehicle's charging system, it either needs to be properly isolated from the engine starting battery or it needs to be identical in age, size and type. If you choose a lithium battery, that battery and your vehicle's charging system need to be compatible with each other.
Lead-acid batteries are generally less expensive than quality lithium batteries, but won't offer as much cycle life or capacity, when comparing comparable sizes. AGM lead-acid batteries, like OPTIMA's BLUETOP batteries can last up to three times as long as a flooded lead-acid battery, but a quality lithium battery can offer even more lifespan and capacity, although they generally come with a higher price tag.
Our recommendation when selecting a house battery for overlanding is to buy the largest battery you can physically fit in the space available. This is often a Group 31 battery. In the case of OPTIMA's D31M BLUETOP battery, it offers both threaded studs and SAE terminals for connection points and is rated at 75Ah. OPTIMA's Q31M-DC150 ORANGETOP lithium battery offers quad termination and is rated at 150Ah.
Capacity, not cranking amps should be your focus when looking for a house battery for overlanding. While OPTIMA's ORANGETOP would appear to offer twice as much capacity as OPTIMA's BLUETOP, the true difference is even greater than that, because quality lithium batteries offer a higher percentage of rated capacity for actual use than lead-acid batteries.
You may notice we keep referencing "quality" lithium batteries. Why do we make that distinction? Because the lithium battery space has a vast range of battery brands with an equally vast spectrum of quality. We know some online retailers are selling lithium batteries at prices that seem too good to be true and often that is the case. How can you tell if a lithium battery you are considering is a quality lithium battery? We always say the sign of a battery brand you can trust is an actual sign.
Many lithium battery brands are being sold out of rented mailboxes, third-party warehouses and even home addresses. Legitimate battery brands will have a commercial business address with a sign out front. The "company" behind some of these lithium brands may just be an individual who bought a dozen batteries off a website and is re-branding them. Once those batteries are gone, there's no guarantee they'll buy more to re-sell. If you can't find a commercial address with a sign out front or it looks like batteries are being sold as a side hustle out of another business, consider other brands.
A quality lithium battery brand will also have a toll-free number you can call for technical or warranty assistance, that is answered during regular business hours, by someone who speaks English as a first language. If the tech support for the lithium battery brand you are considering consists of a Facebook group, where other owners of the same battery try to trouble-shoot issues for each other, you should probably consider other brands. The same is true for battery brands that will only communicate with you via email. These brands are often based in other countries and if a warranty replacement is needed, they may try to negotiate a discounted price on a new battery instead.
OPTIMA's batteries come with free replacement warranties with no pro-ration fees and if you purchase an OPTIMA D1200+ battery charger from us when you purchase your OPTIMA battery, we'll add an additional year of free replacement warranty coverage to your OPTIMA battery. Why would we do that? Because we know proper battery voltage maintenance will maximize battery performance and lifespan.