Prepping your campervan for the last half of summer or planning autumn adventures? Maybe you’ve just started a fresh DIY project and want to install power? The first thing you should look at is a leisure battery.

Most people compare leisure batteries by looking at the amp-hour figure and the price, then picking the best-looking ratio. This comparison skips the one thing that decides how much capacity you can draw out and how often before the battery starts working inefficiently.  

We’ve spent more than 45 years building and maintaining off-grid power systems. Here is how we’d approach this choice. 

What makes a good campervan leisure battery? 

A leisure battery does a different job from the one under your bonnet. A starter battery delivers a burst of current for a couple of seconds and then sits full, whereas a leisure battery gives up a small current for hours at a time, then refills. Anything sold as a leisure battery should be built for that pattern, and four things tell you how well it manages it. 

  1. Usable capacity: The rated amp-hours (Ah) describe the total in the tank. Draw a lead-acid battery below roughly half of its capacity and you shorten its life. Lithium gives you around 80% of the rating without a complaint. For example, a 100Ah lithium battery delivers more than a 110Ah AGM.
  2. Cycle life: This is the number of charges and discharges the battery manages before it stops holding a useful amount. Manufacturers publish the number alongside a depth of discharge (DoD), which is why you can’t compare two numbers unless both are measured at the same depth. 
  3. Charge acceptance: A battery that refills slowly will waste your solar power. If you’re relying on a few hours of decent light or an hour of driving to recover from a night’s use, the speed at which the battery accepts a charge matters as much as how much it holds.
  4. Tolerance of partial charge: Van batteries rarely reach a full 100%. Ordinary lead-acid sulphates when it sits part-charged for weeks, and this erodes the capacity. Lead carbon and lithium both handle it far better.  

The four types of leisure battery to use in a campervan 

We supply Victron Energy batteries, so the figures below come from the range we install and service every week.  

Type of battery 

AGM 

Gel 

Usable depth 

~50% 

~50% 

~60% 

~80% 

Typical lifespan 

4-7 years 

5-8 years 

5-8 years 

8-12 years 

Best for 

Weekends, hook-up sites, shorter trips, bumpier travel 

Handles warmer climates 

Solar-led setups that rarely reach full charge 

Full-time travel, off-grid weeks, higher loads 

Comfortably powers 

Lights, water pumps, device charging and a fridge for a day between charges 

Lights, water pump and device charging, with a fridge on shorter stays 

Fridge, lights, water pump and devices across a full day, topped up by solar 

Fridge, lights, water pump, devices, and a diesel heater for a day or more off-grid 

Price 

£253.65 (110Ah) 

£207.80 (90Ah) 

£283.60 (106Ah) 

£460.50 (100Ah) 

Cost per Ah delivered over its life 

~0.8p 

~0.6p 

~0.4p 

~0.2p 


*75-100Ah is the average capacity for a basic campervan setup.  

The ranking inverts when you divide the price by the total amp hours the battery will deliver across its cycle life. Lithium costs more upfront but has the lowest cost per Ah, nearly a third of the running cost of an AGM battery. Whether that upgrade is worth it depends on how many years you plan to keep the van. 

AGM handles high current well, which suits campervans running appliances and the occasional inverter load. Gel holds its charge in storage and copes with temperature swings, so it suits the van that lives on the drive from October to April.  

Lead carbon adds carbon to the negative plate, which resists sulphation and delivers 3-4x the cycles of standard lead-acid, making it a strong middle option with solar panel builds. For us, lithium (LiFePO4), wins on weight, usable depth and lifespan.  

What are leisure battery categories? 

The National Caravan Council (NCC) runs a verification scheme that sorts leisure batteries into three categories, tested at 50% DoD.  

  • Class A: For vans frequently used away from an electrical hook-up. Minimum 90Ah capacity and minimum of 350 life cycles. It supports TVs, heaters, lights and fridges.
  • Class B: For vans with higher power consumption, such as those running a motor mover, but generally used with a hook-up. Minimum 90Ah and 200 cycles. This supports lights and TVs for a shorter period before needing to be recharged. 
  • Class C: For low power consumption on sites with a hook-up. Minimum 60Ah and 70 cycles. Best for low-demand appliances and lights. 


The NCC describes the class categorisation as a starting point instead of a substitute for advice on your own setup.

Victron Energy batteries aren’t supplied with an NCC rating because they’re engineered as a global component for off-grid setups, rather than specifically targeted to the UK caravan and motorhome sector. Instead, its batteries are certified by international standards. 

Three sums to make before you choose your campervan leisure battery 

Work these out first before you jump into choosing a leisure battery. 

  • Add up your daily draw: A typical two-person van uses 50 to 70Ah over 24 hours running a fridge, lights, device charging, a water pump and a small heater. 
  • Divide by the usable depth: A 60Ah daily draw needs a 120Ah lead-acid bank or a single 100Ah lithium battery.
  • Check what refills it: Your battery performs only as well as the charging around it, so look at your solar charge controller, your DC-DC charger and whether you have a battery monitor telling you what’s happening.  

The best leisure battery for your campervan is the one sized around the power you use each day, using the calculations above. Just because there’s a bigger number on one battery doesn’t mean it will handle your needs properly. 

Talk it through with a professional before you buy 

Getting this choice right first time saves you taking apart your campervan in a few months to check or reinstall another leisure battery. Our technicians size battery banks for campervans every week and can advise on which battery would support your travels best.

Browse the full Victron battery range or speak to the team today.

You may also want to read our checklist for living in a van.