The lithium battery for your Elddis caravan.
Elddis builds some of the UK's best-selling caravans in Consett, County Durham, and every model leaves the factory fitted with a lead-acid battery you can only half use. A TITAN drops into the same side locker, gives you close to 100% usable capacity, and on the payload-sensitive single-axle ranges puts kilograms back where they belong - in your gear, not your battery.
Three ranges, one charging profile, a very different battery life
Elddis is part of the Erwin Hymer Group UK and manufactures caravans from its factory in Consett, County Durham. The range covers three distinct lines: the Whirlwind at the value end, the Avante as the best-selling mid-range workhorse, and the Crusader at the top of the range - often built on a twin-axle layout with a longer body and a longer list of onboard kit. All current Elddis caravans use the SoLiD fully bonded bodyshell construction, which keeps the shell light and stiff without the weight of a traditional timber frame.
A caravan has no engine and no alternator. That changes the battery conversation entirely compared to a motorhome. Your leisure battery lives or dies by three things: how long you stay, how much you draw overnight, and whether you have a hook-up or a roof full of sunshine. A factory-fitted lead-acid at 85Ah gives you perhaps 40Ah of usable power before you start shortening its life - barely enough for a night off-grid with a compressor fridge running. A TITAN lithium of the same capacity gives you close to all of it, charges faster from solar and mains, and does it reliably for years without replacement. For the broader picture of switching to lithium in a caravan, the caravan battery guide has the fundamentals.
If you have an Elddis motorhome rather than a caravan, the Elddis motorhome battery guide covers that separately.
Sizing by Elddis model
Starting points by range and how you use the caravan. Single-axle Elddis models are weight-conscious, so payload matters alongside capacity.
| Model | How it gets used | Good fit |
|---|---|---|
| Whirlwind (entry, lightweight single-axle)Value touring caravan, compact and payload-sensitive | Weekend and touring trips, lights, fridge, USB charging | 100Ah |
| Avante (mid-range, single-axle, best-selling)Touring with heating, water pump, compressor fridge | Regular touring with hook-up or solar | 100Ah to 120Ah |
| Avante (off-grid or with a motor mover)CL sites, awning lighting, motor mover surge demand | Off-grid nights, motor mover, more appliances | 150Ah |
| Crusader (luxury, often twin-axle)Larger body, more onboard kit, better payload headroom | Touring with full onboard kit and heating | 120Ah to 150Ah |
| Crusader (extended off-grid or inverter use)Wild camping, inverter loads, multi-night stays without hook-up | Extended off-grid, inverter, larger appliances | 180Ah |
These are starting points, not fixed rules. The honest figure comes from your own loads, not the model name - total them in the battery size calculator. Elddis fits its battery in an external side locker; measure the space including height over the terminals before ordering. Single-axle models compete hard on weight, so watch your payload and consider the lithium weight saving as part of the case for upgrading.
Where the battery lives in an Elddis caravan
Elddis mounts the leisure battery in a dedicated external side locker - its own hatch on the body side, separate from the gas locker. This is consistent across the Whirlwind, Avante and Crusader ranges, though the locker dimensions vary by model year and body length.
When you come to measure up, open the side hatch and measure the full internal dimensions of the battery space - length, width and, critically, height including clearance above the terminals. Terminal height is often the limiting factor: a lid or shelf that sits close to the top of the battery box can prevent a taller pack from fitting even if the footprint is correct. TITAN lithium batteries use a low-profile DIN-format case that is designed for exactly these locker fits, but always check your specific locker dimensions rather than going by a brochure or a general guide.
Because the TITAN case is sealed to IP67, it handles the damp and road spray that are part of life in an external side locker without any issues. The RJ45 comms ports drop to IP32 while a cable is connected, so keep any plugged port clear of standing water. The locker itself typically holds the battery, the hook-up inlet cable and sometimes an onboard charger - leave room for all of them when you are deciding on battery size.
Charging your Elddis leisure battery
A caravan has no engine and no alternator, so your charging sources are simpler than a motorhome - but they need to work efficiently because you often cannot fall back on a long drive to top up the bank.
230V mains hook-up. This is the primary charge source on most sites. Your Elddis will have an onboard charger - typically fitted by the dealer - that takes mains power and charges the leisure battery. Before upgrading to lithium, check the charger compatibility list: some older chargers use a charge profile that is not ideal for lithium. A charger with a dedicated lithium or LiFePO4 mode, or one that can be set to a fixed absorption voltage around 14.2V to 14.4V, works correctly. Check the compatibility list before relying on the factory-fitted unit.
Roof solar via MPPT. Solar is the key charging source on Caravan and Motorhome Club Certificated Locations and other sites with no electric. Elddis fits solar panels as an option on upper Avante and Crusader specifications, and it is straightforward to add a panel and an MPPT controller if yours does not have one. Lithium accepts solar charge much faster than lead-acid - an MPPT pushing into a lithium bank on a bright afternoon will fill it by early evening rather than by the following morning. Use the solar sizing guide to match panel area to your actual overnight draw.
12S / 13-pin plug while towing. Your tow car provides a low-current trickle to the caravan via the 13-pin or 12S plug while you are moving. This is not a fast charge - it is designed for lighting circuits and a float maintain, not for filling a depleted leisure battery. Think of it as a supplement that keeps the battery from sitting at a very low state of charge during a long tow, not as a meaningful recharge. It causes no problems with a lithium battery.
Motor mover. If your Elddis is fitted with a motor mover, lithium is an excellent match. A motor mover demands a large surge of current for a short period - AGM batteries can sag noticeably under that load, sometimes enough to cause the mover to cut out. Lithium holds its voltage flat under surge demand, which means the mover runs consistently and confidently regardless of the state of charge. It also recovers instantly when the demand stops. If a motor mover is part of your setup, factor the surge demand into your sizing and allow a little extra capacity.
Winter storage. A TITAN lithium can be stored for winter at partial charge without damage - you do not need to fully charge it before disconnecting. The custom BMS with built-in low-temperature heater means the battery can accept charge safely down to -30C when the caravan does come back into use in the spring. Store it with a reasonable charge on it (around 50% to 80% is fine), disconnect it from any load, and reconnect in the spring. There is no need for a maintenance charger through the winter unless you want the peace of mind of knowing it is topped up.
Every TITAN carries a custom BMS designed by us to match the cells we use, with the highest mosfet count in class, anti-vibration silicone on every contact, and heat-sinked modules built for repair rather than replacement. It comes with a lifetime, fully transferable warranty and is UK-engineered with end-pack QC in Cheltenham.
