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I'm in the Boston area, currently building out my van. I'm always game for talking about such things, though my capacity for things involving physical activity are low.

Headed into the best time of year to be here.  If you don't mind my asking, are you a full-timer? If so, maybe you could tell me some things. I've heard that it's very hard to do around these parts compared with out West.  I don't have plans to go full time but I'm very curious about it.

I honestly don't know, but I'm guessing quite a lot. Those aren't things I would think I'd want to run from batteries just because the draw is so high.

I wholeheartedly agree with you there. I've read quite a lot that, as long as you stay within temperature and charging tolerances, that the LFP batteries with internal BMS are pretty hard to hurt. It looks to me like they're not a touchy as the lead acid batteries. I could be mistaken, but...

I looked at the prices and boy howdy that's expensive!  Still, it looks like a very useful resource for just what I was asking for, a list of all the things needed. Thank you. It does remain unclear about exactly what you get for which system but it will certainly help

So, from all who have chimed in, it sounds like the takeaway is that LFP is the way to go if you can afford it because the increased lifespan and deeper cycling ability makes it long-term economical if somewhat more complex to construct. It certainly is in line with what I have read on the...

The Conversions and Modifications sub-forum seemed like the place to put them, so here:  https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=33331

The main one you mentioned there looks like a nice system, but only has a capacity of about 26ah @ 12v. Again, that's pretty small, but it might be workable if you're not running much. I mean like not running anything but chargers for your electronics and maybe some lights.

I am hardly an expert, but I'll give you what I can. Those are some really small batteries with regard to capacity. The one from the first link is only like 23ah @ 12v. The second gives no rating for capacity, but everything in it talks about cranking power rather than deep cycle applications...

I just posted some pics. I've not been very good at recording my progress, but since you asked... :)

I started working on my van a few weeks ago. Progress has been very slow, but with help from some friends I've made some progress. Pictures have been requested so here's what I've got so far.  This is the view from the back. My wheelchair and lift take up just about all of the "garage" space...

I was thinking about the bigger one. :)

I don't feel confident building a bank out of 4 cells. Getting a bigger/stronger vehicle is really not an option at this point. I was thinking about one of these which came up in discussion of LFP batteries...

I would not expect that this would be a good battery to use for that purpose. It does not list a capacity, only talking about cranking amps so I'm guessing this is primarily meant to be used as a starter battery rather than for deep cycle applications. Also, based on the weight and the price, I...

From that first link, third paragraph: "LiFePO4 technology is widely regarded as one of the safest ways to power a battery-operated application" So I'm feeling pretty safe with that choice. ::) I looked at getting a Tesla battery and using it a while back, but the cooling and charge balancing...

Very good. I thought so. You had me concerned for a moment. :)

That's why I plan to use only Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. That chemistry is considerably less prone to exploding than other lithium batteries; thermal runaway isn't a problem for these like it is for those used in RC cars (and actual electric cars for that matter.)

The fact that they can be discharged most of the way instead of halfway is the big draw for me for lithium. The cost made me dismiss them as a possibility until just a couple of days ago. Now I have to re-think everything. The added complexity you mention is the one thing that really gives me...

I've already been through figuring out sizing. The big stuff won't run on batteries at all, so the battery bank in my build will be running small stuff. CPAP, vent fans, charging for phones and other such things, etc. Eventually, when I can afford it, probably a fridge as well. Ideally, when I...

One example of things I wouldn't have needed but now probably do is a battery level monitor to keep track of amps in and amps out because the voltage in LFP stays steadier. If you had these options, what would you do and how would you do it?