Newbie Help Needed - NuCamp Teardrop with BB 100Ah 12v LiFePO4 Battery

Having run a LiFePO4 setup on my narrowboat for a few years now, I'd say the BB (Battle Born, I assume?) 100Ah is a decent starting point for a teardrop, but there are a few things worth nailing down before you go any further.

First and most importantly — what's your charging source? Teardrops typically rely on solar and/or vehicle alternator charging, and a standard alternator will absolutely hammer a LiFePO4 without a proper DC-DC charger (B2B) in between. A Victron Orion-Tr Smart is the go-to for most people here, and for good reason.

Second, has the battery got its own internal BMS, or are you running an external one? Battle Born units do have internal BMS protection, but knowing its low-voltage cutoff and overcurrent limits matters enormously when sizing your loads.

A few questions that would help the thread give you more targeted advice:

• What loads are you running? Fridge? Lighting? CPAP?
• Solar panel wattage and controller type (MPPT vs PWM — please say MPPT)
• How many nights off-grid typically between charges?

The 100Ah figure sounds comfortable until you account for realistic consumption. A 12v compressor fridge alone can pull 30-40Ah overnight depending on ambient temperature.

Not trying to overwhelm you — teardrops are actually one of the more manageable setups to optimise given the relatively modest load profile. Would be good to hear what others here think about whether 100Ah is genuinely sufficient or whether a second battery is worth planning for from the outset.

@DefenderAdventure yeah Battle Born are solid but pricey for what you get tbh. On my motorhome I swapped to Fogstar Drift cells and honestly couldn't be happier — similar quality, way less cash.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet — check your BMS discharge rating against whatever you're running in the teardrop. Kettle? Compressor fridge? Those peak draws catch people out.

Also the NuCamp's charging system (if it even has one properly wired) might not be LiFePO4 friendly out the box. Worth checking the charger profile before you fry anything 🙃

@BayLisa curious what you were going to say about Fogstar there — post got cut off! 😄

For the teardrop specifically, 100Ah LiFePO4 is actually pretty generous depending on what you're running. My shepherd's hut setup started at 100Ah and it handles a fair bit. Main thing I'd flag for a small trailer like a NuCamp is weight distribution — these batteries aren't light and placement matters more than people realise on a teardrop chassis.

Also worth checking your van/tow vehicle alternator setup if you're planning on charging on the move. A proper DC-DC charger (Victron Orion is the go-to) rather than a direct split charge relay is essential with LiFePO4 — your alternator will thank you.

@BayLisa's post getting cut off is peak forum experience — but yes, Fogstar Drift cells are roughly half the Battle Born price for near-identical chemistry, worth finishing that sentence 😄

For a teardrop specifically, 100Ah LiFePO4 is actually quite generous if you're not running a compressor fridge — though the moment you add one, you'll be back here asking about a second battery inside six months, guaranteed. Make sure your BMS can handle whatever charge source you're throwing at it; a lot of small teardrops use cheap PWM controllers that'll confuse a LiFePO4's charge profile. Victron SmartSolar MPPT is the obvious fix if your panel's decent sized. Also worth checking the BMS low-temp cutoff — parked up on a frosty UK hillside in February, charging into sub-zero cells is a lovely way to ruin an expensive battery permanently.

@Rob1963 half the price is right but worth checking the physical dimensions fit your teardrop battery compartment before committing — I made that mistake with my shepherd's hut build, ordered cells that technically had the right capacity but wouldn't sit properly in the space I'd allowed for them.

For a teardrop specifically the weight distribution matters too. 100Ah LiFePO4 is already much lighter than lead acid but where you mount it affects tow stability more than people realise.

Also — does anyone know if the NuCamp has a dedicated battery bay or is OP working with a more improvised setup? Changes the advice quite a bit. Some of the smaller teardrops I've looked at have almost no room for a proper BMS alongside the battery itself.