With the canopy being loaded with electrical appliances that need a power source, we went searching for a reliable lithium battery solution that would fuel our requirements. Finding the right battery that is also Australian made was a bonus.

Custom Lithium is a Queensland-based company that makes all of its batteries at its Brisbane facility, allowing it to tailor its products to suit the needs of Aussie users, and to provide reliable, local aftersales support. 

When we headed out to Custom Lithium to talk about our requirements for the VDJ79, they immediately suggested their slimline battery. Although this battery is primarily designed to fit in behind the back seat in the double-cab Cruiser, we were assured that it would also work well in our preferred position in the canopy, where it would be accompanied by all the ancillary electricals we had fitted… with the bonus that it would take up less space than most similar capacity batteries. 

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The next-gen Ultra Slim 200Ah battery measures 610mm (L) x 405mm (H) x 71mm (W) and weighs 22kg, and it’s that thin that it allows us to tuck it up against the headboard of the canopy where it takes up very little space. We needed to mount it upside down to have the terminals on the near-side of the vehicle but being a lithium battery it can be mounted in any position except with the terminals at the bottom.

The battery comes with sturdy mounting brackets and all the hardware needed to fit in with the system. It has an inbuilt BMS with protection against overcharging, overheating and short circuits. 

With plenty of lithium products coming into Australia with unknown origins, it’s reassuring to know that the Custom Lithium battery is made locally and you have the support of a local company. In fact, Custom Lithium offers lifetime customer support on its batteries which themselves are covered by a seven-year warranty. 

Custom Lithium can also supply all the hardware extras to get your battery hooked up and running, but ours is wired in via a Redarc Alpha50 BCDC 50A charger and ancillaries – more great Australian-made products!

Once all the hardware was fitted and wired up, it fired into life straight away for the Redarc system to go through its setup procedure. The battery had been sitting in the shed for a few months and was down to around 30 per cent charge but it only took a few hours on the charger to bring it up to full capacity, and that’s been maintained on the road since then. 

With the 2000W inverter, a pair of fridges and an induction cooktop to power, there’s plenty of work for the battery to do, but this Custom Lithium Ultra Slim has so far proved itself to be up to the task. 

Custom Lithium has a wide range of batteries to suit many different applications and loads so the company is bound to have a great Australian-made battery for your 4×4.

RRP: $2180 (including shipping)

MORE LC79 project vehicle gear!