Top Accessories (That Won't Kill Your Payload)

1. The Comfort Upgrade: Lithium (LiFePO4) Auxiliary Battery

Why you need it: A dual battery system is the backbone of touring comfort. It powers your fridge to keep food fresh and beer cold, charges cameras and phones, and runs camp lighting. It ensures your start battery is never flattened by accessories, which is also a massive safety win in remote areas.

The Weight Angle: Traditionally, this meant adding a 100Ah AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) deep-cycle battery. These are reliable, but they are heavy bricks of lead.

The game-changer is Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) technology. They offer more usable power, charge faster, and most importantly, shed massive amounts of weight from the engine bay or tub.

• Standard 100Ah AGM Weight: Approx. 30kg – 35kg

• Equivalent 100Ah Lithium Weight: Approx. 11kg – 14kg

Payload Saved: ~20kg. That’s the equivalent of a full 20L jerry can of water you just gained back.

2. The Safety Upgrade: A Quality UHF Radio

Why you need it: When people think safety, they usually picture a giant steel bullbar. While bullbars have their place for animal strikes, they often weigh 65kg–85kg sitting right over the front axle.

For pure safety-per-kilogram, nothing beats a reliable 5-Watt UHF radio and a good antenna. It is your lifeline. It allows you to communicate with oncoming road trains on narrow tracks, coordinate recovery efforts securely, and call for help to nearby vehicles when out of mobile reception.

The Weight Angle: Communication equipment is incredibly lightweight.

3. The Storage Upgrade: Lightweight/Modular Systems

Why you need it: Throwing gear loose into the tub or boot is a recipe for disaster. You can’t find what you need, and in an accident, heavy items become dangerous projectiles. Organization is essential.

The Weight Angle: The traditional solution is a twin drawer system made from steel and heavy marine ply. They are incredibly tough, but they are surprisingly heavy even when completely empty.

If you are watching your GVM, you need to rethink permanent heavy fixtures. Look for modern alternatives:

• Aluminium Drawer Systems: Several brands now offer full alloy construction, shaving off 30–40% of the weight of traditional steel units.

• Modular Storage Cases: High-quality, interlocking plastic storage cases (like Pelican, Front Runner, etc.) allow you to organize gear securely. Crucially, you can take them out. When you aren't touring, you aren't driving around with 100kg of empty drawers permanently bolted to your floor.

• Traditional Steel/Ply Drawers (Empty): ~80kg – 110kg

• Equivalent Aluminium System (Empty): ~50kg – 65kg

Payload Saved: ~30kg – 50kg. This is often the difference between being legal or being overloaded on the rear axle.

The Bottom Line: Ounces make Pounds

When building a touring rig, you have to stop thinking of accessories as just "gear" and start thinking of them as "weight penalties."

By choosing Lithium over AGM, alloy storage over steel, and prioritizing communication gear, you just saved nearly 100kg compared to a traditional old-school build.

That’s 100kg you can now use for water, food, recovery gear, and your family.

Want to see how these upgrades affect your specific vehicle? Try out the free GVM Calculator and plug in the numbers.