Bill, your question re:LA vs LiFePo was one I pondered for about a year. I had 2 6v golf cart batteries (210ah ea), and 540w of solar. Didn't see how Lithiums would benefit me.
But, I finally got 2 Lithiums, each 200 ah. With LA, you can use about half the rated ah, so I had 100ah of power available to me (2 6v in series still only yield 12v of the rated ah of one). With two 200ah lithium 12v batteries, I have almost 400ah of power available to me. While I could buy more golf cart batteries over the years and still be spending less than Lithiums, I would not have the extra power available for those consecutive cloudy/stormy days. Lithiums charge faster, I am told. So a weak solar input could benefit the Lithiums more than LA batteries.
Regarding the heated batteries, I did go with heated Lithiums. Most Lithiums are mounted inside a trailer, as it is harder to steal them when inside, vs on the tongue. So, in the winter, I can plug into shore power before a trip, get the batteries up to 50 degrees, and get them charged before I leave. I can also run the furnace to further warm the area where the batteries are (or put an incandescent bulb in there to warm the compartment). Once I am camping, the trailer stays over 50 degrees, so there is no problem with charging. My solar recharges the Lithiums all day, and my furnace can run as much as the wife wants it to.
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