Fridges and battery supply

Cleandezert

Cleandezert

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 7, 2022
Messages
753
So as i get older I like the idea of doing a fridge in my truck... total overland style.. My plan is to try and squeeze one between 2 rear prp seats in the back of the fraptor... Anyone wanna school me who has experience on this? Curious on your thoughts and how you power it? currently thinking of adding a jackery or something of the sort to power the fridge while the truck is off, and while the truck is on it can charge the jackery.... or put a switch on it so I can charge at anytime.

Also any better solutions for a better price than a jackery? i like the ability to see the power... but don't really need to plug much into it other than fridge.
 
So funny, I was just going to make a post about this. The fridge I used on the last trip was borrowed. So last week I bought a Euhomy 19 qt fridge cooler off of Amazon (they are on sale right now BTW). https://amzn.to/3XASy2T I have a little battery bank that I brought with me on the trip to use with the borrowed fridge. My plan was to plug the bank into 110 power in the truck so the bank would charge while the truck was running, then power the fridge off the bank battery when the truck was off. It worked well for about a day and a half. The problem is it takes like 8 hours for the power bank to fully re-charge so it could never catch up. Now, I’m trying something a little different. With the new fridge I bought a small solar panel that plugs into DC power and suction cups to the windshield to trickle charge the truck battery while the truck is off, with the fridge plugged into the DC outlet in the truck constantly. I’ve tested this for about a week and it works good so far, even leaving it on over night. The cool thing about the fridge is it has a battery protection mode so the fridge will shut off when the battery volts drop passed 10 volts. It’s set at 38 degrees with adult sodas in there and they have been ice cold every day.

IMG_3517.jpeg

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great info... i wanna do something similar... i have 2 batteries in the truck, but they are small... so its plausible to run a battery pack off a battery and if it kills the battery, I still have a 2nd to start the truck. I am curious you said your fridge is 19quart? i was looking at this fridge as I need something narrow to fit between the seats... but says its a 53 quart... what is actually needed?

53 quart?
yours looks huge for 19 quarts, or mine is going to be massive and wont fit. lol
 

EUHOMY 12 Volt Refrigerator, 19QT(18L) Portable Refrigerator Freezer(-4℉~50℉), 12V Car Fridge Cooler with 12/24V DC & 110-240V AC, Compressor Electric Cooler for Camping, Travel, Truck, Boat, Home.​


This is the description from the one i bought. a 53 quart has to be huge lol
 
i ordered a 43 quart fridge and should fit perfect i think. lol got my seats on order, so in a month or so I will know... Now I need to find a battery supply I like.
 
ive been tossing the idea of putting one in my ranger but idk, that looks pretty big for 19 quarts. I need to do some measuring.

I like the solar panel idea. Would be cool to do a permanent roof mounted solar panel on my truck to keep things charged. Not sure how large of a panel i would need. Ideally run it off one battery and keep the other one for back up if the main battery dies.
 
FENDERFAB said:
ive been tossing the idea of putting one in my ranger but idk, that looks pretty big for 19 quarts. I need to do some measuring.

I like the solar panel idea. Would be cool to do a permanent roof mounted solar panel on my truck to keep things charged. Not sure how large of a panel i would need. Ideally run it off one battery and keep the other one for back up if the main battery dies.
Click to expand...
i have thought about doing that as I run 2 batteries... but my batteries are pretty small and not sure how long they would last. So was thinking about adding a 3rd under the fridge or behind it just to run the fridge.
 
Cleandezert said:
i have thought about doing that as I run 2 batteries... but my batteries are pretty small and not sure how long they would last. So was thinking about adding a 3rd under the fridge or behind it just to run the fridge.
Click to expand...
Your best bet would be a small lithium battery and a dc/dc charger. If only you knew someone who did this type of stuff 😂😂
 
84Prerunner said:
Your best bet would be a small lithium battery and a dc/dc charger. If only you knew someone who did this type of stuff 😂😂
Click to expand...
school me? probably cheaper to go this route then buying something similar to a jackery that has a ton of crap I don't need... What do you recommend?
 
I have an iceco 45 fridge. I used it over 7 days in Baja and jt worked awesome. It only ran when I was driving since my cig lighter was key hot only. I bought a battery isolatorand was going to wire in a second battery to run the fridge and some interior truck lights I can use when camping in back of the sequoia. But plans changed so not gonna build that as of right now.
 
Cleandezert said:
school me? probably cheaper to go this route then buying something similar to a jackery that has a ton of crap I don't need... What do you recommend?
Click to expand...
The market is flooded with cheap china batteries. Figure out what room you have and look on Amazon, something in the 50-100AH range should fit your needs well. Then use a Victron smart Dc-dc to charge it. Once programmed correctly it will automatically charge the lithium at the appropriate times and the lithium won’t care if you fully drain it like a lead acid battery will. Anything under 12.0v volts on a lead acid battery is causing permanent damage.
 
84Prerunner said:
The market is flooded with cheap china batteries. Figure out what room you have and look on Amazon, something in the 50-100AH range should fit your needs well. Then use a Victron smart Dc-dc to charge it. Once programmed correctly it will automatically charge the lithium at the appropriate times and the lithium won’t care if you fully drain it like a lead acid battery will. Anything under 12.0v volts on a lead acid battery is causing permanent damage.
Click to expand...
this is what i did in m van build but i used red arc. got a no name lithium batter from amazon. you got to have a DC to DC charger to interface 2 different types of battery and most have a solar panel plug if you add any.
i had a jackery 300. use it as a back up on long trips.
iceco is a great brand. i had one for 3 yeas and the display got roughed around a bit and would not display correct. as a long shot, i contacted iceco and within a week, i had an upgraded different model all free including return shipping of the old one. best customer service experice i have had in so many years. for long term reliable use, iceco. just got back from a 3 1/2 week long vanlife road trip and this set up was worked great.

at the offroad expo last year i bought a Explorer bear small electric fridge to use as a freezer in my van on longer trips (iceco as a fridg). the explorer bear one i got had a large slide in battery so it can run whether pluged in or not. good for short durations of starting and stopping.

explorer bear is a local company (soca) so maybe you could work something out for a clean desert event????

explorerbear.com

Explorer Bear ALL Product

Powered by LG compressor, you can say goodbye to warm drinks and spoiled snacks on your camping trips. Meet the rugged built Explorer Bear Electric Fridge Freezer, your new favorite camping appliance! Enjoying ice-cold beverages and fresh food where ever you are.
explorerbear.com explorerbear.com
 
charlie brown said:
this is what i did in m van build but i used red arc. got a no name lithium batter from amazon. you got to have a DC to DC charger to interface 2 different types of battery and most have a solar panel plug if you add any.
i had a jackery 300. use it as a back up on long trips.
iceco is a great brand. i had one for 3 yeas and the display got roughed around a bit and would not display correct. as a long shot, i contacted iceco and within a week, i had an upgraded different model all free including return shipping of the old one. best customer service experice i have had in so many years. for long term reliable use, iceco. just got back from a 3 1/2 week long vanlife road trip and this set up was worked great.

at the offroad expo last year i bought a Explorer bear small electric fridge to use as a freezer in my van on longer trips (iceco as a fridg). the explorer bear one i got had a large slide in battery so it can run whether pluged in or not. good for short durations of starting and stopping.

explorer bear is a local company (soca) so maybe you could work something out for a clean desert event????

explorerbear.com

Explorer Bear ALL Product

Powered by LG compressor, you can say goodbye to warm drinks and spoiled snacks on your camping trips. Meet the rugged built Explorer Bear Electric Fridge Freezer, your new favorite camping appliance! Enjoying ice-cold beverages and fresh food where ever you are.
explorerbear.com explorerbear.com
Click to expand...
this van build has been a learning thing for me.
 

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Was that fridge really $150?

If you like it, Ill order one today for that price.

Sean
 
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