Hondo Garage's New Thing

Tape out the bed inner dimensions on your floor, make a cardboard cutout of the fridge outer dimensions and play around with it.

 

ARB 50 on the floor against the front wall of the bed. Plenty of access from the drivers side. The lid won’t open completely but more than enough for access to the entire interior of the fridge. With 100 Watts of fixed solar on the roof it’s been running constantly for 10 days or so now.

Edit: I have a 2nd Gen access cab

 

Can you tell me more about your solar set up? Ive been trying to get a solar set up for my dual battery setup, but not sure about what controller to get. Im assuming Renogy?

 

You have a 2nd battery or just solar charging the starting battery?

 

How about a completely separate system for the camper? IOW completely isolating the starting battery from the camper battery. With a couple of 100W solar panels and AGM or lithium-ion batteries you can avoid the complications of integrating your starting battery with the camper setup.

 

Going to depend on if where you typically drive/live/park has adequate sun exposure. Even in sunny Sonoma County California my single 100W panel was not enough to keep up with my fridge during the shorter days in the winter, with highs in the mid 50s-60s where I park.

Got a CTEK DC-DC charger and it's awesome, and very not complicated.

 

Do you have dual house batteries in addition to, of course, the starting battery? I'm way north of you, WA state, so our days, in the pit of winter, are shorter still. How about 200W of panels?

Which model did you get? This one is fairly pricey. I suppose this is getting too far off topic. I'll do a search.

CTEK 40-186 D250SA 5-Step, Automatic DUAL 12 V 20 A Battery Charger

https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-40-186-D250SA-Step-Charger/dp/B005LBCVL4

 

I have a odessy group 34 in a mount I made under the hood as my house battery, and I use that CTEK 250 as my charger. It also has a built in MPPT solar controller which works great.

 

I just have one ~100 Ah house battery and the starting battery. Not sure if that's just Amazon being crazy with price manipulation - but that's the charger I got a little over a year ago and it was $250 at that time. It's also a MPPT solar controller - which are more expensive in general.

Given the price of a good house battery - it was worth the extra cost for the fancy charger that would extend its life, and the simplicity of having the solar controller built in as well as nothing to setup was a bonus.

 

Not to mention Toyota alternators don’t put out enough voltage to fully charge AGM batteries. The CTEK is great for actually pushing the 14+ volts that oddesy recommends.

 

My GFC isn’t here yet but i have a drawer platform (Decked) and a 63qt ARB fridge on an Alu-Cab slider. The 63 is longer but shorter than the 50qt, and the Alu-Cab slider tilts. Right now it’s in my back seat on a platform but it will be under the GFC. Rear of the truck passenger side (i think) the tilting slide rests down on the tail gates allows AWESOME access to everything. I’ve done all the test fitting but won’t bolt it back there until it’s covered. Without a tilting slide I’d imagine access off a platform to be a bit more difficult.

Good luck!

 

Patiently waiting... I am #118. Build start date 11/12/18. Will decide closer to finish date whether to road-trip it out from VA to MT or see if their next East Coast run will be anytime in December... Can't wait to put it to use. Today was 96° during my shoot which will be completely opposite when I have my GFC! Next decisions- Color, windows, (hopefully they will have sorted out the heater option by then).

 

Mine:

 

http://www.odysseybattery.com/documents/US-ODY-TM.pdf

See page 15 for charging data. My scan gauge shows that the charging voltage is not within the parameters. 2 dead batteries long before their time seems to confirm my observations. There is a diode mod that brings up the charging voltage but I didn’t do it (never screw with the factory stuff!).

Edit: I have the tow package on my 2010.

 

I’ve been considering this to up the voltage easily.

https://www.hkbelect.com/product/182-mk3-micro-blade-75a-electronic-fuse-version-2011/

 

That’s what I was referring to. Couldn’t remember the name of it.

 

My 3rd gen with tow package outputs more than 13.5V anywhere above idle, but never 14.2 let alone 14.7 as the Odyssey document linked above suggests, though I may have some voltage drop to my meter. But, I don’t think any automotive voltage regulators go as high as 14.7, not sure that’s good for a normal lead-acid battery.

 

Yes exactly this. That is literally the exact layout I planned for my truck as well. I think the tilting slide really makes access a lot easier than trying to lift the lid in the truck. What size is that Fridge? Also was planning a 5lb tank in the exact spot (although opposite side) on mine, what did you mount it with? I was looking at power tank brakets into the track but wow $$$. I prob can make my own pretty easily. Thanks for sharing these it's nice to be able to picture it.

 

@here4cake and @YOTA 4X4 , I know the ARB fridges hinge on the short edges so I assume it isn't feasible to open while still inside the GFC with the floors installed, right? I'm looking at Dometic purely for the ability to access it from the side panels of the GFC. If your fridge was to hinge on the longer seem like the Dometic, do you think it would be able to open enough or does the height of the Decked system push it up to high? I love the idea of the fridge slide, but I am going to build a pullout drawer with a stove below the fridge for an easy kitchen setup.


....Oops I just realized it looks like here4cake doesnt have his GFC yet.

I'll create a cardboard model next week to spec it out, but I am missing one more detail. How much does the GFC cut in from the top of the bed rails to the bottom of the GFC platform? I.e. I assume it isn't vertical but actually angles in a couple of inches. Can anyone grab a quick measurement for me?

 

Love to see your slide/ stove ext. but if your building a platform, and than a slide for a stove under your fridge i think your fridge will be much too high unless you mean the fridge on the platform the stove beneath? I just keep my stove and stove stand in the Decked drawers pull it out and set them up, screw the propane on and your got a stove and table in about 90 seconds.

To me anyway i like the idea of cooking off to the side (like under an awning) or back behind the truck a little farther. Don’t like to cook right under my tent space.

Either way it sounds awsome. I’d love to see it when you get it setup. Good luck.



Oh yeah he ARB stoves do open on the short side. The lid does pop right off. I do like your idea of access from a lifted panel sounds cool and handy for beers hahaha