Second battery to run refrigerator

I'm just going to kind of agree with everybody here as the best solution is dependent on two things; how long do you want to run the fridge and how much you want to spend.

If you are looking for something to last one or two days between long drives then you can abuse your starter battery for a long time. BUT one day it will crap out on you from being cycled too deep too often. You need to carry a battery booster pack if you are going to do that and even then its possible that can fail since folks never check them. You can run a 12v extension cable from the front seat to the bed even and don't have to do any wiring. All this is pretty cheap and solves the problem now for short trips.

If you want to run your fridge for more than a day or two or you won't run the truck long enough between stops to fully recharge (one camp to another) OR if you are looking to do this once and be done with it, then get a dual battery system (I went with offgrid with a ACR). Add a fold out 100w solar panel and quality batteries and you could go for a week easy if you get sun and its not 100°. If you do this then run 8 gauge wire to an outlet in bed from the auxiliary battery and make sure you add a fuse close to the battery end.

Either way, short term or long term, the best money you can spend right now is on an energy efficient fridge. The Dometic recommended above is solid. Being energy efficient will help you immediately matter which solution you go with for providing power.

 

I run exactly this setup.

The benefits are that you will never kill your starter battery and that it is very versatile. I often take my fridge out when camping and also charge other devices like phones, cameras, etc...

I have a dual AGM/solar setup on my Sprinter van and it's way heavier, more expensive and less flexible.

 

My secondary battery cost about $400 to do. Including a battery. I did mine in the cab bc my battery is sealed and I check it regularly for leaks and such but after a year no issues. I will be upgrading the main battery to a 31m x2 power in the next week and see how the secondary goes from there to see if I need to eventually upgrade that or take it out.

 

I think I looked up the part correctly... so a couple folks have tossed out that part number... that is one impressive battery, the one site I looked at was almost $400. Do I have that right... the X2 27F is a serious battery on sterroids so you can get by with that one under the hood only??

 

Thanks for the summary...
You mean from the 12 volt outlet by the driver to the bed to run the Dometic? Ok, just exactly what is the best way to get out of the cab and into the rear of the bed where the Dometic will be sitting. thanks
sounds like folks never use the AC outlet in the back of the truck, I suppose its 100 watts or 400 watts depending... I need to see how much current the fridges draw... the Dometic is highly recommended.
appreciate the input.

 

hahha, good point. didn't quite think of that but very true

 

Has anyone done something like putting a second battery in the bed that is separate from the main. Run the fridge off the second battery, but trickle charge or charge the second battery from a battery charger that runs off either the front 12 volt outlet by the driver or the AC outlet in the bed. I love some of the ideas here and want to do them longer term, but I am in a bit of a time crunch here. I have time to get the fridge, a second battery and box that lives in the bed to run the fridge... and then trickle or charge the second battery from the truck primary system... either 12 v or bed outlet. I'd appreciate feedback, you guys are awesome.

 

Wow, the Dometic looks amazing... but also huge, aside from that about twice what I had budget. I can see in about 5 - 7 years getting a rig like this when we stay out and stay longer but right now I don't know if I can justify it. Boy it is sexy though. I am thinking something like this from Amazon... Anybody want to talk me out of it, id love to set up a top notch system and agree its smart to go with the top of the line fridge but I've gotta save where I can now.
Whynter FM-65G 65 Quart Portable Refrigerator, AC 110V/ DC 12V True Freezer for Car, Home, Camping, RV-8°F to 50°F, One Size, Gray

$521 Whynter FM-65G 65 Quart Portable Refrigerator and Deep, AC 110V/ DC 12V, Real Chest Freezer for Car, Home, Camping, and RV with-8°F to 50°F Temperature Range, Gray, One Size

https://www.amazon.com/Whynter-FM-6...to+50°F,+One+Size,+Gray&qid=1593843682&sr=8-1

 

You can get them quite a bit cheaper if you watch for sales. When I got mine, it was 10% off and a $30 rebate.

 

If you are running a second battery, you need to run cable and a charge controller. Otherwise look into something like a dometic plb40 or goal zero 500 that you can plug into a 12v socket / ac / solar

 

@uploadadventure has one of these and has been happy with it for the price. The temperature seems to fluctuate more on the low end fridge freezers but it’s still way better than dealing with a cooler full of melted ice and soggy food. The power draw is also usually a bit higher

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/csi-fridge-freezer-mega-thread.560526/

dometic has had a couple pretty good sales recently too.

 

Yep @Shellshock is correct. I have the last model year of the CSI fridge. It’s not terrible. Great price for the fridge. Mine has a problem with flash freezing, but for the price, can’t beat it.

 

I did this temporarily and it worked for me for my usage...
12V trolling motor battery secured in the bed. Didnt run fridge but ran 12V blankets, lights, phone chargers off it all night when camping in snow. (2x12v blankets are pretty power hungry.) Recharged it while driving with a medium sized charger from the 120V bed outlet.

NOTE:
If you do this, you MUST do the 400W anytime mod. You MUST find the biggest 120v charger you can that wont trip the 400 w inverter. (Something like 10-15 amp charger from HF is what i used.) Run your numbers, will you idle/run enough to recharge as needed...

Some things to remember:
You have to switch on the inverter after every start. For this particular usage, 2 nights in a row with some driving between left battery fairly discharged, but i only needed 2 nights for that time...

You may be able to buy one of the prepackaged units cheaper than buying parts, but in my case I had the 12v marine battery, battery case, 10 amp charger, and 400w inverter mod already, so I just threw it all together...

Plus doing a temporary may help you decide if/how you want to do a long-term mod.

(I eventually did dual batteries permanently)

 

Sorry, want to make sure I understand the wiring... you plug the Jackery into the Bed outlet... so the jackery has a 120 VAC input and then you plug the fridge into the 120 VAC output from the jackery? And you could also plug a solar panel into the jackery when you are at camp or stopped for a few days??
thanks for clarifying that. sounds like a super sweet set up, think I might go that route... by the time I get a deep cycle battery and case and solar panel and regulator I might as well get a Jackery that is 1/3 the size and has other features. appreciate your input.

 

I am confused how you plug the jackery into the bed outlet... do you have a converter in between?

 

No inverter. The Jackery comes with an AC wall outlet charger that I plug into the tacoma bed 110v bed outlet (came from the factory in my gen 3). It will only charge when the truck is on. The fridge plugs into the Jackery 12v (cigarette lighter) outlet. So in the image below you can see where the charger goes into the "input" and you turn on the 12v and plug in the fridge using "lighter outlet". I suppose you can use the ac outlet for the fridge too but I think that is less efficient. If you need more juice they sell a larger one.


Edit: I guess there is an inverter. But it's the factory setup on the gen 3s. I thought you were asking if I added anything else to connect the jackery in the bed. If you don't already have the factory bed outlet I would just run a 12v cigarette style outlet to the bed. The Jackery comes with a 12v charger also. But honestly. If you are just a weekend warrior you might get away with just running your fridge off the jackery for the weekend and never charging it. Maybe the larger one is worth it to give you more time.

Edit: After some more experience with the Jackery 240 I learned a few things about it. Make sure to read these two post if you are thinking about the 240

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/second-battery-to-run-refrigerator.673769/page-10#post-24053033

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/second-battery-to-run-refrigerator.673769/page-9#post-23905664

 

Lots of ideas here, so this is what I’ve used for the past 9 months. Not cheap but fits my needs. 40Ah Dometic PLB 40 LiPo battery. Has 12V charging and solar (with solar controller) inputs plus a charger that runs of 110 to recharge at home or at a hotel. Dometic CFX 35 cooler. Overland Solar 130W panel with long cable. I also added a 12V outlet in the bed.

While driving, I have the fridge plugged into the PLB40 and the battery plugged into the bed 12V which is switched. At camp the fridge can run 3 days off the fully charged PLB40 without solar, pretty much indefinitely with solar and a few hours of sun. And the fridge works great under my black tonneau in full sun. The nice thing about the PLB40 is the versatility of inputs and outputs and all in the size and weight of a six pack of bottled beer.

Oh, I could run the fridge or charge the battery off the inverter, but why? DC-DC is the ticket.

 

You got the perfect setup. Just a bit too pricey for me. The Jakery set me back about $250 and I called it done. I'm mostly just a weekend warrior with maybe one extended trip a year. So the factory bed inverter has been good enough to keep the Jakery charged. I might get a solar panel if I see one on crazy sale but honestly with my normal driving on an offroad trip the Jackery has never run out on me. I also run the CFX 35 under a black tonneau. I think the solar panel would really just be for me to geek out over it or for SHTF reasons.

Edit: After some more experience with the Jackery 240 I learned a few things about it. Make sure to read these two post if you are thinking about the 240

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/second-battery-to-run-refrigerator.673769/page-10#post-24053033

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/second-battery-to-run-refrigerator.673769/page-9#post-23905664

 

So the Jackery can’t be charged from 12V DC? I assumed all these GoalZero/Jackery devices could take either AC or DC in to charge? Perhaps that’s why the Dometic PLB40 is so pricey, other than the form factor. With integrated B2B and solar control it’s 3 boxes in one.

 

It can. It comes with a 12v "cigarette lighter" style charger. but my stock tacoma doesn't have a 12v outlet in the bed. I can charge it inside the truck but I like to have the fridge plugged in to the Jackery and the Jackery plugged into the bed outlet so I don't have to move things around. Just set it and forget it. I don't see any advantage to adding an aftermarket 12v DC charger to my bed since it wouldn't charge it any faster (edit: found out it does charge a little faster on DC). The only downside is that I have to make sure to remember to switch on the bed outlet when I jump in the truck. The bed outlet doesn't come on unless you switch it on every time you start the truck.






Edit: After some more experience with the Jackery 240 I learned a few things about it. Make sure to read these two post if you are thinking about the 240

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/second-battery-to-run-refrigerator.673769/page-10#post-24053033

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/second-battery-to-run-refrigerator.673769/page-9#post-23905664