Car Fridge/Power Options

So you're using the 85W panel, and only a singular 27F battery, correct? I'm looking to do similar setup in the spring, a 100W panel on the roof, only the singular battery, for a fridge. I'd like to leave the stock battery until it's cooked then go for a 27F AGM. The AGM might be a bit more $$$ but it's a lot less than a dual battery setup and the solar can bring it up to the right voltage vs doing anything to the ECU/alternator.

But, long of the short, I wanted to see if you're at about the same setup I'm looking to do - 100W, and single battery, running the truck (and fridge). I'll have mains to use for starting it to get it to temp, too, at least.

 

Correct. Only battery in the truck is the agm that runs the truck and fridge. Could pretty much run indefinitely with this setup.

I kept a jump pack in the truck but have never needed it. Battery is pretty much always at 100% and can run the fridge for a day or two without any sun or running the engine.

 

Very cool - thank you! I might look to do a bit bigger, maybe look at a dual zone too, but it's good to know that this option is a gimme should it come down to it!

Appreciate the quick response!

 

Yup no problem. If you got other questions let me know

biggest thing with the fridges is to look at the power consumption. Some average <1 ah and some are like 3-5. Makes a huge difference in your power needs. A super cheap fridge can cost you a lot more in things needed to keep it running.

 

Makes sense. Considering I was looking at a dual battery setup and no longer am, I think I can bite the bullet on the fridge instead - I'm on the fence on the freezer need.

A bit part too is empty space. Filling open space with water bottles will be a lot more efficient than leaving open air.

Mine is going to probably be wired up into the bed, unfortunately/fortunately, so with dust back there, ponying up to the higher end coolers probably makes more sense, I'll probably cut a sheet of ply to fit as a pseudo bed mat that I can bolt it down to.

 

I'm running a 500WH power brick that plugs into the truck's A/C, the fridge is powered off the brick UPS style. When driving the AC power easily keeps the brick at 100% and the fridge as cold as I want to run it (400W anytime mod, outlet in the cab). It draws 83W when the compressor turns on, basically nothing the rest of the time so the 400W mod isn't a requirement. Biggest issue there is remembering to turn on the AC power when driving off.

Here in the desert it gets toasty, I ended up pulling the fridge out of the bed where it was under a tonneau cover and placed it behind the driver's seat in an insulated cover, it's almost always cooler inside then outside. That dropped the power consumption by more than half on all but the really hot days. The biggest annoyance is on cooler nights (<50F) the fridge will go hours without cycling and after 3 hrs of no draw the brick turns off. The fridge only looses about 1~3 degrees depending on when you wake up so the food isn't at risk when that happens. It uses so little in that situation I'm just going to run it off the trucks battery. Later on I plan to add a 100W solar panel for multiday stays.

I considered modding the truck's power instead of getting a brick but then the fridge use is tied to the truck. With a brick and a solar panel it's not.

 

In my tundra I have a goal zero 500x I plug into dc power when the truck is running and run the fridge from the dc plug. 2-4 hours of driving per day ends up being enough to run the fridge for an additional 24 hours (~40% of my battery capacity depending on ambient temperature).

I’ve got a 135w folding solar panel I can plug in if I’m gonna be camping / stationary for a few days.

it’s not as nice as having the hood mounted solar I had on the Tacoma but it’s non permanent and the effort was pretty minimal and I didn’t have to run any wiring.