do you need a special mobile fridge?

Bumpyroad wrote:
for a van I would suggest a Halfback like I have that has the front half of a conversion, high top van with bucket seats and a rear seat that lays flat for a bed. that part is walled off from the rear 1/3 that is like a standard van.
I intended to put a port a pot in there for "emergency" use, etc.
the wife drove back to the midwest in it and "camped" in it at various campgrounds.
bumpy

the most important thing to me is i can sell it easy in September, that's why i'm thinking cargo van, not seasonal.

for a van I would suggest a Halfback like I have that has the front half of a conversion, high top van with bucket seats and a rear seat that lays flat for a bed. that part is walled off from the rear 1/3 that is like a standard van.
I intended to put a port a pot in there for "emergency" use, etc.
the wife drove back to the midwest in it and "camped" in it at various campgrounds.
bumpy

Thanks Larry but i'm just figuring things out at the moment. i think living in the USA people expect a higher level of comfort and luxury than is really necessary.

i'm from England and although i've lived in the states for 20 years, i now live in Thailand where there are many frustrating little challenges in life, but somehow we seem to get through them.

maybe you are right, and living in a van will get old, quick, but i don't have the inclination or budget for a nice RV and its been made very clear a cheap RV is a bad idea, so its van or don't bother for me, and i prefer to try. actually, i think a more likely scenario is we'll get bored looking at mountains and trees after a few months, then make a sprint for new york, sell the van and fly home. but that's not necessarily a bad thing, we're flexible. last time we went on holiday in the US we stayed in hotels and we got bored and went home after 3 weeks so it doesn't take much to beat that record.

about the total weight, its a good point, i figure
mattress 60lbs
tent 42lbs
toilet 12lbs
generator 29lbs
extra battery 39 lbs
misc cooking and camping stuff 100lbs
food and water 100lbs
electronics 20lbs
2 mountain bikes 52lbs
stuff i've forgot about 100lbs
TOTAL 554 lbs

a cargo van should be comfortably able to carry 1800lbs with ease so that leaves 1200lbs for beer, its probably less than a passenger van with 4 people since seats weigh a lot.

by the way, i was asking about car rents when i was thinking big RV. now i've decided on a van, that's all the transport i need. also, we have many friends along the way so will be crashing with them for some of the trip.

steveh2112 wrote:
there's a Engle fridge here
http://www.roadtrucker.com/engel/engel-12-volt-acdc-refrigerator-freezer.htm
but a bit out of my price range

but this looks nice
http://www.amazon.com/Koolatron-P27-48-Can-Voyager-Cooler/dp/B000Q73C66/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1379819443&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+fridge
27 liters and about 60 watts

The subject of this thread highlights what I posted in another of your many threads on the general subject of your plans for your extended trip and that is I think you are going to find out you are trying to go about this in the wrong and basically non workable way. That is you are trying to get all the facilities for a family of three and then some into what can best be described as a hobbled together Class "B" RV and you are going to find out it is going to be way too expensive, too much hassle and bascially un workable in the long haul. Going at this the way it looks like you at thinking is going to turn a 6 mo trip into basically survival and meeting day to day needs leaving very little time to do what the original intend was and that is to visit and enjoy the sights and actually vacation. IMO you need to stick to an RV that is setup from the git go with the minimum being a Class "C" and I still think a TT in the 25' range and a decent TV offers the best combo overall realizing that even that limits the amount of time you can reasonably spend in less than FHU or at least those with electric. Not only will you have loaded down things like a normal mini Van or even a full sized Van with all this stuff like chemical toilets, Refer, extra batteries, potential solar panels, etc., etc. the necessities like food, cooking utensils, stoves, soap/towels/dispans, and clothes sleeping three in something as small as a Class "B" ... especially what I have call a hobbled together one at that is going to get VERY, VERY OLD and STRESSFUL for any time much more than say a week not to mention SIX MONTHS.

I'll repeat again and recommend you stop, take a deep breath and really do a down to earth assessment on your whole plan instead of trying to come at this piece meal with all these various posts on trying to do what is basically a champagne vacation on less than a beer budget. One example is just the cost of some options in this thread being out of your price range, but in another you are considering renting a car when staying in certain CGs. You have obviously never done this before and you are getting a lot of cautionary posts if you read between the lines saying bascially what I'm saying outright in this post. There is a wealth of information and experience here, but most of us have been there and done it and gives us a leg up so to speak in how to so it to varying degrees of success, but in your case I just get the feeling you are heading for a VERY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE which has a HIGH DEGREE to be MUCH MORE COSTLY than you ever expected and be WAY LESS ENJOYABLE than you a want.

Larry

there's a Engle fridge here
http://www.roadtrucker.com/engel/engel-12-volt-acdc-refrigerator-freezer.htm
but a bit out of my price range

but this looks nice
http://www.amazon.com/Koolatron-P27-48-Can-Voyager-Cooler/dp/B000Q73C66/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1379819443&sr=8-4&keywords=12v+fridge
27 liters and about 60 watts

There are small (2-4cu ft) AC/DC/LPG fridges using absorption technology, AC or DC heaters substitute for the small flame normally used to boil the ammonia out of solution. Some of the smaller ones don't have a freezer. These need intake and exhaust vents to the outside, and a regulated LPG supply for that mode of use. Installation in small RVs is in cabinet, might work if you were building a kitchen into your van. These are relatively expensive new, might be cheaper from salvage.

Small dorm type compression refrigerators can throw their heat into environmental space, works better in a bigger space vs small space. I.E might heat interior or a minivan. Low cost examplles are A/C only, need regulated voltage and frequency, some are sensitive to waveform, and if inverter powered, inverter needs capacity for compressor starting loads. Will do a fair job staying cold for driving day if never opened, but wouldn't hope to keep ice cream that way.

There are DC compressor refrigerators, 12V and 24V, for marine and trucking markets, fairly expensive compared to dorm models, but less expensive than RV types considering installation. You need to understand loads vs power supply from alternator, and energy storage forvwhen no power (engine or external) is available. Of course that also an issue powering 120v from inverter, or powering portable chillers, prev discussed.

For short trips in car or van, I prefer an ice chest, but would not want to mess with that (it is messy) day after day for months. Ice costs aren't too bad, maybe a couple dollars a day if needs are small enough, and available everywhere. But a lot of water mess to deal with.

steveh2112 wrote:
its a 6 month trip and i'm only talking about a couple of cold items, milk for breakfast, a couple of cold beers for evenings around the camp fire, maybe some sliced cheese or turkey for a sandwich.

most places we'll be staying will have supermarkets (like yos, grand canyon, yellowstone, etc) so we'll be shopping every day for perishables.

wa8yxm, that's interesting about the fridge 'High Efficiency Electric Dual Power (12/120 volt electric only) Both Dometic and Norcold have at least one "Full size RV unit" in this class, as well as a "Chest Cooler size refrigerator/freezer" Mine is an Engel and can be set to use as a refirerator or freezer (I have it set to freeze) these power suckers draw a great 30-40 watts,,'
i need to look into that, 30-40W sounds very doable with battery and solar and engine alternator to top up. do you have any links to such a unit?

thanks

I have 12 volt Engel running off a deep cycle battery,charged by 80 Watt solar panel,
or when I drive long distance or when the weather is cloudy,,I plug it into dashboard outlet,to let the deep cycle recharge properly,works and cools awesome,although the initial price was bit steep 450$!

its a 6 month trip and i'm only talking about a couple of cold items, milk for breakfast, a couple of cold beers for evenings around the camp fire, maybe some sliced cheese or turkey for a sandwich.

most places we'll be staying will have supermarkets (like yos, grand canyon, yellowstone, etc) so we'll be shopping every day for perishables.

wa8yxm, that's interesting about the fridge 'High Efficiency Electric Dual Power (12/120 volt electric only) Both Dometic and Norcold have at least one "Full size RV unit" in this class, as well as a "Chest Cooler size refrigerator/freezer" Mine is an Engel and can be set to use as a refirerator or freezer (I have it set to freeze) these power suckers draw a great 30-40 watts,,'
i need to look into that, 30-40W sounds very doable with battery and solar and engine alternator to top up. do you have any links to such a unit?

thanks

How long is your trip? What do you need to keep cold? Will it spoil if you loose power?

If you are only traveling for a couple of weeks I'd think ice in a chest will be cheapest.

If you are just keeping beer and soda cool once of those 12V coolers may work.

jspence1 wrote:
I wouldn't recommend using you car to charge your battery. You'll end up damaging your starting battery. When you have two batteries they both need to have the same capacity and be at the same level of discharge. Your alternator will overcharge the lower capacity battery and that's not a good thing.

Well, just about every motor home has a different battery for the coach than the one for the engine and the alternator charges both just fine.
This is the purpose of a dual battery isolator.