I have a Cougar 5th wheel with a 6 cu ft refrigerator. We make most of our meals in the trailer and eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies. While we get by shopping frequently on the road, it would be nice to carry more cold stuff. I suspect upgrading to an 8 ft unit would be crazy expensive both for the fridge itself and the cabinet work. Has anybody used a small add-on unit like a dorm fridge? How long do they stay cold when not plugged in (on the road)? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

This little unit from Best Buy runs on either 110 or 12vdc. You can leave it running while you are traveling.Best Buy Refer

We use a little dorm fridge for extra space. Since getting one this summer we actually saved money on groceries as we now can buy larger packages and break them down. It holds the cold for 16-20 hours when on the read, if it not opened.

the temperatures of perishable foods should be kept below the maximum safe temperature of high risk foods, like milk, meat, and eggs (below 40*)… keep these in the RV fridge… keep non-perishable only in the dorm fridge if the power will be off for more than 4 hours… longer than that it will cool back down quickly when turned back on if everything was already cooled…although mini fridges are not power gobbling monsters and use I believe an average of only 145W, and many use less… between 70w and 120w even… you could power it with a portable 400w inverter hooked to the battery…if I were going to do this I would spring for a 4 cu. Ft. for about the same money as a 2 or smaller cu. ft. model…

What do I need to do to run a 12V fridge in the trailer? I understand plugging in when on shore power. It seems I'd have to do some wiring to run a dual mode fridge on 12V.Also, are there any ventilation/cooling issues? Can they sit on carpet?

I have a 12V/120V refer/Freezer. It can be use either way, you set the temp you want to keep it at. I have it plugged into both power sources, it switches to what is available. I have it in the lower bay storage area. I am happy with it. But, I have a battery bank that I don't have to worry about it. So far, I can go two day than I need to charge up.

Refrigerator space | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

JJBIRISH
Explorer
Oct 21, 2013
the temperatures of perishable foods should be kept below the maximum safe temperature of high risk foods, like milk, meat, and eggs (below 40*)… keep these in the RV fridge… keep non-perishable only in the dorm fridge if the power will be off for more than 4 hours… longer than that it will cool back down quickly when turned back on if everything was already cooled…

although mini fridges are not power gobbling monsters and use I believe an average of only 145W, and many use less… between 70w and 120w even… you could power it with a portable 400w inverter hooked to the battery…
if I were going to do this I would spring for a 4 cu. Ft. for about the same money as a 2 or smaller cu. ft. model…
Dog_Folks
Explorer II
Oct 21, 2013
We use a little dorm fridge for extra space. Since getting one this summer we actually saved money on groceries as we now can buy larger packages and break them down. It holds the cold for 16-20 hours when on the read, if it not opened.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Oct 21, 2013
This little unit from Best Buy runs on either 110 or 12vdc. You can leave it running while you are traveling.

Best Buy Refer

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Refrigerator space

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