New 12 volt compressor refrigerators

If dry camping you will need adequate batteries and a method of recharging. Solar is the easiest and works most days. Estimate average daily amp use, multiply my at least 1.5 and build from there. What is amp use of the 12 volt fridge you are considering?

I do not use one of them but I have a 'Chest style" Freezer/fridge(one or the other) The original was an Engel lasted 16 years Loved it. the new one is an LG.. It too is good but ... I don't trust LG products as a rule.

These units suck less than 50 watts with the door closed V/s 350 for an absorption cooling unit.

Though I'm out of the RV life just now (not entirely by choice but.. it's a good thign) If I get back in I'll be SERIOUSLY looking at 'em.

Grand Design is putting them in a lot of their travel trailers, and has been for a while now. From the postings on one of the forums they seem to be a lot better at holding set temps than an absorption refrigerator. Of course, one has to have the battery and solar capacity to support the fridge off-grid since you can't run it on propane. There have been a few failures, but mostly with the Furrion brand, IIRC. (Disclaimer: we have a 120VAC residential fridge, so this is only from seeing everything posted on one of the Grand Design forums.)

Rob

https://www.rvtravel.com/12-volt-refrigerator-rvt-1065/

when my dometic dies I'll replace with a compressor fridge.

During the pandemic, RV manufacturers found 12v only fridges were cheaper and easier to install, hence the change from 2-way RV fridges.
There were many issues from the start, especially with ones from Furrion.
Bottom line is that you'll needa a minimum of 200w of solar and most move to a lithium battery bank setup.

Yes, Don, but you are juiced far beyond most of us!

bikendan wrote:
Bottom line is that you'll need a a minimum of 200w of solar

If you can't find a camping spot with plenty of sunlight exposure, having all the solar panels in the world won't help.

From a practical perspective, there are times when you're going to need a backup plan for recharging the batteries.

From what I've been seeing, as the 12V compressor fridges proliferate, so do the numbers of people with issues with them. Probably just like anything else: they have their problems too.