Running the fridge on 12 Volts?
Any assistance would be appreciated. Have a 2013 Passport 3180RE. The dealer says the fridge will only run on Propane or A/C, but the control panel on the fridge HAS a 12V indicator (doesn't illunina...
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My fridge uses 3 amps of 120v AC when running in electric mode. I'll assume yours is similar. You could run it from 12v DC using a 400 watt minimum inverter. The DC draw on this inverter would be around 38 amps. This would drain the typical RV deep cycle battery in about a half hour.
So, while towing down the road you would need to have you're tow vehicle's charging system putting at least this much energy back into your battery.
Assuming it's about 25' from your alternator to your trailer plug and about another 6' from your trailer plug to your camper batteries you're looking at 31' of wire carrying 38 amps at 12v DC. You would need to run at least a #2 wire, #1 would be even better. This would require aftermarket terminals, fuses, relays, and connectors the whole length of the rig.
You would also need to remember to turn the refrigerator off if you stopped the engine in your tow vehicle for very long or it would still drain your RV battery pretty quick.
As you can see, this gets complicated and expensive really quick. But, if you're determined not to use propane and still keep your refrigerator cold it can be done.
Some people must have a LOT more insulation around their RV refrigerators than I do. If mine is off for a few hours it tends to warm up a lot more and a lot faster than I like. So, mine runs all the time: auto mode, elec. when plugged in, gas when not. That has worked great for over 14 years with 3 different RVs.
So, while towing down the road you would need to have you're tow vehicle's charging system putting at least this much energy back into your battery.
Assuming it's about 25' from your alternator to your trailer plug and about another 6' from your trailer plug to your camper batteries you're looking at 31' of wire carrying 38 amps at 12v DC. You would need to run at least a #2 wire, #1 would be even better. This would require aftermarket terminals, fuses, relays, and connectors the whole length of the rig.
You would also need to remember to turn the refrigerator off if you stopped the engine in your tow vehicle for very long or it would still drain your RV battery pretty quick.
As you can see, this gets complicated and expensive really quick. But, if you're determined not to use propane and still keep your refrigerator cold it can be done.
Some people must have a LOT more insulation around their RV refrigerators than I do. If mine is off for a few hours it tends to warm up a lot more and a lot faster than I like. So, mine runs all the time: auto mode, elec. when plugged in, gas when not. That has worked great for over 14 years with 3 different RVs.
