Outdoor Kitchen Refrigerator Powered While Travelling

[tunkcurt1]

Has anyone figured out a way to power their outdoor kitchen refrigerator while on the move? It is a 110V only mini-fridge, so I figure my only options are an inverter or figuring out some way to connect a generator in the truck bed.

An inverter seems to make the most sense to me, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried it and how much burden it puts on the TT and TV batteries.

I'd like to be able to load it up with beverages and have them be cold upon arrival (and vice versa, keep any leftovers cold until we get home). The inside fridge runs on propane - no problem - but it is small and my thirst upon arrival usually exceeds the space allocated to me in the inside fridge after the rest of the family is taken into consideration! 🙂

2014 Keystone Outback 312BH with the outdoor kitchen

[Dakota98]

I believe Cecilt's suggestion is the most practical.
Cost verses benefit.

Use the closes 12 volt receptacle + sized MSW inverter.

Or run 6-8 gauge wire direct from batteries back to frig. + heavy duty 12 volt female receptacle, fused + sized MSW inverter.

[Sandia_Man]

We have used our inverter to power our fridge while traveling down the road. Running a generator to power a small fridge is overkill in my opinion, and if it is not an onboard genny it would be too much hassle to try and rig a portable unit to do the job.

Our fridge required about 325 watts from the inverter to cool, there would be some drain on the battery as the small diameter wiring from truck to trailer was incapable of delivering enough charge to replenish what the fridge was consuming.

Not an issue if we were going to a site that had hookups, but for dry camping the battery would be down a bit upon arrival. I don't think your small fridge requires that type of wattage to run, check mfg. specs in order to get an inverter capable of doing the job.

The preferred method of installing an inverter is near the battery due to the voltage drop incurred with DC, then routing the wire to deliver AC to the appliance in question. It is doubtful the DC wiring near your fridge will be capable of delivering the power required by the inverter.

We have installed a couple of inverters since purchasing our rig new 8 years ago and they have served their purposes well. We have ceased using our inverters to power our fridge while underway, they are primarily used to run our HDTVs, HD satellite, DVD/game players, and other miscellaneous items when camping off the power grid.

[tunkcurt1]

Dakota98 wrote:
Are you always connected to shore power when camping ?

Almost always, yes.

[Dakota98]

Are you always connected to shore power when camping ?

[Cecilt]

Nope and it really has not been an issue in the 5 years we have had an outdoor kitchen with fridge. Been 7+ hours driving without being hooked up and still the beer was cold when arriving. Just make sure the fridge is nice and cold when you shut it down. DO NOT put in warm drinks, water etc and then shut down the power and drive 7 hours. That will sap all the cold air in the fridge quickly.