Refrigerator Question

[Oreonut]

So we just purchased a Wildwood that has a 12 volt fridge previously we only had gas/electric small one.

My question is the book says don't travel with food in it. Really?? This can't be what everyone does.

How do you travel with the fridge running without the risk of draining the truck battery at meal stops? We do have a small solar system that came with the trailer but that is all new to us too.

Thanks for any info! Been watching some videos but now I just more confused than before as to what is the best way to do it. Our trailer will be unplugged the entire night before we leave an I'm afraid to put any food in it!

[aftermath]

The new compressor fridges are supposed to be better. They cool better when it is hot and there is no propane to "worry" about. Yes, we still have the fallacy floating around out there that running with a propane fridge is somehow dangerous. Take the propane out of the picture and you get a "safer" system. Which, is a bunch of bunk. What you get is a fridge that does work better but....you will always need to be hooked up to shore power or you will have to upgrade to a better battery system and add some solar. Then of course, you will have to hope the sun is shinning. If it isn't, stop by my place and I will offer you up a cold beer.

[Grit_dog]

If nothing else, the absolute unheard of strangeness and unpredictability in the economy, supply chain, govt overreach and a host of other things has really confused and disrupted the “norm” on seemingly all fronts.
Heck, I dumped our “Covid” camper last year when I could still get back the Covid price I paid, not knowing my late model RV that was equipped to run everything on good ole propane would so quickly become a coveted classic for those with more sense than cents….
****…foiled again! Lol

[Grit_dog]

Well I suppose it’s just like vehicles, that due to government mandates or perceived/real consumer desires, inevitably has some pitfalls from said mandates or poorly thought out desires (like moving away from LP fired appliances).
And in this case it sounds like this person (and others) doesn’t really have a fully functional rv, brand new off the lot as there’s no decent workaround to use the fridge for any meaningful duration, as equipped, without being plugged in.
Be like selling a full size pickup truck with a 5 gallon gas tank…..
A RV equipped this way is useless as teats on a boar. Equip it with a nice electric only water heater, furnace and stove and it will literally become a high dollar well insulated tent for anyone who doesn’t zip straight from home to the rv park and plug in, or invest $thousands more in a substantial battery/solar system, or run that dreaded generator virtually 24/7 that all the Karens complain aboot.
Thanks Brandon! :R

[StirCrazy]

Grit dog wrote:
Oreo nut. I feel bad you were duped into this “new” technology. My response above was not directed at you whatsoever.
But at this point, even if your new camper has 2 rv dealer Walmart special batteries in it, you will have to watch how much you’re draining the batteries closely.
Effectively taking away from the convenience and ease of old 2 way or 3 way absorption refrigerators.
Imo best move now, short of returning the camper or changing the fridge, is get ya some decent battery reserve capacity and maybe put a dc dc charger on the truck to keep ‘em up during travel.
You could always run a generator in the back of the truck and duck tape the power cord to the camper as well.
If you don’t do something you will probably need to babysit the fridge during all them extended periods when it can’t be hooked to shore power.
Sorry to hear of your troubles.

and what's worse, I was at the rv dealer yesterday getting some parts to fix some stuff on the 5th wheel and I looked at some new campers. The sales guy was saying it's hard to get an absorption fridge in new trailers and 5th wheels now, all the manufactures are starting to switch over to the 12v compressors. none of them are too impressed about that as they are losing sales over that.

[Grit_dog]

Those are not solutions for a new camper. Those are workarounds for an insufficient system.

No you won’t drain the truck batteries during a meal stop. But even with 2 gc batteries or 2 typical 12v marine batteries, they’re only going to run the fridge and fridge only for less than 12 hours in the heat of summer. Less if one is actually actively using the fridge. IE opening it frequently.
And even less with one cheapo battery like the OP has.
How this is even a remotely workable solution for anyone short of those with very robust aftermarket 12v power systems is a mystery.

It literally defeats the purpose of one of the main luxuries of having a camper vs traveling with coolers and ice.
Basically the OP and everyone else in this situation have been screwed into an inferior product/situation. No matter how much the Defenders of the Compressor Camper Fridge Society try to downplay it.

Of course buyer beware applies here and it appears this buyer like any others have no knowledge nor did they seek any before becoming RVers. But to their credit, who’d think you’d get a basically unusable system in a new RV?

[JBarca]

Oreonut wrote:


How do you travel with the fridge running without the risk of draining the truck battery at meal stops? We do have a small solar system that came with the trailer but that is all new to us too.

This may be an option for you, as it worked for us for years before we started running the fridge while traveling.

Create several freezer blocks as you put them in the ice chest. In our case, we had the fridge plugged in at home a full day ahead of the trip to cool down the fridge before we put food in. We had the freezer blocks unfrozen in the freezer section the day before not to have to carry them frozen from the house. The blocks were frozen and the fridge cooled down before we put the food in the night before the trip.

The night before we headed out, we packed the fridge and freezer fully filled with food still plugged in. If yours has no freezer, then pre-freeze them. The fridge with food was cooled down and only maintained temp over light. Before we left for travel, we moved several freezer blocks from the freezer to the fridge compartment. There was still some left in the freezer.

On 4-hour drives, the fridge never lost more than 1 or 2 degrees inside. On an 8 hr tow, we could lose about 4 to 5 deg. Went from 32F to 38F

The main thing, precool the fridge with food in it. Only open the door to move the blocks, then do not open the door until you are plugged back into shore power.

We use one of the simple remote wireless outdoor battery-operated thermometers inside the fridge and the display on the wall outside the fridge. Then we can see the inside temp and not open the door.

I know you said you were not plugged in the night before; the only thought is, again, to make sure all food and the fridge are cooled down before you unplug for the night with the freezer blocks in place. And read the wireless thermometer the next morning to see how much you lost in temp. The nighttime is cooler; you will not lose temp like during the sunshine hours.

Hope this helps.

John

[nickthehunter]

Oreonut wrote:
… Been watching some videos but now I just more confused than before as to what is the best way to do it. Our trailer will be unplugged the entire night before we leave an I'm afraid to put any food in it!

This sounds problematic. Any way you can keep the trailer plugged in until you are leaving?
For an hour or two stop on the road you are not going to deplete the battery enough to cause problems (providing the frig was sufficiently cold to start with). Overnight - much more likely to have problems; and let’s not forget, the solar won’t be doing anything to help at night.

[John_Burke]

Best way to know is to try it. At home, make sure the battery is charged up, fridge cooled down, disconnect your shore power and watch your battery. Set yourself some markers, such as 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours and 12 hours which is like overnight. Note what your voltages are. Make sure your solar panels are receiving sun. Now you will have the best idea of how your system works. All kinds of people can give you opinions, but only you can figure out what works best for you.

[KD4UPL]

How long is a meal stop? A Dimetic 8cu foot 12v fridge pulls about 13 amps. Even if you only have one little G24 battery it should run for several hours continuously. And, it shouldn't be running continuously. Get an extra battery if you're worried.
Unplug the trailer cord from the truck if you have a GM vehicle as their 12v pin stays on all the time. I'm nkt sure on the other makes.

[Grit_dog]

Oreo nut. I feel bad you were duped into this “new” technology. My response above was not directed at you whatsoever.
But at this point, even if your new camper has 2 rv dealer Walmart special batteries in it, you will have to watch how much you’re draining the batteries closely.
Effectively taking away from the convenience and ease of old 2 way or 3 way absorption refrigerators.
Imo best move now, short of returning the camper or changing the fridge, is get ya some decent battery reserve capacity and maybe put a dc dc charger on the truck to keep ‘em up during travel.
You could always run a generator in the back of the truck and duck tape the power cord to the camper as well.
If you don’t do something you will probably need to babysit the fridge during all them extended periods when it can’t be hooked to shore power.
Sorry to hear of your troubles.

[Grit_dog]

Lol, waiting for the “LP absorption fridges are stupid” crowd to show up and share their “wisdom”.
Although you’ll probably get advice like if you buy a Rivian or Lightning to pull it, or install some LiFePO4 and SiO2 batteries and 10,000w of solar and a dc dc charger you’ll be just fine and that’s soooo much better and simpler than a bottle of propane! Hahaha

[CA_Traveler]

With the refer off and cold test to see if it's still cold in 2 hours, many will be. Overnight maybe to long. If the truck charge line doesn't disconnect with the engine off then add a relay. Now you know your needs.

The best answer is to measure the RV drain (which may include more that the refer) to determine a course of action. More batteries is likely the best solution since solar doesn't work at night. Also guessing you have a small solar setup that is mainly for storage to maintain the battery.

Guessing you have a single 12V car or marine battery, hence about 90 AH. 2 GCs would provide about 220 AH. Additional batteries can be in the truck bed.

[opnspaces]

I imagine the book is saying to not travel with food in it because it could drain the battery and thaw out and spoil the food.

If you only have a single battery on the trailer I would travel with it on. But if I'm going to be at a rest stop for more than an hour I would probably unplug or turn it off to save the battery state of charge. The catch is you have to remember to turn it back on before you get back on the road or you're in paragraph 1 again with possibility of spoiled food.

The small solar panel on the trailer really only slowly tops up the battery in storage. I wouldn't count on it being any use with the refrigerator.