Need advice on portable power for fridge

[myers]

I recently purchased a Dometic 80l fridge/freezer. My plan is (if this is possible) to swap it between our Tundra for vacations and our 4Runner for off-road camping trips. I know I have to purchase another battery no matter what setup I run because both vehicles just have OEM type batteries. I thought if I have to buy 2 new batteries (one for each vehicle) might as well explore the possibility of a bigger battery and not have to worry about draining vehicle's battery.

My question's are:

Is there a setup with solar and a battery I could run that would keep the battery full enough to run the fridge without needing to hook it up to anything else? I figure I could fab up some kind of mount to have the solar panel on top of the 4Runner or bedcover, which ever vehicle we are using while driving so it is charging the battery.

If this is possible what do I need to set this up?

If I am crazy and this really isn't possible feel free to tell me.

Thank you for any feedback.

 

[plh]

With solar it all depends on the amount of sun exposure and the watts the panel can put out. It is possible.

Rough numbers: 150 watt panel, charge controller, group 31 battery. Wires to hook it up.

 

[john61ct]

If you're running the fridge 24 hours, unless you're always in bright sunny weather, I'd advise 250AH to start, usually a multiple battery bank. Especially if you have a laptop or screen gadgets to recharge, running a vent fan, lights at night etc.

6V Duracell GC2s (actually East Penn) at <$180 per 12V pair are the best value true deep cycling bank.

They can be transferred between vehicles just like the fridge. Same with portable panels really, just a tradeoff of investment vs labor/convenience.

If you're relying on solar only for many days at a time, get more watts total than the AH of your bank, so a 400AH bank, maybe 500-600 watts.

Closer to 1:1 is OK if you can get to shore power overnight every few days in cloudy weather, or carry a small genny to run for an hour in the mornings.

Failing to get the bank to 100% full most cycles, or drawing below 50%, will greatly reduce the bank's lifespan.

 

[plh]

If you're running the fridge 24 hours, unless you're always in bright sunny weather, I'd advise 250AH to start, usually a multiple battery bank. Especially if you have a laptop or screen gadgets to recharge, running a vent fan, lights at night etc.

6V Duracell GC2s (actually East Penn) at <$180 per 12V pair are the best value true deep cycling bank.

Failing to get the bank to 100% full most cycles, or drawing below 50%, will greatly reduce the bank's lifespan.

Great points. Might be overkill for the sunny southwest, and under powered for the cloudy / rainy northwest.

OP - you will need to do some research on your needs. Its not a simple answer.

 

[myers]

Thanks for the response guys!

So would it be possible, or does it make sense, to figure out a way to hook up the fridge battery to the alternator while the vehicle is running? Or maybe have a separate plugin for the fridge to run off the vehicles battery while driving then switch it over to the secondary battery once stopped? I ask because I don't know if that would damage the regular battery or alternator pulling that much power.

Thanks again!

 

[myers]

Great! Thank you very much!