How do you power your Refrigerator!

[05LR3AZ]

Fridge

I had the 12v in the rear of the LR3 changed to always hot. I run my ARB 24/7 just change the settings for the fridge to not draw the battery's power too low (High setting).

 

[Jwestpro]

`

So, my arb fridge came with clips to directly tap battery, or I have some from something else? anyway, you could do that when you stop to camp. it's a little annoying but entirely free and will work immediately until you decide on a bigger solution.

In all 3 rovers I had dedicated 12v sockets, 2-3, added to run the fridge, power a laptop, charge a phone, etc. You might also like a basic inverter, I use mine often to power the new laptop for which I don't have a car plug. It also doubles as a phone charger when you forget the car plug for the phone!

You might want to really think about what you want to have done before digging in, and maybe have a tech do it (independent like Biggs east side in Seattle, Columbia Rovers in OR or Flying circus in NC)

On my 04 disco I have 2 12v sockets mounted one on top of each cubby bin edge near inside of rear door. this keeps it up high and not burried by gear, out of way of hauling things in/out, and the top of the rear bins make a nice flat space to set whatever you charge.

In the lr3 we sort of went crazy with some wiring and it was reflected in my labor bills (I have no time to sort wiring and would likely fry the fiber optic system if I tried) I have 3 12v sockets (always hot of course) one each again just inside the rear hatch on top of the plastic "shelf" that surrounds the small lr3 third row cubby, then I have 1 in the slanted surface just inside the 2nd row door for easy access when the lr3 is totally loaded up.

While having panels removed, etc, we also installed the inverter in the top edge of the 3rd row plastic bin shroud, rewired the two side reading lamps and all l/r dome lamps to the 2nd battery. the center dome lamps that come on when you open a door stayed stock wiring but i thought if camping "inside" for a while, it would be nice to pull one lamp or two off the 2nd battery.

we also tucked away the wrangler battery manager switch, fuses, and on board air outlet behind the left access panel.

All of these can be seen in the photo link. My 2nd battery (Odyssey 2150) is the largest we could fit in the engine bay after relocating the pumps in front of the stock 2nd battery compartment, which had to be cut and enlarged.

 

[RoverDude]

For the 2008 Baja 1000 we were base camped at Gaudalupe Hot Springs. There I unloaded the Freezer/Fridge and plugged it in to a Radio Shack basic CLA converter and connected to a Mighty Might jumper box. Ran the unit for days with no problem. Yeah, it doesn't answer your question directly. But gotta tell you. It is so much easier hitting whoops and off camber trails without the unit in the truck. For the day runs a Playmate with lunch and refreshments worked great.

 

[spikemd]

In my 4th gen runner the rear cargo area 12v dc adapater is not always hot. It's hot with the key on power. I ran a set of wires from my fuse box in the engine well back to the dc plug and disconnected the factory wire harness from it though. Now it's always hot and I have a new fuse to protect it. I don't run my fridge off that plug though. It got it's own wire set and plug and fuse.

I have a 4th gen 4Runner as well and I jumped the electrical switch in the fuse box. It is always hot now.

I am looking to do the same in my Rangie, just haven't had to time to figure out the wiring.

 

[spikemd]

Also, last trip out, I brought a PowerStation 12v jump start setup that has a 12v outlet built in. For extra safety, I plugged the fridge into it at night so I knew it wouldn't draw on the main battery. I was also testing how long the ARB would last on this 'portable' power unit. It worked great for two full nights on the sealed 19 amp hour battery in the PowerStation. Got it at Costco for $60.

It isn't as elegant as a dual power set-up but worked. You can then fully charge the unit off the running truck in 2 hours.

I figure I can have the jump-start from PowerStation if the fridge somehow kills the battery (it does have the switch to shut it off if it draws too much) or I can run the fridge off the PowerStation. I decided to run the fridge off the PowerStation because I didn't mind draining the PowerStation and I wanted to be sure the fridge kept running. I didn't want the fridge to shut off halfway through the night to conserve my main battery.

UPDATE 2011:
The PowerStation worked ok for a few times, but doesn't work in heavy load conditions (hot outside). The lead acid battery isn't built for a continuous load.

In addition, the standard lead-acid starting battery in the 4Runner is just not up the task of running the fridge in hot weather without the truck on.

I replaced the standard starting battery in my Range Rover with a marine starting/deep cycle battery with 90amp/hr rating and it seems to work well until I can do a dual battery system. I would like to replace the battery in the 4Runner as well, but then I need to replace the cables as well and don't take the 4Runner on trips much.

 

[HB 4X4]

Post #138 and then post #155 on the next page:

http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8235&page=7

 

[revor]

One truck, one fridge, two batteries, one Blue Sea charging relay. All of the 12V truck outlets are switched with the key that way nothing can drain the truck battery with the key out of the ignition. The other (house) battery has taps throughout the truck and are always on. Building it like this I need not panic if someone (I know) is in truck using power when the keys are in my pocket. The charging relay keeps the house battery topped up while driving and protects the charge in the truck battery when we're stopped.
It's simple to do and in very few cases have I seen a situation where it was impossible to mount a second battery especially with a sealed battery.
Using electricity for doing "work" is much like using water for doing work. If you can think of it in that aspect it might be easier to do the wiring.