ARB Fridge/freezer questions

[TwinStick]

I am getting ready to drop the hammer (i think) & want to buy 2-ARB 82 qt fridge/freezers. They will be going in the back of our 08 Dodge Power Wagon, under a cap, on a home made bed slide. When traveling far away, they will be put inside a small trailer & pulled behind a Subaru Outback w/V-6. One will be a dedicated freezer & the other a dedicated fridge. Want to be able to stay gone for long periods of time. Each one will have it's own W-Mart, large, Maxx deep cycle battery or maybe even 2 for each. Weight is not an issue with the truck (but may be with the Subie). I will have multiple ways to recharge batteries. 270 amp alt on truck. Honda Generator w/8 amp charge cord. 120v Cabela's Advanced Angler Pro series 20 amp, 2 bank marine charger. Inverter & dual battery truck set up. It will be just me & the wife. Truck will be towing a 3200+ lb Starcraft AR-ONE 18QB EXTREME. So, needless to say, no hard core wheeling when we have the camper---just dirt road stuff & exploring.

Questions:

How useful is the transit bag really ?
Does it make a difference in it's low temp holding ability in hot weather ? How much of a difference ?
Approx how long can i realistically expect to get before recharge of battery/ies is required ?
What exactly comes with them ? 12v power outlet plug ? 120v plug ? Hard wire plug ?
What extra's, if any, do i need ? Tie downs ? Are they worth it ?

For those of you that have the 82 qt, what do you think ? Would you buy the large one again or go smaller ?

This is a major expenditure for us, so any real world help is greatly appreciated. Getting ready for retirement in a year or 2 & getting our crap together now. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Honu]

I used to have a 60 and 45 the 60 was fridge the 45 was the freezer
do you need the freezer that big ? my only thought
not saying it would not be nice and if you had the room might as well since really not much bigger in the long run
we did some longer 3 week stuff like that and worked out great having fridge and freeze ! awesome setup to have
our trailer had the large one the small in the vehicle that way when not using the trailer the 45 was in use for shorter trips etc.

transit bags are nice they do IMHO cut down on power draw
life ? I can run my 45 for 4-5 days without charging but depends on temps how much open close etc... my trailer had ? forgot I think they were 130 amp hour anyway two of them so ran quite a while but we had a genie to charge when needed
I usually charged up every 3 days it seems when sitting still
just used my own straps ? but the mounting of the new ones looks nice ?

IMHO a slide is really nice to have and check lid clearance ! so you can open the lid the whole way ! its a pain to have to prop it up with your head etc. when getting food in and out
I love remote of the temp so I know its working and what its doing

 

[NatersXJ6]

Yes

Hi,

I have a 50 qt, so I can't speak to battery life, but in general terms, the fridge is awesome.

I would recommend the transit bag. It is better than it looks online, and is made of that thick, aluminized insulation material, with a cord pocket and holes in all the right spots. The only issues I had were a bit difficult to install (have help) and the top cover comes off sometimes.

The box includes 12 and 120 cords. The 120 cord goes nicely in a pocket on the transit bag. The 12 cord has a plug that is garbage. I even bought the ARB socket... Bigger garbage. I ended up cutting off the plug and wiring in my own high-amp plugs from an online source. The wire from battery to plug is 8AWG, and their cord is IIRC 16AWG, with tiny little terminal connectors at the plug that break very easily. The extra cords are cheap. Get some, cut them, and hard wire it.

Be sure to build something in your system to keep stuff from touching the sides of the fridge and blocking the vents.

And... 2x 82 qt is HUGE. How long do you expect to be away from a grocer? We have found that our short trips are easier now because we just stop at markets and buy whatever we need. Just a thought toward saving $$$...

Have fun, you won't regret buying one.

 

[Stumpalump]

Ive got the smaller ARB and it needs two batteries. I'd prefer 3. It's a pain to have to monitor and charge constantly.
Are you feeding 6 people? Why so much capacity? If it were me I'd buy one good fridge like an Engel or National Luna with a freezer compartment. Once on the road you learn to deal with the smaller capacity quite well. If you go with your plan then buy 4 huge RV 6 volt batts. You are looking at hundreds of pounds so unless you will drive and park I'd rethink.

 

[Yulli]

I have the ARB transit bag and I didn't see it do much help in the 90/100 degree weather I encountered during the NW Overland Rally. My fridge was running all day still. The battery lasted about 3 days till I had to recharge. If it wasn't for the heat it probably would have lasted a lot longer.

ARB has a new 12v hook up. It plugs in and then you twist it in to lock tight. Way better than their old set up. I just have it hard wired to the socket and then I just plug it in when I have the fridge installed.

 

[AndrewP]

What makes the biggest difference in power consumption is to keep the sun from directly shining on the the exterior of the fridge. I have settled on the inexpensive foil/plastic bubble wrap like a windshield sunblocker. You can buy it in rolls and I attached with double sided velcro. If your fridges stay in the shade, it isn't necessary.

But you'll need a lot of battery to power all of that when your engine is not running. You need to factor that in too. In the end, that will be your biggest challenge. And just a hint, your high amp alternator doesn't really help you since the alternator is not the limiting factor in how fast your batteries can charge.

ARB used to recommend that any fridge over 60qt should be hard wired. So I'd use your rear batteries as a bank, then add a fuse panel and run the wires directly to the fuse panel.

I'm guesstimating numbers here, but each fridge is likely to use 50 amp hours per day, so Even a dedicated 100 amp-hour deep cycle battery for each fridge would need to be recharged every day, assuming you don't want to exceed a 50% drain.

 

[TwinStick]

I also have a 50 amp, triple bank Odyssey battery charger & a 4/30/60 amp charger. I have 2000 watt inverter set up in truck & a Honda 2000 generator. Charging is not an issue. I have a Blue Sea https://www.bluesea.com/products/5026/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_12_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus_and_Cover fuse panel.

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming.

 

[jeffjeeptj]

I have 3 odyssey/sears platinum 31M batts, 1 Odyssey PC 2250, 1 PC 1750, 1 ARB 50, odyssey 3 bank 50 amp charger, and a honda 2000 gen. I installed 1 ga wire to the rear of my Sequoia with an Anderson 350 connector for tieing the batt in the trailer to the alternator in the Sequoia.
The honda with the Odyssey charger will be far superior to the 8amp charge cord. Also, remember, the Odyssey charger auctions the charge current so only one battery charges at a time.
Wife and i are happy with one ARB 50. Two 82s may fit your lifestyle.
I bought the ARB in July 14. It came with the "new" style 12V cord which can plug into a cig lighter socket or plugged into an ARB socket which has a threaded lock ring (never had itcome out).
I installed the transit bag but have not done any detailed testing. In my 90F garage, i get about 3-1/2 days on a 31M when ARB is set at 33. The 82 uses a larger compressor.
I recommend looking at the fridge sizes in person prior to buying.

 

[1911]

I have a single 37-quart ARB. I have a transit bag, but have yet to use it, so I can't say what difference it makes. But I can say that the ambient temperature makes a big difference. I'm using mine right now in rural west Texas, and the daytime temperature is 106 F. The compressor runs a lot more when it's that hot. My fridge is hooked up to a second battery, and when temps are moderate it will run for several days without recharging, but at these temps it will only last a little more than 24 hours before the fridge goes into power conserve mode. Maybe I should put on that transit bag, but I usually drive my truck enough every day to charge the battery again.

 

[AndrewP]

I also have a 50 amp, triple bank Odyssey battery charger & a 4/30/60 amp charger. I have 2000 watt inverter set up in truck & a Honda 2000 generator. Charging is not an issue. I have a Blue Sea https://www.bluesea.com/products/5026/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_12_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus_and_Cover fuse panel.

Thanks for the replies. Keep them coming.

I have to disagree with you here. Charging is totally the issue. You can have as much charging gear as you want. The problem is, batteries can only charge so fast. So having gigawatts from an alternator or a Honda generator will make no difference. The last 10% of your batteries charge takes hours. Just the nature of lead acid batteries. And with your power needs, that last 10% will be important. And two 80 quart fridges are going to use a lot of power 24 hours a day, not just the 6 hours your truck is running. And that's not to mention getting your wiring right to power these fridges in a trailer behind your Subaru. You'll need big wires for this and a dedicated plug. A standard trailer plug will never handle this.

And generators kind of suck. No matter how quiet, they are not silent, and in my view disturb the peace anywhere you go. If you go where everyone else is running a generator, then there are likely hook ups, and you should do that. If you are running a generator where no one else is running a genertor, they will hate you. Really. It's a major annoyance.

I'd look at this as a power STORAGE question, not a power generation question. You need at least twice the power storage that your fridges and other loads will use in a day. I think I'd look into a couple of big series wired 6 volt batteries that are built for this kind of duty. It sounds like you want to install a pretty light duty battery set up to power a heavy duty load.

Anyway, good luck. You might consider starting with 1 Fridge and see if you can make it all work with your needs and set up. Once you get it up and running and use it awhile, you will have a much clearer view of what you need. Sometimes, less is more, and this may be one of those times.

 

[stephaneD]

that a lot of fridge and a lot of power 80 Q of freezer is a lot and will be a power hog why you need that much

 

[TwinStick]

So i can stay gone for a month or more. Plan on using campgrounds mostly but certainly not always. I want to explore many dirt roads.

Thanks for the input everyone. I usually use welding cable when doing things like this. I used 2/0 gauge welding cable (& a 350 amp Anderson plug) for my aux battery & 2/0 welding cable for my 270 amp alt. Zero issues so far. Will update as i get into this.

 

[wanderingjeep]

I have a 130W solar panel on my "Campulance". I have 2 deep cycle Walmart Special batteries. The combo works awesome. If I have 3 hours of sun a day, I can run my 50qt indefinitely. It runs all night at 29 degrees and is fully charged by 10:00.

 

[JackW]

I have a 35 qt Engel and it is sufficient for me on a four to five day solo camping trip - if my wife comes along we have to carry a supplemental conventional cooler and worry about ice.
The 45 qt size (or 50 if ARB) has the same footprint as the 35 but its about six inches taller. If I had my preference I'd have the 45 qt size since vertical height isn't an issue in the Land Rovers I use it in.

I also have the transit bag and it helps reduce the run time for the compressor. I've been thinking about adding a solar charging panel to the gear list.

 

[TwinStick]

I am gearing up for retirement. Being gone for months at a time. I bought the 50qt (dedicated freezer mostly) & the 82 qt (dedicated fridge mostly). Got a free transit bag with each, free fridge monitor & free shipping !!! They will be going in the bed of our 08 dodge Power Wagon, on a bed slide (with at least one large deep cycle battery for each). The ARE MX series truck cap will have a Yakima 2 bar rack & a Load warrior basket w/1 extension. A solar panel could easily be put up there. Fixed or folding. I will be using one of the Cabela's Pro Angler 20 amp, dual bank Marine charger's. We can power that (120v) from our Honda Eu2000i generator, (not the 8amp honda 12v charging port) as well as from the on board inverter (2000/4000 watt) set up in the truck. They can be charged while driving or while stopped.

I am very familiar with Anderson 350 amp plugs & 2/0 gauge welding cable. That is what i used for the dual battery set up in my truck. I soldered my own lugs on as well. 2nd battery is in the bed (Sears Die Hard Platinum 34M.) I have had absolutely ZERO issues. I will be following the same lines, but don't need 2/0 gauge or 350 amp plugs for fridges' in truck bed.

I was fortunate to be able to get these 2 with free transit bags, free wireless remote monitor & free shipping.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I REALLY appreciate it. I am sure others wanted to know as well. This is a GREAT site !!!