Fridge or wait ?

[brentvolkman]

Hi everyone

So I’m eventually going to put shelves in the back of the 200, with a fridge on a slide.
Just wondering, I don’t have the rear shelves yet, nor the auxiliary battery yet, I have to wait several weeks for the build. So my question is. I don’t want to drop $300 on a cooler for an upcoming camping trip if I’m going to get a fridge anyways Very soon, but I do need something for the trip.

should I just go ahead and buy the fridge and plug it into the rear 12v or just get a cheap $40 cooler and make do for now

I don’t know how I’d secure the fridge in the rear unless I strap to the 3rd row anchors

thoughts?

 

[Mgyver1]

Hi everyone

So I’m eventually going to put shelves in the back of the 200, with a fridge on a slide.
Just wondering, I don’t have the rear shelves yet, nor the auxiliary battery yet, I have to wait several weeks for the build. So my question is. I don’t want to drop $300 on a cooler for an upcoming camping trip if I’m going to get a fridge anyways Very soon, but I do need something for the trip.

should I just go ahead and buy the fridge and plug it into the rear 12v or just get a cheap $40 cooler and make do for now

I don’t know how I’d secure the fridge in the rear unless I strap to the 3rd row anchors

thoughts?

I’d say get the fridge now and also get one of those lithium jump packs just in case. Unless your main battery is in bad shape or you plan on being stationary without starting your truck for multiple days then the second battery won’t be necessary. I was stationary for over 36 hrs on a trip running the fridge in warm temps along with lights and charging phones and didn’t have a problem starting up. Granted I have a bag group 31 battery but even a more normal size like a 35 or 24 would be fine for a day unless you’re running the thing as a freezer.

Definitely still get the dual battery system as I’m not saying it’s unnecessary period. I think they are very useful. I had that in my Tacoma and wish there was an easy way to set one up in my 4Runner. But you’ll be fine for one trip and just bring a jump pack in case you do drain your battery. I have an Antigravity XP-10 but I wanted it for more than jump starting so you could get away with a smaller one if you’re trying to save cost & weight.

As far as securing the fridge, just ratchet strap it down somehow, and yes I think seat anchors would be strong enough. You would need to do the same thing with a cooler to keep it from becoming a projectile anyway so it’s not saving you anything convenience-wise to get a cooler just for this trip instead of the fridge you’re going to get anyway. When I first got my fridge I seat-belted it in the back seat or ran a ratchet strap through the grab handles to the cargo tie downs in the back. Now I have an Alu Cab tilting fridge slide which has made it so much more convenient.

 

[towee]

decent chance just plugging into rear 12v won’t work. I’ve got the arb wiring kit and single deep cycle battery in my Tacoma. if you’re going to do it You should plan on at least getting the wiring kit. Depending on temps your standard car battery likely won’t last long overnight might even be an issue. If that sounds like too much hassle I’d just go with a cooler and not rush things.

 

[WOODY2]

decent chance just plugging into rear 12v won’t work. I’ve got the arb wiring kit and single deep cycle battery in my Tacoma. if you’re going to do it You should plan on at least getting the wiring kit. Depending on temps your standard car battery likely won’t last long overnight might even be an issue. If that sounds like too much hassle I’d just go with a cooler and not rush things.

This is reality.

 

[Mgyver1]

Apparently my Engel was made with unicorn fur or something because it runs just fine pulling its <3a max draw off the 10a total capacity rated 12v plugs in my 3rd gen 4Runner, and never had a problem being used for a day with a group 24 lead acid starting battery.

 

[Vinman]

My Engel has no problems running off any 12v power source I plugged into for the last 16-17 years since I purchased it.
I think the problem arises with the newer fridges which have the low voltage cut-off, a feature mine doesn’t have.

 

[Weeds]

My 10 year old ARB ran 2 days in the garage at 95 degrees before it shut off and the Jeep started. The refer was at 40 degrees. I did run a heavy gauge fuse wire for the refer.

 

[Okie Preacher]

Prior to setting up the dual battery setup in the 4Runner, I carried a Yellow Top battery in the back with the fridge. I would run the fridge off the 4Runner Inverter during the day and the battery during the night. During the day I had a small battery charger I would run off the 4Runner to keep the battery topped off. It sounds a bit clunky (and was). But, it was effective and provided great incentive to wire up the dual batteries!

And...the fridge is a game changer. Once you have one up and running, you will never again think a cooler is a good idea.

 

[twin_magnolias]

You don't need the slide. It makes a nice thing even nicer, but it isn't necessary. I manhandled my ARB fridge in and out of the back of my Jeep for years before I bought a slide for it. Now that I have a ZR2, the fridge was the first thing to go in the back with a spare battery I had laying around. I also manhandled that fridge in and out of the truck until this week when I installed a cargoglide. I'm currently working on getting my 12v aux battery setup in shape, but until I do this fridge will be hooked up to a spare battery and will get charged up at the house, or with a 100w panel I use when camping.

Get the fridge. You don't need the slide, and you can crank your vehicle to charge the battery when it's low. Use that as an opportunity to go trail riding while you're camping. Get a cheapo starter solar unit and you're even further on your way.

 

[billiebob]

The coolers are soo good today, there is no need to keep them plugged in 24/7. I unplug mine every night, plug it in when I hit the road. It'll still outperform ice.

 

[twin_magnolias]

And you can pre-cool them using an extension cord before you head out, which means you use less power from your battery. BOOM!!!

Buy the fridge.

 

[jonathon]

Did you end up buying a fridge yet?

I’m getting ready to pull the trigger on a fridge myself. Northridge 4x4 has a deal on the Arb Classic Series 50qt with the canvas cover, wiring kit, and tie downs for $980 shipped. Doesn’t seem to get much better than that.

My own research it seems like most fridges will do not run well on the factory 12v socket in most vehicles. Engel may be the exception since the swing motor does not have a spike in current draw at start up like the compressor fridges do.

 

[dreadlocks]

Engel dont have a low voltage disconnect so it'll run on any length of wire pretty much.. ARB's internal LVD throws a ******** fit and turns fridges off prematurely on any substantial length of cabling unless you grossly oversize the wiring.

Ive got an ARB and a Englel, I wont be buying anymore ARB's thats for sure.

 

[jonathon]

Engel dont have a low voltage disconnect so it'll run on any length of wire pretty much.. ARB's internal LVD throws a **** fit and turns fridges off prematurely on any substantial length of cabling unless you grossly oversize the wiring.

Ive got an ARB and a Englel, I wont be buying anymore ARB's thats for sure.

Very good points as well. With the current draw at start up and low voltage shut off you definitely need 10 gauge at the minimum. The Engel is dirt simple, something that can be appreciated in this day and age.

 

[dreadlocks]

while having a LVD is admirable, people wanna treat a DC fridge like a cooler and take it out and put it in the shade under the tailgate or in a bear locker and a remote LVD is not really effective, especially if you throw something important like perhaps some insulin into the mix.. Really sucks when your battery still has plenty of charge left and your fridge runs for 2s then shuts down.

I'd suggest now that cheap, effective, fully programmable solid state LVD's are made by Victron (BatteryProtect) that the smarter design is to incorporate a LVD into a circuit where it belongs, fixed near the battery, and ready to dump all auxiliary loads and sound an alarm that you cant ignore.