marc71
South East VA
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I'm thinking about adding an inverter to my 03 travel trailer to keep the fridge running while traveling down the road as we take many long trips. I have two deep cycle batteries and was thinking along the lines of a 1500 watt inverter. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Doug360
Edmonton
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Joined: 07/18/2007
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I did this on an older motorhome I owned. The fridge was only a 2 way; so I thought I would try it. It worked just fine. Can't remember what size inverter I used. However I remember taking an amperage reading while on 120 VAC. Then you can calculate the amperage on 12 VDC. The reading is inversely proportional. In other words as the voltage is reduced the amperage increases proportionally. Even so, I believe the draw was fairly small. I left the fridge on for eight hours on the batteries as a test and the power use was insignificant.
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CloudDriver
New Jersey Shore
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Joined: 10/30/2005
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Most people run their refrigerator on propane when going down the road.
2003 Winnebago Minnie 24F - Ford E-450
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bluwtr49
Green Valley, AZ
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I agree, propane is the best bet.
Dick
2008 Toyota Tundra Crew Max Limited TRD
2009 Cougar 268 RLS ~8400 lbs road wt
Equal-i-zer 12,000 lb hitch, Prodigy BC.
2006 Jeep Liberty Turbo Diesel.....TV in Training
2005 Jeep GC 5.7 HEMI,(retired)
2005 Jayco Jay Feather 25Z, 4" lift (Retired)
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marc71
South East VA
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I know it's probably 99.9% safe to run the fridge on gas, but I just don't feel all warm and fuzy doing that! Not to mention I live in an area of VA that has many tunnels in which I would have to get out and turn it off before going though and then back on after leaving, not that this is a huge concern, but it's just something I would have to do. I'm still leaning towards the inverter, I can't imagine it not working.
2002 Toyota Tundra SR5 TRD 4x4
2003 Keystone Springdale 268 BHL-GL
Prodigy Brake Control
Eaz-Lift WD - Eaz-Lift sway control
Picture Comming as soon as I can figure out my WD and get the truck to sit the way it should!
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Jim&Peg
Central Ohio
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Joined: 07/14/2004
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A typical RV refrigerator uses about 350 watts on electric so it will draw about 30 amps from the batteries to run the inverter.
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greenrvgreen
open road
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Joined: 09/05/2007
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marc--
I run my TT 100% on electric, using 4 golf-cart batteries (440 ah) and a 2000-watt inverter (Prosine 2.0).
My fridge is by far the biggest draw. I have a Dometic rm 2510, the half-sized single-door model. This fridge is rated at 180 watts max draw, and on a practical basis, that's pretty much what it's always drawing (I usually have it on max cool).
The larger Dometic Fridges draw up to 350 or 400 watts, if memory serves me. I believe the very smallest are rated at something like 150 watts.
I want to emphasize that there is no surge with an absorption fridge, so there will be no surprise overload of your inverter when the fridge starts up. On the other hand, I really think a cooler full of ice would do a better/faster job, but portability is the selling point with these fridges.
Bottom line, with 2 batteries you'll always have to plan out your usage cycle--I do even with 4 gc2's. You do NOT want to run your batteries dry repeatedly. But a 1500 watt inverter will be fine.
And as for not wanting to burn a propane fire in your TT as you drive down the road (or ANY time, really), I agree with you 100%. Done properly it's perfectly safe, as so many people will verify. But the whole idea just seemed so silly to me--I could just imagine looking in the rearview mirror to discover I was towing a gigantic fireball down the highway.
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Rick From Sequim
Sequim, WA
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Joined: 08/19/2004
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I put an inverter in my Prowler for the fridge as you MUST turn of propane on the ferries. I wired it with 8 guage wire and kept it close to the batteries.
Rick
& wife Loie & Kodi Dog (blk male std poodle)
1995 F-250 460 Banks (wow!) & 2005 25' Bigfoot RQ
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tvman44
Southwest Louisiana
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Don't forget that while towing your TV will be charging your batteries thru the unbilical cord. You could go all day and more.
Papa Bob
1* DW "Granny"
1* 2008 Brookside Sunnybrook 32'
1* 2002 F250 Super Duty 7.3L PSD
Husky 16K hitch, Tekonsha P3,
Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs, Trailair Equa-Flex, Champion C46540
"A bad day camping is better than a good day at work!"
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marc71
South East VA
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I know the plug for the trailer charges the batteries on the camper while driving, but the 12 or 14 guage wire that is used probably isn't going to be enough to do the job. With that, I've thought of putting a seperate plug with a 4-8 guage wire running from the truck battery to the back and then putting the other end of the plug directly to the camper battery. This should be more than enough to keep the fridge running while traveling as it will always have power from the truck, and if we stop the batteries I would think we keep it going for hours, no?
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