Camping Fridges in D3/D4

[DiscoWeb]

Good Afternoon,

Just starting to look into fridges and wanted to get so info so a question for those running fridges in the back of their D3/D4/RRS.

What would you suggest, size wise is a good options for a 2 adult 2 kid family looking for say a maximum trip length of 3 -4 nights between civilisation.

Assuming I was to want to run this fridge on the odd occasion (2 -3 times a year) I might go away for a couple of days, noting most of my camping would involve moving about and not being stationary for days on end would I need a dedicated 2nd battery, or could I simply hook it up to the 12 v socket at the rear of the D3 without too many issues.

Does the wiring need to be upgraded etc or can I simply plug it in a go on my merry way ?

Thanks,

George

[DB4]

40-50L should do the Job. You will definitely need a second battery. D3

[DB4]

40-50L should do the Job. You will definitely need a second battery. There are numerous post on dual battery systems.

[Ashes]

George,
we are 2 adults and 3 kids (one teenager)

We have a 40 litre and find that a good size. We had enough room for meat, veggies, drinks, butter etc. for a 5 day trip recently.

The larger the fridge the more room it takes up and heavier to get in and out of the car.

I do run mine off an 2nd battery but you could get away with running it off a single battery provided it cuts out above the minimum cranking charge. There is some risk with this in that you may drain your main battery too much or have your food spoil. The better fridges do draw less power.

You will need to check if your rear socket is ignition switched. Most turn off when the car is turned off. It isn't too difficult to run a extra cable to the rear.

[rmp]

Fridge sizes are very personal. My view is that a 40L is fine for a family of four and that is what we ran for years, before changing to a 47L. There are others who would swear that such a family needs 60L at a minimum.

There are also those would say no fridge is needed at all. But they tend to be people without families or who have never tried a fridge.

Each to their own.

Anyway I'd start off with a 40L, and work within it. If you become desperate, trade up. A quality fridge, cared for, always has a decent resale value.

As for the rest - as Ashes said.

By the way an excellent place for the fridge is in the second row middle seat, folded down. Doesn't work with 3 kids, but is excellent for two and it also acts as something of a firewall between warring siblings.

[DiscoWeb]

Thanks for the responses and keep them coming,

Anyone know if the 12v sockets in the rear cargo area and in the 2nd row seats are ignition switched ? or how do I check ?

I like the idea of the fridge sitting on the middle seat and being a bit of a barrier between kids. On longer trips it would be unusually to have any more than 4 so this would work and I could secure it to the legs of the seat is assume.

Happy for any other advise, particularly anyone running a fridge without a dual or additional batter set up.

Thanks,

George

[101RRS]

I have a 55l cheap ebay fridge/freezer that I use in the back of my RRS with no issues. The wiring to the rear 12v socket looks too light BUT it runs my fridge OK - it is switched, so the ignition needs to be on accessory for power to be supplied.

Garry

[DanW]

I have an Engel MT45 (which is a 40L fridge) and that does my 2kids 2 adult family well. I installed the Traxide duel battery kit myself in the D3, and I'm not a handy person at all.

I sometimes put the fridge in the centre second row (seat folded down), and secure it to the child restraint anchor to stop it sliding around, but we mostly put it in the very back and tie it down to the floor anchor bolts.
I love the Engel because it plugs in to 240v as well, so at home I always have a stash of beer down in the garage!

I suspect any plug that was in the car when you bought it would be linked to the ignition - unless you got it second hand and the previous owner rigged up a full time powered socket, but that would be a risky installation that could easily end in a dead battery.

[~Rich~]

I agree with DanW, I actually have an old 29ltr Engel with a lid extension.
Makes it the same size as a 39ltr Engel. It is really easier to access than the 39 and has the same motor and workings. But they are History!
Buy yourself this months 4WD Monthly they have a Fridge comparison.
ARB wins.
Get yourself a Traxside dual battery system too.

[PaulGOz]

Hello,

I have just come back from a road trip over a week. We are 2 adulkts 2 young kids. We have a Waeco dual Zone 50L and find it adequate as long as you do not need to carry 20L of soft drinks and 20L of beer it shoudl suffice.

I am not sure about the need for a second battery. I have found that with the standard 90ah starting battery and several hours driving each day that the car is able to run the fridge overnight. We made sure we didn't add anything to the fridge at the end of the driving day and only added at the beginning of the day so that the fridge only needed to maintain a temperature and not actually bring items down to temperature. I also ran the fridge a little colder during the driving day say 1 deg c and then let it run up 5 deg overnight. The fridge is also set on the medium setting which i think cuts out at 11.8v suffice to say this was never reached the lowest I have recorded is 12.25v.

In conclusion IMHO you can get away without a dual battery setup. Even more so if you take precautions as i outline above. Keep in mind though you are asking the starting battery to do somethign it is not designed to do i.e deeper cycling. I also carry a 240v battery charger and jumper leads and an extension lead (if at a powered camp site) and jumper leads as a last resort. None of this would help though if you are alone in the middle of nowhere and get it wrong.

Good luck.