Refrigerator/inverter in the truck when you cannot idle?

Running a fridge off of an inverter is a tremendous waste of energy. There are 12v "coolers" that use a bimetal element to cool, they won't freeze food, but they will keep it cold. After I went off the road, my dad used my 12v cooler as a refrigerator for years. Inverters are useful, I had a 120v microwave and TV in my truck, I built a custom cabinet for them... my bet is now they make good versions of those that run on 12v.

 

Small fridge shouldn’t draw enough to kill batteries. Maybe after 2-3 days. Mine draws 500 watts through an inverter. It’s a small 1.7 cu ft. The larger ones don’t draw much more, maybe 650. I only have 3 batteries. Not a problem. Remember it’s not a constant draw. Compressor kicks on and off as needed. You could turn it way up, for a couple hrs. Then down below what’s normal before shutting Truck down. That would be a hassle, but keep it from running for a while maybe. Probably not worth the trouble.

 

I hear the 12v coolers work real well. That may be your best choice. Draws less power, easy to take home, instead of cleaning out the fridge. They’re pretty cheap.

 

Listen to this guy. He is right. You don’t need to idle to keep the batteries from dying with the fridge running. I have a fridge/freezer and a bunk heater that runs all night. I don’t wake up in middle the night to start the truck. It’s no big deal.

 

Dometic 65dz 12v fridge freezer.

best there is.

 

How many cubic ft is yours and do you remember where you got yours ?
I use a 12 volt cooler but been look for a good fridge like what you have

 

I have a 3.1 REAL fridge with a good size freezer. Even in the summer heat it can run about 40 hr and still start just fine...

Like this... BTW get the 4 year warrenty....
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/whirlp...ual-door-true-freezer/6419653.p?skuId=6419653

 

Dometic seems to have good quality reputation according to online reviews. But also found many customers' complains on Amazon about Dometic CFX# 45. Folks said compressor would stop and give "warning 33 - compressor start fail" . One customer said company agreed that is a problem but offered no solution other than put a sticker on it saying it's out of order.
Other customer complained about the loud noise coming from compressor and another said it's quiet... And another customer said it didn't work with 12v...
How long have you had your Dometic? Do you have it plugged on the 12v socket? Do you have an APU? Thx.

 

Best thing to do is turn off the truck for 12 hours or so and see if it starts in the morning. Do it at home so you can jumpstart the truck if needed, or if on the road do it at a Loves with a shop. They will jumpstart you for free if you're in their lot, but you will have to wait for a tech to be available.


For what it's worth, I have an 84qt portable (can use household power or a 12volt outlet) chest freezer plugged into a 3000watt inverter and a cabinet mini fridge in my truck and was still able to start the truck after it was off for 36 hours with daytime highs in the 60s, but it struggled. Also still had everything else plugged in taking some power (TV, microwave, GPS, etc).