Fridges?

Discussion in 'Swift' started by Jbrake1960, Dec 23, 2010.

  1. DickJones

    DickJones Road Train Member

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    wow....thanx for looking out for me. never thought i'd hear myself say that. =)
     
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  3. davenjeip

    davenjeip Medium Load Member

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    Port Charlotte, Fl
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    Does it sit low enough that you can see well out of the window and get a good view of the mirrors?

    Mine is on the floor next to my bunk. I can live with it, but it is really in the way and I miss having that space open. Only bonus is that I can easily reach it from the drivers seat to pull it to where I have easy access to what's inside.
     
  4. DickJones

    DickJones Road Train Member

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    while driving? and i'm given crap for taking a picture with my camera while driving.....oh the humanity.....
     
  5. twolane

    twolane Medium Load Member

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    "As far as actual fridges go....the only way to have one of those frat-fridges (or man-cave fridges) is to run it off a 1500-2000w inverter."

    This is not exactly correct!
    I've been running real refridgerators (office cube types) for years off of a 500 watt inverter. I've even left it on for 2 days and nights without running the truck and had no problem starting the truck. The beauty of a real fridge ...(1 with freon and compressor) is that it doesn't run all the time. Once it's down to temp. it cycles on/off. A 12v. "cooler" will drain the batterys long before a small inverter and fridge will. I cook in the truck for all of my meals except when I treet myself once in awhile in a resturant. I do run my microwave & toaster oven off of a seperate 1500 watt inverter or my onboard gen-set. The fridge and chargers for phone, comp. etc, all run off the 500. Hope this helps.

    Note-I only use the 1500 or genset when I'm parked. The 1500 is never left on unless I'm using it. Even just running the fridge, it will drain the batterys pretty quick.
    ALSO,,,a "lighter plug" connection even on a 500 watt won't work. Even the 500 needs to be wired to the batterys inorder to carry the start-load of the compressor in the fridge.
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2010
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  6. flood

    flood Road Train Member

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    go to lowes they have three that fit just pop the doors (4) off and take the shelf out of the passager side. this is what we had in are 780, the key part is how wide it is and this one will sit on the floor and slide right in...

    http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=sim&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
     
  7. ronin

    ronin Road Train Member

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    On the fridge/inverter thing, I don't keep huge quantities of milk or eggs or other things that would spoil.. just soda, water, myoplex, etc - so when I shut the truck down for a couple of days, I just turn the inverter OFF. saves all those "what if" scenarios.
     
  8. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

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    Anyone that buys cold groceries needs to idle all the time or have an APU.
    I have an APU/inverter which is the perfect set up. The Emerson fridge/freezer I have draws 120 watts on start up and drops to 50 watts cooling and it only comes on like twice and hour for a couple minutes. You'd be surprised how little a dorm fridge does use. I'll empty it out on hometime. Otherwise it's running 24/7. I never tried it, but I would think it would last all night with the truck off. Even the inverter has a low voltage shut down, so it won't drain your batteries to a no start condition.

    Pete 387's, the cabinets, each wall is a seperate piece. I took the door off and the panel behind the driver seat. The fridge fit in perfect and looks good. I have the microwave on top of it and a big bungee cord running from the back wall down to seat belt housing. Holds it perfect.

    Here's mine, $189, paid $149 on sale at Target...

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2010
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  9. DickJones

    DickJones Road Train Member

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    i like the mini-freezer in it. but looks too tall for my cabnet. I'm thinking of spending the $500 or so for the KW fridge just so i can run it off the existing wiring, and can control the power on/off from the bunk switch.
     
  10. twolane

    twolane Medium Load Member

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    Condo, please re-read my post above again! Trust me on this,,,you do not have to idle the truck overnight just to run a small inverter/fridge. After 48 hours even w/out running the truck, starting is not an issue. (I guess if your batterys were weak it could cause a problem but if they are good and strong, no sweat!)
    I sure as heck have no reason to lie to ya'll about this! I've been doing this for several years without a problem. Like I said, a BIG inverter or 12v. "cooler" will knock your batterys flat quick but a small inverter/fridge will not. Why? Beats me! I'm not an elektrisun.;)
     
  11. Fewe

    Fewe Light Load Member

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    Arlington, TN
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    I actually was an Electrician in a past life so I can explain it. Think of it in terms of idling a truck. If you start your truck once an hour and run it a high idle for 2 minutes then shut it off again it will burn less fuel over time than the same truck idling constantly. The power drain from the coolers is less than that of a true fridge when both are running but the fridge cycles on and off whereas the cooler runs constantly.

    It is why you see cordless tool batteries labeled in terms of A/h (amp hours). Amps over time= total draw.
     
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