Adding an extra battery to the truck for electronics?

Im trying to add an extra battery to my semi truck so that I can watch TV and use refrigerator . Has anyone try it, or seen anyone that tried it? If so please tell me the outcome.

 

I have 4 main truck batteries plus added a deep cycle rv battery to run off of when the truck is #### down. Added an isolator so if I kill the deep cycle, I can still start the truck. Working well so far.

 

What do you run on the rv battery and what type do you have?

 

I didn't put a really big one in. Has been ok for the few things I run. If I had a big inverter I'd probably get the biggest deep cycle available.

 

Examples of the few things that you run?

 

Can you explain deep cycle. Do u run a fridge on it?

 

Deep cycle just means you can discharge it a lot farther and recharge it again over and over without damaging it. If you do that to a regular battery, it will quit on you pretty fast. So as far as a fridge is concerned, you could run it on either type of battery. But a deep cycle will stand up to being discharged down to what would be technically considered "dead", and recharged and wouldn't break a sweat. Do that to a regular battery a few times, and it will go bad quick.

 

12 volt cooler, fan, bunk heater and charge my phone off of it. I don't have anything too big, but just wanted to make sure I didn't kill my truck batteries in the process.

 

A deep cycle battery is a good idea because you don't have to worry about how much electricity you use from it.

But the refrigerator uses a very small amount of electricity. And the TV also uses a very small amount.

The refrigerator itself from what I understand is okay on your batteries unless you're going to park for more than 2 days at a time. So if you're going to park like three four or five days then you probably should plug into Shore power.

Overnight the fridge and the TV I don't think uses very much out of your batteries but again the deep cycle is a good idea.

The things you can't run or shouldn't run unless your truck is actually running are the high wattage items like microwave toaster oven space heater that kind of a thing. That will kill your batteries.

 

Depends on the time of year.

A fridge in the summer will kill the batteries when the truck isn't being used. If you plan on storing food.

Trucks get hot sitting in the sun.