truck fridge

I have the Arb fridge cooler with 50 liter.wort every penny look here www.ok4wd.com free shipping

 

My fridge w/freezer last me like 6 years or more in my truck. I go to Home Depot for mine. I have it mounted on a 5/8 piece of plywood with 2 ratching straps (the small orange type from Home Depot) attached to screw eyes in the plywood, and this is a must if you want your fridge to last..I use a mattress type cushion underneath that plywood as it absorbs all the bounce we get over the roads. Fridge still run when I get a new one just little noiser after 6 years.....but really mine up to that point isn't loud at all. I have a mid size fridge with a small freezer compartment I put my chicken, hamburg, etc in. The fridge I buy is like $125.00 plus tax. They more than pay for themselves. Oh when my fridge starts up it uses like 180 watts for 1 to 2 seconds, than drops to 100 watts for like 5 seconds than runs at like 30 watts for 3 minutes/at appx 5 times per hr. in warm weather, less in cool weather. Ive had this setup for a longtime, can run a longtime without draining my batteries , never had a problem with it draining my batteries, just unplug it on my hometime, use a surge suppression strip, and keep it plugged into that. I make sure I keep like 3 inches in back for air flow of any hear from compressor, runs like a champ. Long post but just wanted to share for those wondering. Usually what kills fridges is when a driver doesn't use any shock absorbion as I mentioned above. Mine is 120 volt like my other appliances, our trucks have 1500 watt inverters. Oh by the way I'm a great cook. Cya on down da road

 

I've seen them at some TA/Petros, but the only one I specifically remember, besides Iowa80 was the Petro in Rochelle, IL. It is generic size, and won't fit everywhere. But it was there, and it was reasonably priced.

 

I use a regular fridge as well.
Runs great off of a 1500 or 2500 inverter.
Most fridges, they call studio size can be purchased between 85 and 125.
If you're running solo, remove the passage seat and set it there. Otherwise like the others have said, mount a 5/8" piece of plywood over one of the cabinets in the sleeper and strap it down.
My previous fridge was a Haier from Walmart for 95. It lasted almost 5 years.
The one I have now is a Frigidaire. Slightly bigger, with a bigger freezer, and it's been in the truck for about 3 years.

 

They're worth it and their customer service is good. In my experience anyway.

 

This...

The "coolers" use a heat transfer chip technology that can only change the temp (either direction, from hot to cold or cold to hot) by about 20-30 degrees difference from the ambient temperature.

You can improve the effectiveness of the unit considerably if your willing to do some creative duct work. Go to your local home center and get a section of flexible dryer vent hose. Locate a high velocity 4" computer fan (they are 12 volt) make yourself an "adapter" to fit the fan over 1 of your dash air conditioning vents and another "adapter" to fit the fan to the dryer duct. Run the flexible hose to the fan grill on your 12 volt cooler. Make sure you do not have any sharp bends in your hose and that you have good airflow from the discharge end. You'll be absolutely amazed at how much colder your cooler gets inside!

Yes, it's some effort and requires 100% "creative engineering" but as long as your truck A/C is working this trick gives excellent results.

On the other hand, if you don't mind spending the $ the people at the link above have actual refrigerators that run on 12 volts and don't need an (inefficient) inverter to work.

Hope this helps.. And if anyone tries the duct trick above, please report back to us and let us know how it worked for you..

 

one advantage the cooler-type fridges have over the built-ins, cooler types can be moved truck to truck for those times when you get a replacement truck during truck repairs. I would get the TruckFridge 50 quart. It's expensive but is bigger than Coleman/Koolatron 40 qt & it gets much colder.

 

I guess I should mention the Engal brand of 12 volt refrigerators. These things are NOT cheap. They are used by those people who go on worldwide expeditions, organ transplant teams and other mission critical type stuff.

They have many size options, both portable and built in types. The refrigerators can also function as a freezer if you adjust the setting low enough. Some have 2 compartments for fridge/freezer combined use. I THINK they have some that are switchable from 12 volt to 120 volt.

https://www.engelcoolers.com/12volt-fridge-freezers.html

 

Engel is another fantastic option.

As with truck fridge, I'd rather buy 1 $1000 fridge that lasts forever than junk that gives out every few months and doesn't even work good when new.

 

For what it's worth- i purchased 2 of the 2600 models from Truckfridge.1,200.00$ each.2 yr warranty n heavy duty 12 volt compressor.Neither one has missed a lick --yet!I like the drain tube function instead of a pan + they say the 12v compressor is made to rock n roll-whereas a domestic compressor is not(could be sales pitch).
I do have a domestic fridge/freezer in the motorhome,got it at wal mart-no problem w/that going down the road,yet,i do notice it sucks up the juice when the compressor kicks on.
The 2 tuckfridge's are 4 yrs old and still quiet!!!
It's nice having 8-10 days worth of food.