Finsty,
Congrats on your new purchase, Hope you have many happy camping years ahead.
Fridge:
Like "Wandering Sagebrush" I like the
"Engel" . Engel is a "2-way compressor" fridge made in Japan. Look at the MR040 because its"side opening".. Engel draws 2.5 amps on start up. Once it lowers temp to 30 degrees (20-25 minute process from 110* ambient temp) average draw 1.5 amps per hour..
The carpeted area above the wheel well is 15 inches deep. "MR040" dimensions are 14.5 " long x 10.5" deep x 14.4 " high I would locate it there off the floor, drivers side, against the drivers side wall. Engel offers a "bolt down tray" to keep it up there.
We have the MT35 which has been is service since 2013. It opens on the end. We keep it in the front just below the window. We do not have the roll-over couch so it fits there. If the "MR040" was available when we bought ours I would have purchased it
We installed a dedicated 12 volt "port". into the side of the wheel well storage cabinet. Wired (12 gauge) it with an in-line 10 amp fuse to the hot side of the push-pull master switch so its on regardless of switch position.
Vent
You don't state the year of your Eagle. Based on the "propane box, heater, (assumed aux battery) it probably a 2014-2016.
The good news is its wired for 12 volt to the fan. Contact Roy at Four Wheel for details: roy@fourwh.com
Solar
If your considering portable consider a
60 watt. small and light (12-15 pounds) stand a lone panel - $49.00 (solarblvd.com) Has good prices.. Stand-a-lone weighs a lot less that a suitcase model that can weigh 40-50 pounds.Not as thick they are easier to store.
Most "suitcase" models are 100 watt and have the controller built in. They are expensive- around $200. When eventually you decide to purchase a roof-top panel you will have to buy another controller..
Weight and size: The 60 watt panel is 10 pounds lighter than the 100 watt. It produces max output of 3.5 amps per hour. (100 watt - 5 amps). Engel fridge draws 1.5 amps per hour leaving 2 amps per hour to charge the batteries.
Camping in a shell will have you spending most of your time outside. You will only run the fan and lights a couple of hours per day.
Speaking of lights, sleeping front to back there are no lights near you head position. We added a "puck light" and a small portable Coleman battery powered lantern (4 D cells) that fits between our pillows - picture in our original post under misc
Panel extension cord:
We made up 50 feet of "12-2 wire" (Home Depot) we bought a spool of red and another black. Connected each end. Black taped the two colors together every 6 inches or so...then wound it on a plastic reel (Home Depot) for storage and deployment.
Our Eagle is mounted on a 2013 Tacoma extra-cab. We store it in the back seat area:
We made a bracket to support it when deployed out of half inch sprinkler tubing:
and a
"Morningstar SunSaver 20 amp controller"
Your system with the fan is pretty close to our basic system. The ten amp controller is more than enough for your basic system. If you buy the "Engel" and run the fridge, fan, and lights your only going to draw 5 amps.
Roof solar
Eventually you will discover (especially when you add a battery monitor like the Trimetric) when you park to sight see or hike. your battery may not be 100% full at days end when you reach your camp site. The top loader fridges are more efficient than front opening ones because cycle less(the cold doesn't "fall out" when the door is opened). Still they draw amperage. That is reason most of us now have roof panels.
If you add a roof solar panel you will need 150 watts because you will lose 40% of the output in winter camping. (can't aim the panel at the sun) . Review the post "portable solar vs. roof solar"
the 150 watt panel produces 9.1 amps on June 22nd (and 5.1 amps December 22nd) if the battery discharged to 70%. The 60 watt portable produces 3.5 amps as long as the panel is pointed at the sun. If you run the portable and the roof panel parallel at the same time the two units will produce 12.5 amps an hour. For the extra $20 you might as well install the 20 amp controller.
