BillTheHiker
Senior Member
Last summer I could not find block ice a lot of places, especially my annual trip to Maine, so will bite the bullet and get a refer.
If I install a compressor type refer in the crew cab, what are good options to power it?
I have a FWC Fleet shell on a 2008 Tacoma that I customized with no good place in the camper for the refer, and I actually prefer to have it in the truck cab anyway. I do not want screw holes in the roof for mounting solar panels, but am open to getting a portable solar system wired to the built-in solar plug in the back of the camper if I find that necessary.
I plan to first install the refer and monitor the battery and amp usage. The camper came with one 75 AH AGM and has the battery isolator provided by FWC. Since the house battery is now almost 2 years old, I am open to getting two new ones and size would be based on my power consumption tests. The only thing I have now that uses the house battery is the overhead LED lights and porch light and I do not use them much.
I have read reports where the refer is in the back seat of the truck and wired to the DC outlet on the dashboard to run it off the engine battery. But when the engine is not running I need it wired to the house battery(ies), so should I just use that all the time since the house batteries are charged by the engine when it is running.
I have read most, if not all, the threads on WTW related to running a refer and the reports on amp usage vary widely, from 15 to almost 50 AH per day. At 15, I might not need solar at all if I get two 100 AH batteries as I typically do a lot of driving at least every 2-3 days.
If I install a compressor type refer in the crew cab, what are good options to power it?
I have a FWC Fleet shell on a 2008 Tacoma that I customized with no good place in the camper for the refer, and I actually prefer to have it in the truck cab anyway. I do not want screw holes in the roof for mounting solar panels, but am open to getting a portable solar system wired to the built-in solar plug in the back of the camper if I find that necessary.
I plan to first install the refer and monitor the battery and amp usage. The camper came with one 75 AH AGM and has the battery isolator provided by FWC. Since the house battery is now almost 2 years old, I am open to getting two new ones and size would be based on my power consumption tests. The only thing I have now that uses the house battery is the overhead LED lights and porch light and I do not use them much.
I have read reports where the refer is in the back seat of the truck and wired to the DC outlet on the dashboard to run it off the engine battery. But when the engine is not running I need it wired to the house battery(ies), so should I just use that all the time since the house batteries are charged by the engine when it is running.
I have read most, if not all, the threads on WTW related to running a refer and the reports on amp usage vary widely, from 15 to almost 50 AH per day. At 15, I might not need solar at all if I get two 100 AH batteries as I typically do a lot of driving at least every 2-3 days.