Truck Fridge Portable Fridge

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Ronin, I went with the 41 due to height issues. It works for us, but I also have the 3 way that we use.
5 nights on the ferry last year no sun on the solar and the fridge ran the whole time on the battery,
no problem.
They are great .Also had mine since early 2012.
Frank

 

[Ronin]

Ronin, I went with the 41 due to height issues. It works for us, but I also have the 3 way that we use.
5 nights on the ferry last year no sun on the solar and the fridge ran the whole time on the battery,
no problem.
They are great .Also had mine since early 2012.
Frank

Good to know about the current draw. I went with the same MR127 battery you recommended and so far it's been great.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Good to know about the current draw. I went with the same MR127 battery you recommended and so far it's been great.

Nice to hear that battery is doing well for you.
Question,did we meet at the campground in Ft. Bragg?
Frank

 

[ski3pin]

If you are curious about power usage of this fridge -

TruckFridge Test Results

 

[Ronin]

Nice to hear that battery is doing well for you.
Question,did we meet at the campground in Ft. Bragg?
Frank

No- wasn't me. I was at Grizzly Creek, Prairie Creek, and Smith River 3/2-4. Pinnacles last week. I'm sure we'll meet someday!
Paul

 

[Ronin]

If you are curious about power usage of this fridge -

TruckFridge Test Results

Fantastic info - based on your results I could probably run my TF51 for 5 days as long as it's not crazy hot. I'll plan on setting the temp to 32 degrees right from the start. Your tests are a great resource - thanks for sharing. BTW - do you have to remove the entire reflectix cover to open the lid?

 

[ski3pin]

<snip>
BTW - do you have to remove the entire reflectix cover to open the lid?

The reflectix cover was in our first camper. It was constructed with a cover that opened with the lid.

 

[craig333]

The TF-51 was a perfect in the space my ice box vacated.

 

[Ronin]

That's good to know. Did you use the existing 12V wiring to wire up the cigarette lighter receptacle needed to plug in the TF-51? I plan on making a slider and will probably buy the Truckfridge floor mount bracket to secure it to the slider. I'm interested in how you set yours up. Haven't figured out how to keep the slider from sliding open yet - maybe just attach some kind of strap to the sides of the cabinet? I'm open to any idea's.

 

[Squatch]

Do yourself a favor and ditch the lighter plug for a real 12 connector.

 

[drumwood]

Do yourself a favor and ditch the lighter plug for a real 12 connector.

Squatch, what kind of connector do you use? Did you find a second cord for your Truckfridge and put the connector on that? I'd like to keep a cord with the cigarette lighter connector so I can use it in other vehicles.

 

[Ronin]

Do yourself a favor and ditch the lighter plug for a real 12 connector.

What kind of connector do you use? Basic trailer connector or something more elaborate? I had spoken to a tech at Truckfridge about this and he said he wasn't allowed to recommend anything other than using the lighter plug connection. Probably for legal reasons!?

 

[PaulT]

Check out this source for DC power possibilities. DC Power Products | Powerwerx

These are the Anderson PowerPoles in 15 amp and up. One adapter is a cigarette lighter style plug with PowerPoles in the other end. That would allow you to use your Truckfridge in other vehicles if you put powerpoles on the Truckfridge end.

Hams nationwide have standardized on the powerpoles to allow them to go anywhere and plug their equipment into 12v DC power. On my equipment that comes with a DC cable and non powerpole connectors, I simply cut the power cord in a convenient location, install powerpoles on both cut ends and now my equipment can be used with the original power cord or plugged into the standard. In effect, I create a custom adapter from the original power cord.

The powerpole plastic housings come in colors other than just red & black and can be pressfit together into custom polarized bundles that are incapable of being plugged in incorrectly.

If you go this route & plan to build your own cables, consider getting one of the ratcheting crimpers. They don't distort the crimped end so that the terminals snap easily into the plastic housings.
These guys also sell similar or same tools or parts. Anderson Powerpole, DC Power, Wire & Cable, Two-Way Radios | Powerwerx

Paul

 

[Squatch]

Yes I bought a 2nd 12v power cord. I cut the end off and used a way bigger than needed Anderson power plug connector. I used the 50 amp just because I had them in stock and only needed to buy a couple of reducing sleeves for 16 gauge to crimp it on.

Same deal I wanted to keep a 2nd cable for using the fridge in other vehicles if I wanted.
In my initial tests I had to use the 2nd 12v cutoff setting on the fridge instead of the 1st one when I used the lighter plug. The lighter plug works fine but there is just enough voltage drop at the startup surge that the fridge would go into error mode on the higher voltage setting.

I ran a heavy 8 gauge duplex marine cable to both the inside and outside of the camper at the front. This is from the battery through a breaker. It powers the fridge inside but can be used for anything I need to power such as temp use for my compressor. Overkill for the fridge but voltage drop is not a concern.





I bought my power pole connectors from Powerwerx.

More fridge pics added here.
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/12441-rice-build-thread/page-7#entry167510

 

[Ronin]

Yes I bought a 2nd 12v power cord. I cut the end off and used a way bigger than needed Anderson power plug connector. I used the 50 amp just because I had them in stock and only needed to buy a couple of reducing sleeves for 16 gauge to crimp it on.

Same deal I wanted to keep a 2nd cable for using the fridge in other vehicles if I wanted.
In my initial tests I had to use the 2nd 12v cutoff setting on the fridge instead of the 1st one when I used the lighter plug. The lighter plug works fine but there is just enough voltage drop at the startup surge that the fridge would go into error mode on the higher voltage setting.

I ran a heavy 8 gauge duplex marine cable to both the inside and outside of the camper at the front. This is from the battery through a breaker. It powers the fridge inside but can be used for anything I need to power such as temp use for my compressor. Overkill for the fridge but voltage drop is not a concern.





I bought my power pole connectors from Powerwerx.

Squatch,

Will I be ok using the Powerwerx 15A cigarette lighter socket and connecting to the existing (3way frig) wires with an Anderson powerpole connector? I haven't pulled the 3way frig yet and won't be getting the TF51 for a couple of weeks, so I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to need to get things started. Looking at your photo it looks like you eliminated the cigarette lighter plug from the TF51and wired to power source using power pole connectors. Is that correct? Really appreciate your help on this!!

 

[Squatch]

That's correct. I just cut off the lighter connector and crimped on a power pole. When you get your fridge call Truckfridge and buy an extra 12 volt cord. One for the new power pole and one with lighter plug for other uses.

As for in your rig I'd pass on the new lighter socket and just put a power pole on the factory wiring. I'm "assuming" that since the 3 way uses a heater in 12 volt that the wiring and fuse/breaker are more than enough for the Truckfridge. I think the worst draw you would ever possibly see is a little over 5 amps in the max setting from the truck fridge. I'm betting the 3 way draws much more in 12 volt mode. But don't know for sure.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Realistically you could probably just cut the end off the the Truck Fridge power cord and splice it to the factory wiring. Solder and heat shrink or good crimp connectors. You don't really need the extra connector as the power cords just plug into the fridge like a power cord for your PC.

I don't know where you camp. But if you frequent campgrounds with 110 AC shore power it makes sense to run the fridge off that when parked. But you have to access the rear (hinge side) of the truck fridge because the 12 volt power cord has to be unplugged from the fridge to plug in the AC cord.

Hinge side of lid, Controls on top, power ports on the bottom near the compressor.

 

[Ronin]

That's correct. I just cut off the lighter connector and crimped on a power pole. When you get your fridge call Truckfridge and buy an extra 12 volt cord. One for the new power pole and one with lighter plug for other uses.

As for in your rig I'd pass on the new lighter socket and just put a power pole on the factory wiring. I'm "assuming" that since the 3 way uses a heater in 12 volt that the wiring and fuse/breaker are more than enough for the Truckfridge. I think the worst draw you would ever possibly see is a little over 5 amps in the max setting from the truck fridge. I'm betting the 3 way draws much more in 12 volt mode. But don't know for sure.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Realistically you could probably just cut the end off the the Truck Fridge power cord and splice it to the factory wiring. Solder and heat shrink or good crimp connectors. You don't really need the extra connector as the power cords just plug into the fridge like a power cord for your PC.

I don't know where you camp. But if you frequent campgrounds with 110 AC shore power it makes sense to run the fridge off that when parked. But you have to access the rear (hinge side) of the truck fridge because the 12 volt power cord has to be unplugged from the fridge to plug in the AC cord.

Hinge side of lid, Controls on top, power ports on the bottom near the compressor.

Thanks for walking me through this. I should have good access to the back of the fridge when I pull it out on the slider or through the side door/vent on the outside. I'm thinking I shouldn't cut the TF51 power cord right away just so I don't have any warranty issues.

 

[Squatch]

It's just a cord. Buy a 2nd one for cutting. That's what I did. As long as you get the polarity right you should be good. As far as warranty how would they know if you hard wired it or just plugged into a lighter?

 

[Ronin]

It's just a cord. Buy a 2nd one for cutting. That's what I did. As long as you get the polarity right you should be good. As far as warranty how would they know if you hard wired it or just plugged into a lighter?

Thanks again!

 

[ski3pin]

The truckfridge TF51 is both 120Ac and 12V DC. 120AC is the priority when present. We have the DC cord hard wired to its own circuit in the 12V fuse block. We have the 120AC cord wired into it own circuit breaker in the small 120AC box. For pretrip cool down we plug the camper into a wall socket in the garage, turn on the fridge, and pack the truck and camper for the trip. If you don't have 120AC in the camper, you can run a cord out the camper door.