Best Of
Re: Storage cover for T@B 400 BD.
We have the All Pro Camper Cover on our 2023 TAB400. It fits better than I thought it would - nice shape and the over hang for the tie down straps is effective so we can extend/tighten them up. The fabric is robust - our Michigan winter weather/wind has no effect on it. Excellent product.
Re: Norcold works with shore power but not propane
The only thing I would add is that the trailer needs to be close to level and the 3-way doesn't like wind blowing into the lower vent on the pilot light. For example,opening the door over the vent can shield it.
Re: Replacing Batteries on my 2022 Tab 400
Those appear to be perfectly fine battery replacements for your dual 6V setup. They appear to be mentioned in this thread, also.
There are different 225 amp hour AGMs that have been mentioned in various threads, also. Vmax Tanks are listed in this thread.
You will also note in the first thread: there are many 400 owners who have changed those almost 140 pounds of AGM batteries for a single 230 amp hour lithium battery. Many such batteries will simply drop in: the LiTime 230 amp hour batteries are well reviewed, etc.
A 230 amp hour lithium will increase your usable battery amp hours from about 120 to more than 200. And, be less expensive.
Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
"Require" is hopefully not what you meant. You can justify your personal desire to continue using a 3-way fridge, but stating that it takes nearly 400W of solar to dry camp is at best, an exaggeration. With moderate amounts of sun, we find our batteries are charged by the end of the day using a 200W suitcase. Under these conditions, we can stay out indefinitely using our 12V fridge, television, radio, lights and recharging other devices.Cherokee said:I stay out for days at a time with only 95 watts of solar. While those with electric refrigerators require 4 times as much solar.
AI disagrees also
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Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
You stated you go by the experience of people who actually Boondock. Here ya go. My 12V fridge draws 2.5A when the compressors running which is maybe 60% of the time when it's warm. Less at night. That's ~1.5Amps/hour. I can go for 4 or 5 days with absolutely no recharging at all. When towing, my TV supplies 8 amps, more than enough to charge batteries and run the fridge at the same time. Propane's old technology even for boondocking.Cherokee said:SLJ said:Cherokee said:
I go by the experience of people who actually Boondock their T@B. This is someone actually Booondocking with an electric refrigerator : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OujY7L7a1vA
Good for you - All I said was that it took more battery storage and more solar to keep a 2-way going while Boondocking. Your statement collaborates with that fact. We tend to go to the mountains in summer and the desert in winter. So we don't often reach extremums you site. You may not miss sparky, but I'd bet you do miss that lovely wood ceiling.
Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
Most all the 2 way fridges use roughly the same amount of power, anywhere from 25-40 amp hours a day. I have a small portable Alpicool fridge that uses...45 watts when running, and since it is fairly small, it works out to about the 24-30 amp hours a day. My last two trips out, I've been running that fridge using a small 50 amp hour battery. Early in the summer, using a 100 watt panel, there were no issues at all keeping the 50 amp hour lithium charged and the fridge running.
I recently upgraded that 2014 100 watt panel to a 200 watt suitcase, and just came back from 7 days in the desert, and the increased solar input had my 50 amp hour battery and my 100 amp hour trailer battery back to a full charge easily each day.
We have known for a long while about the real limitations of the 2 way fridge: the "stock" 80 amp hour batteries installed in 320s several years ago were simply inadequate. (This is where you would need 400 watts of portable solar!) On top of the "too small battery" the problem is the solar "on the roof". As cool as "solar on the roof" is, there is no substitute when the trailer is parked for having a portable solar panel that can be optimized for solar charging. 200 watts would appear to be the sweet spot for a 100 amp hour lithium battery with a 2 way fridge.
I have struggled a bit with my 3 way fridge on propane the last two years: I can make it work, then it doesn't, then...it still doesn't. I will take it out, change to a 2 way fridge, and never regret it.
Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
This isn't true. A lot of modern "smart" alternators will not output 10a to the charge line. This is probably the reason that @IrishSettler is having issues.Cherokee said:NO we tow with the propane turned off for safety reasons. Most modern trucks produce enough power from their alternators to easily power the 3-way in our T@B while driving
Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
We boondock. That's pretty much all we do. We have the same T@B as the video. We've have had propane fridges for many years. For the past three years w/two 100ah lithium batteries and a 200w portable panel we are able to go indefinitely with our 12 volt fridge. Last year with ten straight days of rain and total cloud cover the lowest our Lithium batteries ever went down to was 48%. My 12 volt fridge goes down to the high 30's in about an hour at start up and is able to stay below 40 even in high heat. None of my propane fridges would do that. Those that think propane is the only way to boondock have most likely never used a 12v fridge with a solar set up. I never have to worry about propane level or battery level anymore. We're never going back to propane.Cherokee said:
I go by the experience of people who actually Boondock their T@B. This is someone actually Booondocking with an electric refrigerator : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OujY7L7a1vA
Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
Interesting video, but I would take a lot of its information with a grain of salt. Camping in a T@B is a continuing learning experience for all of us.Cherokee said:
I go by the experience of people who actually Boondock their T@B. This is someone actually Booondocking with an electric refrigerator : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OujY7L7a1vA
My takeaway concerning solar is that they have a single AGM battery. That would probably be a 75Ah or 100AH battery, of which only half is often considered usable. Regardless of their solar setup, they don't have enough battery capacity to store the energy that they take in during the day.
With the money they spent on their power station they could have doubled or even quadrupled their battery capacity with LiFePO4. The benefit being that they would not have the worry of spoiled food from monkeying with the temperature setting in their fridge. With our 12V compressor fridge we can set it to 37 degrees and forget it. No issues with variations due to outside temperature that come with an absorption fridge.
Re: Refrigerator powered by inverter while driving
Cherokee said:I go by the experience of people who actually Boondock their T@B. This is someone actually Booondocking with an electric refrigerator : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OujY7L7a1vA
Has it occurred to you that there are many people on this forum who *actually* have a lot of experience boondocking with a 2way fridge?
I've been boondocking with my T@B CS-S (2way fridge) since 2017. My current setup is 160w solar panel and 90aH LionEnergy LiFePO4 battery. Last summer I managed to keep the fridge running in 100+deg temps for 4 days and the battery was still half charged when I packed up.Of course the 2way fridge consumes more power (I budget 35-40aH per day for power consumption) than the 3way on propane mode. But when you're running the 2way fridge while traveling, it consumes much less power than the 3way fridge on DC power (constant 10amps - which is topic that launched this thread).