traveling with fridge on

Mae

OK, maybe this is a no brainer but I have read thru many threads and I still am not sure correct process to keep fridge cold while traveling.  I have 2016 GMC Canyon for TV and 2017 Outback. I do have the battery disconnect switch on while driving for obvious reasons and My trailer battery does charge while traveling with all of Trailer appliances off. HOWEVER, this is only first year that I decided to have the Norcold three way fridge running on 12v while driving ( chilled the unit over night before leaving). Arrived at destination 7 hours later and the Trailer battery was DEAD and fridge warm.  Does the converter have to have all breakers turned in the on position as well.  I have heard yes and no.  If converter is not required then does anyone have Input for resolution. This  would be helpful as I am planning a 4 week trip in few months.

lkc001

This is a common problem with the battery.  I travel with my fridge off.   I pre-cool a few days before on shore power.  The day I leave I put in a few frozen water bottles along with a 1/2 gallon plastic jug frozen in the door.  I have all of my meat frozen and pack it close to and directly under the fins.  I also have one of those small fridge fans that I turn on & put in the center of the fridge.  It helps circulate the cold air evenly.  I can drive a long time and it is still in the safe food zone when I arrive.  Then I turn on the fridge to electric if I have hookups or propane.   I never run the fridge off the battery for exactly the reason you found--it will drain your battery fast and it can also drain your vehicle battery.  I know that some people do have larger house batteries on their trailer and some do not have trouble running off battery, but I do not do that.  I came back from a 4 day trip where it got to 90 during the day and I still had frozen water bottles in my fridge when I got home.   The fridge makes a pretty decent cooler on it's own if stocked with frozen bottles & frozen food.  Hopefully others will post and give you info on what they do.

ScottG

The 12V power from your battery and/or tow vehicle must pass through the 12V fuse panel in the converter box in order to get to the fridge. However, neither the AC circuits (which the breakers control) or the converter itself (which changes 120V AC to 12V DC) are involved when running the fridge on DC.

Possible culprits include:

• Blown blade fuse in the 12V fuse panel.
• Blown glass fuse on the top of the fridge (under the stove).
• Blown fuse on the tow vehicles 12V charge line.
• Inadequate power form the tow vehicle's 12V charge line.

The first three would explain the warm fridge, but not the dead battery.

The last is a common problem with the smart generators and sometimes inadequate wiring used in modern vehicles. The tow vehicle can't keep up with the high power demand from the fridge and the presumably the T@B battery makes up the difference. There are quite a few discussions here on the forum that offer insights and tips for managing (or attempting to manage) this.

I'm a little suspicious that the battery completely died. There might be something else going on but this will give you a place to start.

Sharon_is_SAM

Hi @Mae, your converter only comes into play when you are hooked to shore power as it "converts" 120V ac to 12V dc (battery).  Can you explain what you mean by having the breakers turned on?  You do not need to do anything with your breakers in the converter box, just turn off everything inside the TaB, disconnect from shore power and they turn on your battery switch to tow.  

It is very possible that not enough voltage is getting back to your frig (I think it draws 10 + amps an hour on dc) and it just drew down your battery.  In addition to lkc001 response above, there are other things you can do to improve the ability to run on dc:  increase the size of the charge wire coming from the TV battery to increase the delivered voltage to the TaB battery, turn off the frig at intervals during your trip and definitely when you stop for a break, considered running your frig off of an inverter, getting a bigger battery.  

Marceline

Are you sure that the 7-pin connector on your tow vehicle is correctly wired with a charge line from the vehicle’s electrical system?

SueBC

lkc001 mentioned it earlier and its what I'm planning to do on my trips. Pre-cool the fridge, freeze some water in milk jugs and keep fridge cold that way, stock with already cold drinks or some frozen food. I'm actually thinking of using a separate cooler for food and using the T@B fridge mainly for drinks (Beer fridge etc).- I have a 320 Boondock.

davel4wa

With your trailer connected, electrically at least, to your tow vehicle, measure the voltage at your trailer battery with your TV not running. With a fully charged battery and some minimal load on the battery the voltage should be in the range of 12.6VDC. Start your TV and recheck the voltage. It should be in the area of 14-15VDC. You may want another person to raise the TV RPM above idle to get a more accurate idea of what the charge line voltage is.