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12V fridge in Pickup truck bed

CanyonTravelers
CanyonTravelers Member Posts: 40
in Air Conditioning & Refrigeration
I have been looking at the ARB and Dometic 12V fridges.  

I have a pickup truck with a bed cover, just wondering if the 12v fridge would have a problem cooling properly with the bed cover closed?  I know it gets warm in the bed especially in the summer.  Does anyone have any experiences traveling with your fridge in a covered pickup bed?

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Comments

  • Sharon_is_SAM
    Sharon_is_SAM Member Posts: 10,061
    Ours is in our clamshell galley.  So far, so good.  We monitored temperatures last summer and it stayed cool on the road and at camp.  We only have a vent just under the mounted slide.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Verna
    Verna Member Posts: 6,876
    I keep my 50 qt. ARB in the back seat of my truck. I have seen the sensor in my truck register over 100* this winter, and the ARB was still between 29* to 31*. In over 4 years I have not seen the ambiant temperature bother my ARB. 
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • jkjenn
    jkjenn Member Posts: 6,417
    The overland and off road communities do this often. I would think you would be ok.

    2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014

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  • Amazonica
    Amazonica Member Posts: 151
    I just got a pickup truck with no power outlet in the bed. I have an ARB Fridge/Freezer that I'd like to store there once I get my locking cover. I crate my girl (fur baby) and her crate takes up a large portion of the backseat area. I can *squeeze* the fridge back there too, but it's not ideal.

    I too think the ARB fridge will be fine in a covered truck bed. I've had it for many thousand miles in Wranglers that have gone roofless and in all kinds of weather and offroad conditions. Those fridges are made to suffer. 

    Has anyone added a power outlet to a truck bed?
    2020 T@B 400 BD w/Solar, Microwave and Closet
    Towed by 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel 5.7L Hemi 4x4 Crew Cab
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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    See if the truck dealer you got the Ram truck from can do this for you, this way you keep your new truck warranty in tact. Many pickup trucks have this as a option.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • Cbusguy
    Cbusguy Member Posts: 771
    How long with the ARB run on your truck battery when the truck is not running before depleting it to the point of no start?

    I have done this a couple of times to my truck with a generic amazon fridge.    wondering if the ARB is more efficient.
    2009 GMC Canyon,   3.7 liter 
    2020 320s Boondock lite, With Lots of mods
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  • Amazonica
    Amazonica Member Posts: 151
    I just got the truck 5 days ago, and I've driven it everyday so I don't yet have a good feel for it. When I had the Wrangler, 5 days tops with no driving, and in "0dF" "Freezer" mode. Less if the weather is close to or below freezing. I have the option to see my battery charge in the dash, and keep an eye on it daily. Much below 12V is danger territory. If you start your vehicle, or drive it, it *should* be ok, depending upon the state of your battery. 
    2020 T@B 400 BD w/Solar, Microwave and Closet
    Towed by 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel 5.7L Hemi 4x4 Crew Cab
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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    edited March 2020
    I think you want to keep the truck battery at 12VDC or higher, it’s a starting battery not a RV deep cycle battery.  You might consider putting a RV Deep Cycle in the truck to run the ARB.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • Verna
    Verna Member Posts: 6,876
    @Amazonica, if you read the ARB manual, you can set the ARB so that it will shut down before it drains your tow vehicle’s battery. It’s an important feature to use.
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • Amazonica
    Amazonica Member Posts: 151
    Yes, mine now is set to spare the vehicle battery. Only took running it down once and having to ask for a jump.  :|
    2020 T@B 400 BD w/Solar, Microwave and Closet
    Towed by 2019 Ram 1500 Rebel 5.7L Hemi 4x4 Crew Cab
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  • ChanW
    ChanW Member Posts: 3,165
    edited March 2020
    I used a marine-quality 12V outlet for outdoor power, on the outside of the Tab. It came with a weatherproof cover.

    Do a search. It'll probably come up in Amazon or eTrailer.
    Amazonica said:
    I just got a pickup truck with no power outlet in the bed. I have an ARB Fridge/Freezer that I'd like to store there once I get my locking cover. I crate my girl (fur baby) and her crate takes up a large portion of the backseat area. I can *squeeze* the fridge back there too, but it's not ideal.

    I too think the ARB fridge will be fine in a covered truck bed. I've had it for many thousand miles in Wranglers that have gone roofless and in all kinds of weather and offroad conditions. Those fridges are made to suffer. 

    Has anyone added a power outlet to a truck bed?

    Chan  -  near Buffalo NY
    2014 S Maxx
    2011 Tacoma 4cyl ... edit: 2022 Tacoma 6cyl - oh yeah! 

     A_Little_T@b'll_Do_Ya
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  • jkjenn
    jkjenn Member Posts: 6,417
    ARB sells a very beefy, 12v outlet that I would recommend. 

    2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014

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  • JohnDanielsCPA
    JohnDanielsCPA Member Posts: 238
    I had a ARB wiring harness hooked up directly to my battery running to the rear of my Jeep Wrangler and ran the ARB for days with no problem.  I have since acquired an F150 and, after much convincing, had Ford install an ARB wiring harness (again directly to the battery) running to the truck bed.  I haven’t used it yet, but don’t see a problem as the run length of the wire is about the same in the truck as it was in the Jeep.  I will say I had to do a lot of talking and explaining with Ford, as they did not want to attach the ARB wiring harness to the existing Ford harness; (some problem with the computer getting confused I guess).  But they were okay hooking it up directly to the battery.  I don’t expect the truck bed to get any hotter than the back of the Jeep was.  As warm (hot) as the Jeep got, the ARB always kept a consistent temperature.
    2022 T@B 400 BD
    2019 Ford F-150 3.5L Ecoboost with Long Bed
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  • bellimages
    bellimages Member Posts: 31
    Okay ..... I just checked the price of ARB units on Amazon. I was shocked for a few seconds, then realized that these things are beasts - made to last. One question - if I use it in my truck, thus running it off the truck's battery, how long before I would need to recharge the truck battery?
    2018 Tab 400
    Nissan Frontier PRO-4X (4.6 liter automatic)
    Roof mounted solar panels
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  • Verna
    Verna Member Posts: 6,876
    edited March 2020
    Knock on wood <knock, knock>... my 50 qt ARB will be 8 yrs old. It ran constantly for about 26 months over the past two + years, plus all of the other seasonal in the previous 6 years. 

    There is an adjustable setting on the ARB that tells it to shut off when your tow vehicle’s battery gets to a certain level. You will be to start your tow vehicle. 
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • chpiv
    chpiv Member Posts: 20
    I also have an ARB 50 Quart which went from California to the tip of Florida and back in December 2019 and January 2020.  No issues what so ever.  We used it as a freezer and it never drained my battery in the truck and kept the temperature set.  The Blue Tooth is a great feature as it states if you are on 12 volts or 110 volts, the temperature and if it has turned off due to low battery voltage.  
    I have the ARB wiring harness from my Toyota Tacoma wired to the one storage compartment on the passenger side/rear of the bed.   I also ran a 110 volt plug to the same spot so I can run 12 volt or 110 volt when available.  The ARB will default to 110 volts when plugged in to 110 volts.
    Since the trip I have added a switch to the 12 volt side which now allows me to choose truck battery or my T@B 320 Outback battery (which is now two Trojan deep cycle batteries).  This modification required two holes to be drilled in my rear bumper right of the license plate to have a 110 volt male receptacle as well as a 12 volt SAE plug.  Both are black and look very good installed.  The 12 volt ARB receptacle is in the aforementioned storage area as are is the 110 volt female outlet end and the three way switch.  When the ARB is not in use the storage compartment lid covers up the ARB 12 volt outlet, the 110 volt plug and the switch.
    It all works great and we are planning a trip from California to Washington State in June provided the RV parks remain open and CORVID-19 is somewhat contained.  I am in an age group which is supposed to stay home.
    2015 Little Guy T@B Outback
    2017 Toyota Tacoma Offroad
    Bishop, CA
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  • Blueespy
    Blueespy Member Posts: 265
    We have an ARB 50qt and on a three month trip from FL to AK and back it was in the back of our Jeep Grand Cherokee running off DC power from the Jeep.  When parked, we ran an extension cord to it from our camper switching it to AC power.  Since then we've acquire a Lithium solar battery case (about the size of a briefcase with a built in solar panel) and a F150.  The ARB is plugged into this case via it's DC cable.  The Lithium is plugged into an AC port in our Ford F150.  When we stop for the evening the ARB continues to run off the Lithium while the Lithium goes dormant because the truck is off.  We have powered the ARB for 28-hrs from the Lithium.  We suspect we could extend this much longer by having the ARB at temp before switching to battery and adding another 100watt solar panel to increase the charging capacity.  In the F150 the ARB sits behind the passenger seat with the small portion of the rear seat folded.  We would like to move the ARB to the truck bed but we don't have a truck cover or a way to secure the lid of the ARB.  Can't use a cover as we carry two Ebikes in the truck bed as well.  If anyone has an idea on how to secure the ARB lid and thoughts on how the unit would work in the bed if we were caught in a rain storm, we would be happy to hear them. 
    2025 Haven 220
    2020 Ford F-150 XLT (V-8)
    Niceville, Florida
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  • 4ncar
    4ncar Member Posts: 1,072
    I have an IndelB.  I only plug it into the truck during transport.  I have installed a "remote" 12 volt socket just inside the "basement" door of my 320S.  I use this outlet(connected to Tab battery) when in camp.  If I have shore power, then connected to 120V outlet next to basement door...
    TV- '16 Chevy Colorado LT Crew Cab-DuraMax
    2018 320S Outback
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