Installing a fridge

So I picked up a SnoMaster TR42 fridge at Overland Expo West a few days ago. I folded the back seat down in my DCSB and seems to fit pretty well like that. I have it powered through one of the cigarette lighter sockets in the cab at the moment. But I'd like to move it to the bed of the truck since I have a cap. Has anyone else mounted their fridge in the bed of their truck? How did you tie it down and run power? I'm not looking to run a second battery yet. Open to suggestions!

 

Interesting idea, but it brings up the question, why do you need a fridge in your truck?

Also I would think it'd kill your battery and/or alternator.

 

Ice is a pain in the ass with having to replenish. And having my food floating in water from melted ice sucks too. The fridge has a safety shut off which can be set. This senses the level of the battery and will shut off before draining your battery. I'd rather have no fridge than a drained battery. It kept my items cold over a 3 day trip back east with no ice which was awesome.

 

I am putting a fridge and microwave in mine also.

 

I have one that I still put behind my seat in my access cab. It works well enough so far. I would put it in the bed, but would have to move it when two people sleep back there.

Take a look at what @Crom did a few posts down in the following link (the first page of his build thread that has all kinds of great ideas indexed for further reading):

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-getaway-croms-build-and-adventures.362772/

 

Whoah... that post has so much good info! L-Trac seems to be the way to go. I couldn't think of the name of that stuff. The solar setup he has is pretty sweet too. I wouldn't mind mounting solar to my cab roof rack somehow and make use of that space.

 

Glad it helped you out! Crom has amazingly useful and detailed posts. I have all the parts for the solar system in my Amazon wishlist, I just haven't gotten around to it...

 

I have mine mounted in a sliding drawer in the bed and held down on the L-Track (the straps aren't on in this picture). I had a FWC popup for several years so the power outlet was installed then.

 

I keep my TB51 in the bed on a slide I picked up from www.truckfridge.com during the spring group buy

 

I need to do this... so much better than taking up a seat.

 

I dunno, I like the option for both. It's easier to get things out of the fridge when it's in the cab but more out of the way in the bed. @ETXTacoma has a sweet setup in his cab that I may rip off one of these days in case I need all that bed space, but for now my setup is treating me well.

 

True, trail sodas are much easier to get in the cab. but i do like having the seats available. In the bed I also think about how much more the fridge would bounce around. Idk too many decisions haha. @ETXTacoma so you have a write up of what you did? Is yours a 51 also? Seems like it would be a tight fit.

 

The L-Trac and "always on" inverter mod seems to be the best option for my needs. But I can't seem to find steps to do the always on inverter mod. The links to a document in the mod thread are all broken. Does anyone else have steps to enable the inverter to always be on in the bed?

 

I was paged?


I have a part's list of what all was used and so forth. Let me find it.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ost-2711-pg-136.419466/page-132#post-15035682

This post should have everything you need to do something like this.

 

Going through the inverter is going to draw more current due to parasitic losses. Best to run straight 12v if possible.

How much current does the fridge draw? If you have a tow package/7 pin trailer harness you could tap the Aux circuit, and I imagine the draw won't be enough to overload the circuit.

 

I could be wrong, but I think the Aux circuit only works when the key is in the aux or on positions. If you are set up in base camp or overnight, the fridge wouldn't run. I plan on eventually routing an appropriate guage wire from my battery into the bed for this sort of 12v need...

 

Add some outlets in the bed coming off of a fuse block... pretty straight forward and probably the safest route.

I use these outlets in my bed

https://off-grid-engineering.myshopify.com/products/oge-blue-sea-auxiliary-power-outlet-system

Matt at OGE even has them wired up for you ready to go.

 

I saw these guys at Overland Expo! $69 doesn't seem bad for that setup which includes wiring.