Powering a Fridge

Ok so I just picked up a 2019 TRD OR DCLB and am about to start by overland bed buildout. Im doing everything myself and am looking to use the AC plug in the back to run my 110V fridge. I want to be able to run the fridge 24/7 so I know i need to change its power source (I would also like to use solar eventually). Can anyone point me into the direction of finding a video or instructions on rewiring the outlet to a secondary battery or something that would take its place? thanks crew

 

I wouldn't try to change the circuitry of the stock inverter very much, except for plug and play harnesses. Does your fridge also run off 12v DC?

My plan: Dual batteries, fridge connected to auxiliary battery and stock inverter. Runs off isolated battery when parked, then I turn on the inverter while driving (using the 400W anytime harness + extra outlet in-cab). It switches power sources automatically, favoring AC. A solar panel will also be connected to the auxiliary battery.

For anything more complicated involving AC power I'd think about getting an entirely new inverter since the stock one is pretty small.

 

Yeah it has the option to run 12v dc or 110v ac. I was talking to a buddy and we think it may be easiest to just live wire a new battery to the dc wiring of the fridge then attach the battery to the alternator so it charges when I'm driving but only pulls from the auxiliary battery not my mainframe battery for the truck.

 

I run a 1000 wt jackery directly to bed outlet to charge while driving, then it powers fridge when camping. I can get a week off that, before even needing solar panels. Do you plan on going off grid more than a week at a time? Driving for a few hours usually tops off the jackery as well. Ymmv

 

Yeah you need to run it via 12vDC. Running through an inverter wastes so much battery power. Read through this thread: Dual Battery Setups! Let's see them! Multiple Batteries Thread! | Page 161 | Tacoma World

You will definitely need a secondary battery and DC-DC charge controller with MPPT for solar. I use this controller:

$237 Renogy 12V 50A DC to DC Battery Charger with MPPT, On-Board Battery for Gel, AGM, Flooded and Lithium Batteries, Using Multi-Stage Charging, Solar Panel and Alternator

Amazon.com: Renogy 12V 50A DC On-Board Input MPPT Charger for Gel, AGM, and Lithium Batteries Using Multi-Stage Charging, in RVs, Cars, Boats, Yachts, Recommended to Match with 60A ANL Fuse, w : Automotive

 

I ran a dedicated 12v circuit to the bed for my fridge. I can take pics and add them here later. Built an RTMR with 5 circuits constantly powered and 5 that are only hot when the truck is running. All circuits are wired with 10awg wire. For the bed power I removed the useless storage box door in the bed, sealed all the holes in the box and made a single pass through for the power wires there are 2 12v 10amp outlets and a dual usb charging outlet (4.2A). the (6) wires are wrapped in PET braided expandable loom, split loom, sealed and protected by heat reflective foil/fiberglass insulation wrap near all exhaust components. The panel is some 16ga stainless I cut to replace the storage cover with the appropriate holes and cutouts for the outlets. I run a snomaster LP96 on the stock battery with no problems sitting for a night or 2 in warm weather, probably wouldn't do well in the middle of summer though. I think the harness is about 21 or 22' long, I have a short bed.

Warning: this is not a cheap project to do correctly, nor is it something you should attempt if you aren't comfortable with electrical. The build your own RTMR write-up on here is an excellent resource.

See pics here https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fridge-slide-install-directly-to-bed.657575/page-3#post-26177898

 

Emphasis on this. If you have a second battery always look into 12v appliances as inverters are not nearly as efficient. For my build out I'm not even bothering with an inverter since I'd rather keep it as simple as possible and it lowers the cost as well.

 

don't waste money on expensive gimmicks. renogy 100 watt solar kit, mount it on the roof, run the wires down , the controller can be mounted on top of the fuse box, ran into your battery, from there buy a ARB/dometic fridge wiring kit, run the wires from the battery through the firewall and to the backseat. the stock battery will run the fridge for days. a renogy kit will run you 140 bucks, arb/dometic wiring kit 50 bucks. very easy to install and wire. see my post #40 here. If you have questions or need help please PM me, I love sharing about my build and always willing to help someone else go solar and save money!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/off-grid-capability.723796/page-2#post-26832151

 

What gauge wire did you run to the back? And what did you pull for the acc

 

10awg, 3 pairs. Each 12v outlet and the usb outlet are all on their own dedicated circuit. the fridge only draws 66 watts or 5.5 amps. I want to be able to use anything that can max out a 12v outlet so I wired it to safely carry up to 10 amps. As for the Ignition switched circuits, I do not yet have anything wired to them so I haven't pull the signal to activate the relays yet. I will likely use one of the circuits I currently have my heated seats on, (I can't remember which circuits those are at the moment), unless there is a more accessible spot I can pull from under the hood without any mods to factory wiring.

Things I would do differently than what I did do:

• use something other than metripack connectors so I could support more than 10awg, (this would add cst because you would still need some of the tools for metripacks to wire the RTMR)
• run a single pair of larger wires or cable to the bed and have a simple fuse/distribution block locally mounted.
• use something more weathertight than 12V sockets
• use a concentric twist to make the "harness" that runs from the RTMR to the bed more flexible and durable
• use raychem shrink tube in place of PET loom and split loom/only use the plastic stuff where extra abrasion resistance may be needed.
• buy a 4runner and not worry about putting a fridge in the truck bed.

 

this is an important question. i wired a 12V plug to the location by the stock inverter plug from the oem battery location using 10 gauge and found that the fridge was not getting enough power. it's best to keep the distance to the battery as short as possible and use proper AWG as well as burly connectors.

i recently installed solar so i can finally use the fridge 24/7 and it finally gets and stays properly cold.

 

What does your fridge draw for power?

 

i'm not sure. if there's an easy way to check please let me know.

 

I run mine 24 7 on a single battery set up. Optima yellow top, 55ah. The fridge is the

$699 iceco vl45 pros portable refrigerator, multi-directional lid, dual USB & DC 12/24V, AC 110-240V, 45L steel compact refrigerator powered by SECOP, 0℉ to 50℉, home & car use [upgrade, 47 quarts]

iceco vl45. Solar panel is the 85w cascadia 4x4 panel.

Been doing it for months now with zero issues. It's run straight to my voswitch but I also have a bluesea panel in the bed for when I need the room for the dogs.

 

Run the fridge on 12v. You're wasting energy running it off the 110v outlet in the bed. Truck fridges are designed to run on 12v.

When you run the fridge on 110v your inverter is converting 12v power from the battery to 110v, then the power brick for the fridge is converting the 110v back to 12v to run the fridge. You are wasting energy every time it is converted back and forth. Cut to the chase and run fused power straight from the battery to an outlet installed in the bed for maximum efficiency.

I run my fridge off a single 27f AGM battery with no issues. It can run for a few days no problem in hot weather without starting the truck. I originally considered solar but after using the fridge some I've found no need for it. I'm never setting up camp and sitting in place for a week at a time.

 

Should be in the manual or on the manufacturers tag that lsts spec such as power requirements

 

This is basically what I do but with an upgraded deep cycle battery due to my high power draws of the winch and lights I have. One big battery, solar panel on the roof to keep it topped off and the ARB hardwire kit off of the battery. Simple, fairly inexpensive and reliable.

 

I have a basic 12V setup to run my IceCo VL45pro fridge. Deep Cycle RV battery from Wal-Mart in a battery box. NoCo Gen 1 Mini charger to recharge off the power inverter or wherever I can find an outlet. Ran like this for 10 days in the fall in Utah and never dropped below 70%.

 

got it, thought you meant actual draw.

per ARB, it consumes .87 amps/hr.

i thought 10 AWG would be ok to use to tie the fridge to the starter battery but it never worked right.

 

Same here. Exact same setup, I have a 10AWG marine wire run from the battery (positive and negative) down along the frame and into the truck bed on the driver side cubby. Then I plug the Dometic Fridge into that.