No worries!!! Like having extra gas or air compressor, sometimes the one you help isn’t yourself. I recently used mine to help a friend while camping. She left her back hatch open and drained the battery.


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I second the DC port to power the fridge, Its much more efficient.

The nice thing about using battery generators over dual batteries is the portability. Fridge and battery come out every ski season and took them on a RV / houseboat trip.

In terms of charging the battery bank while in your vehicle, I would recommend to use both the AC & DC chargers in the back of the 4runner simultaneously. You can accomplish this on most power stations by using a usb-c cable in the DC port and the standard 120v charger cable in the AC. You need to push the 120v power button next to the steering wheel to initiate the charging using that method. In my experience you can pull around 120-140w while driving using this method as opposed to 20-30w using DC alone.

I have run a dometic 55IM and a 550wH battery generator for a number of years now and charge mine as described above. A few tips for those considering a similar setup. Most battery banks have a low power cutoff feature so if power is not drawn for say 15 mins the battery will shutdown. The shutoff happens often with efficient fridges so as a work around I have a 1-2 watt string of LEDs plugged into the dometic's usb-a slot. These lights prevent the cutoff from occurring and also act as a visual indicator of when the fridge is on.

When I tried to use the AC outlet in the back of the 4Runner, it would keep shutting off as soon as I shifted the car into Drive. I'm not sure if it's the power station (Grecell 1000 WH) or what. I tried both with and without pushing the button on the dash and every time I shifted into R or D, it would shut-off.

I'm not sure if I'm tripping a circuit or what.

Sounds about right. The 120v plug in the back is good for 400w while parked and 100w while driving. Check the brick on your charging cable, if it exceeds 100w that is probably the issue. You can upgrade the inverters limit to 400w while driving. See thread below.

400W Inverter Mod?

I have a 90w charger brick in my rig and I have found that sometimes it trips the inverter as well. I need to push the inverter button and allow things to normalize for about a minute before I can shift to drive.

Yup, my AC charging wall wart shows 150W. Wish I had known this earlier. Oh well. It would've saved a lot of hassle and trouble senseless shooting on the trail.

Use DC port and be done.

Exactly. This is what I ended up doing. At least now I know the WHY my Plan A didn’t work and had to hastily resort to Plan B and reroute wiring and power station location in a parking lot with a truck full of gear!

Thanks all for your input and expertise!


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Thanks for your helpful input. The DC port only charges at ~20 watts by itself. I would have to idle / drive for over 27 hours straight to charge my 550wh.

AC + DC and you are charging 6 times as fast.

It's worth looking at a universal ac power adapter. 90w is probably the max power you should look at. Here is a cheap 75w option.

Amazon.com

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll check it out.

I did something similar. I ended up upgrading the battery from a 24F to a 27F and moved to the X2Power AGM battery from Batteries+Bulbs.

So it has roughly 500wh at 50% capacity (someone can check my math here. 96ah @ 12v = 1152wh * 50% = 575wh of useable battery).

So I spend the day wheeling + charging the battery and the fridge can do easily 12-18 hours on that charge.

I did end up getting a voltage booster and I am in the process of installing a Noco GCP port and an onboard charger for the X2 AGM battery to keep it topped off between trips.

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I've been reading a ton about different ways to skin this cat. There are so many ways to do this, and the Jackery way seems very easy. I really keep leaning toward having my power all from one source, plug the fridge into its ARB port and be done. Even to myself I sound kind of dumb not wanting to have to unplug and plug into something else here and there, carry two cords etc. My wife is in on the conversation and she doesn't care for the idea of hauling another "device" around and having to maintain it just to maintain the fridge.

I've read a lot about single battery installs that are used to power it all (reasonably). One strong AGM, mixed with my solar setup could be a one stop shop for my vehicles basic everyday needs and the fridge. I like the one stop shop idea. We're very minimal on power demands. We don't use tablets, phones, camp lights etc etc. This fridge is a huge step for us in terms of tech and convenience. The only thing I've hesitated about is the voltage booster but after reading literally hundreds of pages of info from here, ih8mud, tacomaworld and fjcruiser forums... I think my hang ups have been put away. I've even prowled Aussie forums. I believe it to be a safe and reliable solution.

My needs though are still out in question. I live in AZ and with our temps, I'm curious of the temp compensation I'd need to make. At 105 to 112 in the summers maybe my alternator would be adequate for the reduced voltage needs at high temps. I'm eyeing the same battery you've got.

Either way, I get closer to the AGM and booster route. I do see how cool it is to take the fridge out of the truck and power it with a portable power station. There's one benefit I can't ignore!

The Jackery/Power Station route gives you simplicity and flexibility.

Going with a dual battery system is a one-trick pony and relies heavily on the health of your alternator. It adds complexity and will be a pain to wire up. That said, IF you're going to be using a lot of other electronic devices or lights etc, then it's a good idea.

Having to run the DC cord from the car to the power station to the fridge isn't that much of a big deal since once you do it, it pretty much stays in place. It doesn't take up any room either.

You probably won't be running your power station down to empty each day, so as long as you're driving a decent amount daily, you should be good to go. Keep in mind that the compressor doesn't run all day long. You will want to invest in an insulating cover for it.
Upgraded Protective Cover For VL45 Single Zone| ICECO
– www.icecofreezer.com

ETA: Most people keep the fridge inside the truck either standalone or on a slider. And you don't need to keep plugging/unplugging cords either.

While I figure this battery stuff out, I decided to clean up my wiring with the edition of the fridge. I bought one of these

Toyota 4Runner - Auxiliary Fuse Block Bracket / sPOD Mount (2010-2017) – Overland Equipped

Super nice product. I only have 3 added circuits, so 12 is over kill but maybe I'll add more... or just pick up a 6 slot fuse block someday.

I had a question about the circuit breaker and emailed the guy who sells these, he didn't respond. It's 100A and I won't ever draw more than 30 or 40 between my two 100w halogen driving lights, my 15w GMRS radio and now the ICECO. Should I downsize the breaker to my actual needs?

I purchased their cover and it didn't really provide much insulation, it was pretty lame for the cost in fact. I've gotten together with my mother to make my own cover. She's worked in textiles her whole life and has the skills, knowledge and equipment to make it possible. We'll see how it pans out.