ARB Fridge power options

A

albertomc

New member
Hey all,

I have a ARB fridge and im looking into installing a dual battery setup since i really want to have the fridge on all the time on my trips. I have a couple questions...

What other options for running constant 12v power to the fridge are there? I was thinking of some sort of alternative power when the car is off so i dont run the risk with the cars battery like this;

Stanley J5C09 500-Amp Jump Starter with Built-In Air Compressor : Amazon.com : Automotive

Once the car is on, you can possibly charge it with an inverter...

Its a hastle and obviously not the best idea but its definitely cheaper and the dual battery setup will likely only be used when on a trip with the fridge and other 12v accesories.

The option of a small generator is out of the question given that they are much more expensive and i am located in south america where they are hard to come by and dificult to import.

What else can you think of or recomend?

Thanks!
 
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Also interested in information on this.

Wish I could help. I am also interested in information on this. I was planning on doubling up on the battery as well. especially since the 4runners (at least the 4th gen) has so much space in the engine bay! curious what power inverters people use as well for overland camping trips.
 
as someone with a dual battery setup, there's no way i'm taking the components off and putting things back on for times i want to use a fridge or something requiring heavy power usage.

it would be too much of a hassle.

spend more on a battery kit, then never look back, knowing you have plenty of power.
 
Last edited:
a good place to search this same question would be expedtionportal.com on their forum. look in the "Expedition Trailers" section. This whole forum is a great wealth of knowledge from some very smart people, especially if you like to get off the beaten path a lot for a long time.
 
So I finally got a Group 27 nautical battery and replaced my Panasonic with that one after a few modifications to the battery tray. Ran new cable to the 12v in the back for it to be constant on... realized the gauge of the wire needs to be better *will change it out soon to at least 10 gauge or better*.

My question is, with this setup and one of the emergency starters, is there any problem to be running my fridge 24/7 when the car will not be left off for more than 2-3 days at a time?

All my electronics are working fine and havent really felt any difference. The fridge operates well (even though the wire is too small) and stays at the desired temperatures.

Just thought I would share. Simple solution that works for me. I will post pics this afternoon.
 
So if I read your post right you still have 1 battery, but replaced it with a new marine battery? What are the ratings on it? What is the 20Ah rate?

Personally I would not run the fridge full time on the starting battery. Also keep in mind every time you discharge a lead battery below 50% you shorten the life of the battery substantially.

I purposely installed a seperate AGM battery to power my fridge and HAM radio. I also installed a voltage monitor so I can keep an eye on the batteries.

I would seriously consider doing a dual battery setup like a lot of did, if anything just to insure you always have a well conditioned starting battery.
 
do dual battery setup, but use the biggest battery like group 31, so later on you dont need to worry about not enough juice.
 
The ARB also has the low voltage detection that shuts the fridge off if the voltage drops too low.

It has worked for me before, it has three settings LOW, MED, HIGH

I keep it set to low and it will cut off with plenty of power to start the truck.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, my arb has the low voltage cutoff so I think I'm covered that way. My dual battery setup is a bit more complicated since my ride has a few differences to the US versions and would require repositioning the hydraulic fluid reservoir.

It won't be used too much so I'm pretty sure this will work. It's not the best, but then again I never travel alone and have jumper cables.
 
Dous said:
The ARB also has the low voltage detection that shuts the fridge off if the voltage drops too low.

It has worked for me before, it has three settings LOW, MED, HIGH

I keep it set to low and it will cut off with plenty of power to start the truck.
Click to expand...

In case anyone runs across this while doing a search

BATTERY MONITOR MODE
LOW Switch off voltage = 10.1V
MED Switch off voltage = 11.4V
HIGH Switch off voltage = 11.8V

LOW Restart voltage = 11.1V
MED Restart voltage = 12.2V
HIGH Restart voltage = 11.6V

The setting is counter intuitive. If you want to retain as much voltage to make sure you can still start your truck, set it to HIGH (I learned the hard way) :thumb:

I hope this helps
 
I had one of those Stanley jump starters and it wont hold a charge after 2 years for me. I installed the Off-Grid Engineering dual battery setup for my fridge and other accessories and it works perfectly. The redundancy is peace of mind when I'm in remote places where having a dead battery could leave me stranded for a lonnggg time and/or have a big recovery bill.
 
Dual battery + solar and never look back. I've only run the 4runner briefly over the last 1 1/2 weeks but my solar has been keeping my battery charged enough to hold 32 degrees this entire time. Granted it's been really hot lately so the fridge has been running more, but my battery is still at 11.6 after over a week on solar (obviously the Solar isn't has efficient as the alternator) for ridiculously long sets of time. It's also been overcast in the morning and I only get a brief solar charge due to the way the shadow from the houses hits the rig in the morning and afternoon.
 
I'm still sporting the OEM size Group 24F single battery with an Engel over several camping trips where the fridge runs 24/7. However, I don't sit at a spot for more than a day so take that into consideration. I do carry a smaller sized 1000a booster jumper thing just in case.

My Engel is an analog device with a single rotating knob that goes from 1-5. It'll keep running until the battery is nearly flat and that's how I want it. I prefer to not waste perishables vs saving the battery. :D
 
I've got an ARB fridge and dual battery setup.

  • Costco Deep Cycle group 24 battery
  • ML-ALR isolator
  • ARB 47L fridge

It runs for two days no issues in 100degree weather with the "low" setting as the arb protection.

Next i'll add a 100w solar panel so that itll be completely sufficient.
 
Perfect timing....I'll keep an eye on this thread as I search for more info. I just installed my new Truckfridge 51L over the weekend while pulling some 6awg to the rear and installing a new group 27F battery. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

I've got a couple of old 18Ah batteries left over from some different projects. I plan to wire those up initially in line with my main starter battery but very soon I'll include an isolator and solar charger. I've got a leftover 50W panel from yet another project but my charge controller is kind of sketchy.

I think the 50W solar panel will be just barely enough to keep up with the fridge in direct sunlight so that means it really won't charge the battery at all. However, the truck will charge both during day trips.
 
TowMeOut said:
Perfect timing....I'll keep an eye on this thread as I search for more info. I just installed my new Truckfridge 51L over the weekend while pulling some 6awg to the rear and installing a new group 27F battery. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

I've got a couple of old 18Ah batteries left over from some different projects. I plan to wire those up initially in line with my main starter battery but very soon I'll include an isolator and solar charger. I've got a leftover 50W panel from yet another project but my charge controller is kind of sketchy.

I think the 50W solar panel will be just barely enough to keep up with the fridge in direct sunlight so that means it really won't charge the battery at all. However, the truck will charge both during day trips.
Click to expand...

I finally had to hook up the charger to my battery last night and give it some juice. The 100w keeps it maintained, but it's definitely dependent on weather conditions and cloud cover. 50w may not be enough depending on how long you're planning on staying in one spot and how hot it is.
 
I have a dual battery setup but I've been building portable power packs for my fridge just for fun... well main reason was for a camping trip where I wanted to put the fridge in a bear box with a battery.

PpMFRft.jpg


The above is a lead acid pack that can run the fridge for 3-4 hours and has solar charging but I am working on one that uses lithium 18650 batteries in a 24v configuration in the same size that will take me overnight.

I have another setup in the works for a family members 5th gen. He didn't want ANY modifications to the factory electrical so we are thinking of a battery base that the fridge sits on that has a DC to DC charger so you just plug it into the back along with AC. When the car is off its on battery, and when its running its on AC inverter and using the DC to charge the internal packs.
 
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