Refrigerator and microwave

[snailexpress]

(11-25-2016 )74bassman Wrote:  Anyone have any suggestions on a microwave, and maybe a shore power unit.

Was delivering lowes load today they have on sale

[snailexpress]

Inverter size depends on what you going to use in truck.
Fridge and microwave in my truck working good with inverter from truck stop with modified wave. Laptop is OK too. Only one device wont work with dirty electricity - induction cook top. Good for eggs and bearing heating.

[Johnboy]

I felt my experiences in this subject may be helpful and I hope someone can take something useful from this.
I had a 2006 kw t800 four battery truck nothing special in that truck as far as an apu or bunk heater. I used a few different setups trial and error so to say. I personally have used the 40 qt iceless coolers with good results however keep in mind they cool based on the ambient temperature in the summer months it can be a challenge to keep them cool if you level the truck shut off while doing whatever. Also the newer coolers use computer fans that tend to go bad it's a good idea to keep one or two as a spare. The 12 volt bag coolers work much better if you mount a computer fan on the inside of the bag on the heat sink the one I had would ice up rather than cool the inside the fan cured the icing problem. I eventually went to walmart and bought the largest office refrigerator they had with some custom rearranging of the cabnits I made it fit now I'm sure not everyone wants to go that far but if you do I highly suggest you run an extension cord to the outside of the truck like an after block heater cord when you park for the weekend you can turn the inverter off and use the house power if your able it worked very well for me of course I park at home. I also used a 1000w microwave with the fridge and ran everything off of a 1500 watt inverter with no problems. I used that setup for two years sold the truck to a relative he still uses it today. Another note I don't idle at night and never once had to jump the truck while on the road.

[smorgan87]

Ive got a frigidaire fridge and a 1500w microwave that i used to run in a 15 prostar. 3500w inverter. The fridge would kill the batteries after 24-30 hrs and as long as u kick up the idle the microwave works fine.. I recommend a switch to go from inverter to shore power and a outlet somewhere to plug it in. Maybe even stick a battery tender in there to keep em good in the winter while parked for long weekends.

[Rawze]

Wife asked me to get her one of these for the truck (the 50-qt model) ...

https://amzn.to/2Wl3YoN - ( ARB 10800472 Fridge Freezer- 50 Quart )
and ...
https://amzn.to/2PJrvxn - thermal cover

Expensive to say the least so I was very skeptical. It has some sort of industrial quality Danfoss compressor made specifically for automotive and rugged use.

The problem with everything we have purchased in the past is that when you go across I-70 west of Colorado, those mini-fridges tend to fail because of the constant altitude changes. That, or the consistent shaking gets them and they stop working after a few months.

Wife keeps the temp setting at about +23F. It freezes whatever is in the very bottom of it, and the stuff at the top is just above freezing. Had it for few months, so far it is holding up to the abuse of the roadways and extreme altitudes we have put it through.

{update 04-27-2020 ...}

This thing is bullet proof. Still going like a champ 2 years later and am glad I have it. - I cook a lot of meals for the truck before leaving out and pack it tight .. saves a ton of money for us on the roads, and also helps us stick to our diet of no carbs or sugars.

{update jul-2024} -- still going strong.

[smorgan87]

Id think for that price u could replace a blown compressor in a dorm fridge with maybe one them fancy danfos compressors

[HES]

Is it true re: amazon comments that you can leave it on for 2-3 days and it won't drain the trucks batteries?

"The unit draw very little electricity; you can stop the truck and leave it on for days and it will not discharge your batteries. I know it sounds incredible because most refrigerators will discharge the truck batteries over night. For some reason the unit is almost always stop and when it start running it only uses a few watts."

[Rawze]

(06-24-2019 )HES Wrote:  Is it true re: amazon comments that you can leave it on for 2-3 days and it won't drain the trucks batteries?

"The unit draw very little electricity; you can stop the truck and leave it on for days and it will not discharge your batteries. I know it sounds incredible because most refrigerators will discharge the truck batteries over night. For some reason the unit is almost always stop and when it start running it only uses a few watts."

on a guess, I would say that its about 3-4x more efficient than any fridge we ever had in the truck.

[hhow55]

https://www.thewaywardhome.com/arb-fridge/

Here's an outside review.