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Old 06-28-2021, 09:56 AM   #1
Hooch on Wheels
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Keeping it cool

My goal is to keep our Dometic dual power fridge cold while on the road.
Do not want to run lP while driving. We do not boondock. Needs to stay cold for around 7 hours. Running a 2018 Montana HC 305 RL

I have been told I need the following:

1000 watt inverter. $1,000. ( not sure of the brand)
2 deep cycle batteries.
Wiring kit
6 hours labor
Total cost around $2,000

If you have had experience doing this or you are knowledgeable in this area, I would appreciate your thoughts.

What brand inverter?
How many watts?

What brand of batteries?
What type of batteries?

Any other info you would like to add.

Thanks,
JandC
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Old 06-28-2021, 11:29 AM   #2
DQDick
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Can't help you with inverter because we haven't needed one. We frequently have towed for up to 12 hours in Arizona heat, frequently over 100, and never had the frig loose enough cool to worry about. The good news is that they don't heat up very fast, the bad news is it takes a day to get it cooled down when you start out.
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Old 06-28-2021, 12:05 PM   #3
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Hundreds of thousands of RVs on the road as we speak running their RV refrig on propane. We've been towing campers for many years and many, many miles. Every single mile was with our refer on propane.

Your pricing seems very high to me but I do everything myself.
Samlex makes excellent 1000 Watt pure sign wave inverters for less than $400. A couple of reliable 6V GC2 batteries will do you just fine. $135 each. I've had great service from Deka batteries.
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Old 06-28-2021, 01:07 PM   #4
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Thanks for the reply. We appreciate any help.
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Old 06-28-2021, 01:23 PM   #5
Hooch on Wheels
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Creeker,
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I am not comfortable with electricity, I’ll tackle a lot of issues but this is not one. The inverter will be a Freedom model, 1000 watts with 1800 watts surge. The fridge will only pull 400 watts. I’m having it wired so it is dedicated to the fridge. New and improved price of $750 for the inverter. My wife and I have experienced 2 house fires in our life. Both were due to electrical failure, and I swear only one was my fault. Hope you can understand why I am reluctant to drive down the highway at a high rate of speed with an open flame about 24’6” behind our backs.
Thanks foe the reply
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Old 06-28-2021, 06:00 PM   #6
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Run it on propane!
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Old 06-28-2021, 06:24 PM   #7
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You do realize that there are thousands of explosions happening right in front of your knees every minute that you are going down the road, don’t you? ��
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Old 06-28-2021, 06:40 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Creeker View Post
Hundreds of thousands of RVs on the road as we speak running their RV refrig on propane. We've been towing campers for many years and many, many miles. Every single mile was with our refer on propane.

Thanks couldn’t have said it better.
Don’t create a problem where none exists.
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Old 06-28-2021, 07:14 PM   #9
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I do understand what you are saying. I am simply choosing a different way to accomplish the same goal. After our friends left the Rio Grande Valley last year and got as far as Waco and watched as their propane tank was ripped from their 5th wheel and was flying down the highway it made me think there might be a different way.
Safe travels,
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Old 06-29-2021, 08:52 AM   #10
Kyle and Lisa
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Our fridge is a 3-way. Electric, propane, or auto. We leave it in auto, it temporarily runs on propane when when switching from shore power to the truck or vice versa and have had no issues in 3 1/2 years of full time on the road.
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Old 06-29-2021, 09:20 AM   #11
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We owned travel trailers for over 20 years (3 of them). All three trailers had gas-electric refer's on them, and when on the road, the propane was always on.

I got into many debates about traveling with the refrigerator running on propane. I've heard all the arguments against it. People stated over and over how dangerous it was to leave them running at gas stations. But when it all boiled down from sap to maple syrup, there was only 1 instance in all of history that anyone could point to where there was a fire at a gas station caused by a propane refrigerator running. And that was caused when the person pumping gas turned with the handle in his hand and splashed gasoline on the side of his camper and into the refrigerator vents.

It was almost as stupid as that person on alternative news feeds that recently horded gasoline by filling containers and putting them in the back of his SUV. Then the idiot lit a cigarette inside his car!

As far as the safety of your refrigerator, it's pretty darn safe to run on propane. No different than when you are sitting at a campsite.

I am fortunate though, because now that I have my Montana 375FL, it has a residential refrigerator. So, for me, the propane debate doesn't exist any more. But with an all electric refrigerator, it's created other challenges.

If all you want is a separate line exclusively for your refrigerator, it should be simple to do. Hook up the inverter to your battery, install an in-line fuse between the two, and maybe a cut-off switch if you want. Plug an extension cord into the inverter and run it to the refrigerator. Plug in ... done!

When you get to your campsite, switch the plug back to the shore power outlet, turn the inverter off. Let your battery recharge good.
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Old 07-04-2021, 02:38 PM   #12
bcrvman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooch on Wheels View Post
My goal is to keep our Dometic dual power fridge cold while on the road.
Do not want to run lP while driving. We do not boondock. Needs to stay cold for around 7 hours. Running a 2018 Montana HC 305 RL

I have been told I need the following:

1000 watt inverter. $1,000. ( not sure of the brand)
2 deep cycle batteries.
Wiring kit
6 hours labor
Total cost around $2,000

If you have had experience doing this or you are knowledgeable in this area, I would appreciate your thoughts.

What brand inverter?
How many watts?

What brand of batteries?
What type of batteries?

Any other info you would like to add.

Thanks,
JandC
Hooch on Wheels
Confused here. If by dual power you mean an RV fridge that is propane and electric, then if it has an AUTO switch just use that and it will run on propane. If you mistakenly believe that running on propane is dangerous then switch to electric. It's 12V that the truck/house batteries will provide. You only need an inverter for a modern residential fridge that does NOT have propane, only standard 110VAC that an inverter must supply when disconnected from shore power. If you purchased an RV with a residential fridge then it came with an inverter. If it is inverter powered, you should check that the batteries do NOT have the word crank or CCA or MCA on the battery. Get proper deep cycle batteries from Trojan or one of it's competitors. They will be 6V so you need 2.
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Old 07-04-2021, 03:16 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by bcrvman View Post
Confused here. If by dual power you mean an RV fridge that is propane and electric, then if it has an AUTO switch just use that and it will run on propane. If you mistakenly believe that running on propane is dangerous then switch to electric. It's 12V that the truck/house batteries will provide. You only need an inverter for a modern residential fridge that does NOT have propane, only standard 110VAC that an inverter must supply when disconnected from shore power. If you purchased an RV with a residential fridge then it came with an inverter. If it is inverter powered, you should check that the batteries do NOT have the word crank or CCA or MCA on the battery. Get proper deep cycle batteries from Trojan or one of it's competitors. They will be 6V so you need 2.
You have me confused with your reply. Dual power, two way is gas and 120 AC not 12V DC. ??
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Old 07-04-2021, 03:23 PM   #14
bcrvman
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Originally Posted by Glades View Post
You have me confused with your reply. Dual power, two way is gas and 120 AC not 12V DC. ??
Pretty sure our old Fridge ran off 12V but maybe my memory is fading or it was a 3 way fridge. In any case, just use the auto switch and it will figure it out.

I switched to residential in the new rig, bigger, colder fridge. I also tossed the dealer batteries for a pair of Trojan's and a Bogart battery meter which you will also need if you go the inverter route. Since then I upgraded to Lithium.
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Old 07-04-2021, 04:25 PM   #15
Mikelff
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooch on Wheels View Post
My goal is to keep our Dometic dual power fridge cold while on the road.
Do not want to run lP while driving. We do not boondock. Needs to stay cold for around 7 hours. Running a 2018 Montana HC 305 RL

I have been told I need the following:

1000 watt inverter. $1,000. ( not sure of the brand)
2 deep cycle batteries.
Wiring kit
6 hours labor
Total cost around $2,000

If you have had experience doing this or you are knowledgeable in this area, I would appreciate your thoughts.

What brand inverter?
How many watts?

What brand of batteries?
What type of batteries?

Any other info you would like to add.

Thanks,
JandC
Hooch on Wheels
Here is an option to consider. No inverter required. Check out the 12 V cooling system made by JC Refrigeration out of Indiana. They make a 12 v and a 120 v ac compressor system. I went with the 12v system as I did not have an inverter, and like you, didn’t want to run propane going down the road . Also, had issues keeping the absorption fridge cold in hot Texas temperatures, much less having hours of recovery time to get back to temp. This solved all my problems! Run down the road with fridge on 24-7. It pulls 5 amps when compressor is running, which your TV can handle through your hook up, and the compressor only kicks on when needed. It doesn’t run non stop. My fridge consistently holds 35-37 degrees in the fridge and -12 to -9 in freezer in 100 degree weather. Initial cool down in about 5 hours. Recover from open doors is about 5-10 minutes instead of hours. They are built for the bouncing and vibration from rv. They use heavier tubing and come with a 3 year warranty. Check them out. Should solve all your issues.
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Old 07-04-2021, 06:08 PM   #16
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If you are not comfortable running propane while on the road then you should not no matter what anyone says. If you go with the inverter (that price sounds high for a 1000 watt, check Amazon) any type will do unless you want to run electronics on it, then you need a true sign-wave inverter.
The thing to know if you want to run propane while traveling, what does the manual or manufacturer say. If it says no then your insurance will not cover a loss due to a refrigerator fire, and it's kind of obvious what caused it looking at all the burned out RV's in junk yard pictures, small percentage but they are there.
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Old 07-05-2021, 05:02 PM   #17
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If you're not wanting to run propane while driving, here's an alternative. First, if you have frozen foods in the freezer and aren't opening the freezer, chances are they won't thaw on your drive but just in case you worry about it happening you could put a small block of dry ice in the freezer. Lot's of big box grocery stores are carry them now. You could also put a smaller amount in the fridge section. I've done that a time or two in my double door dometic fridge for long hauls.
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Old 07-05-2021, 05:29 PM   #18
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I cannot comment on actually running the fridge as we have a Samsung residential. I can offer some insight on an inverter.

With the exception of the dryer, 120v side of the water heater, two AC units and the fireplace.... we run our entire 3121rl off this inverter even when plugged in. It's been on 24/7 since it was installed in January 2021. Not a single hiccup.

https://www.amazon.com/Reliable-Effi...ct_top?ie=UTF8
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