12v Car Fridge/Freezer?

K

Kris Schaumburg

Well-known member
Does anyone have one of these? I was on road trip last week and i parked next to an overlanding type rig and he had on wired in the rear of his pickup. Seemed pretty handy. Wonder about battery life and practicality
 
When I was in vet school they were a pain in the royal ass and not worth the headache . Technology has probably improved some over the 13 years since I graduated but that experience has soured me for life.
We had them to keep medication cooled but the problem was they were a constant drain on the truck batteries and the trucks had to be plugged in at night or they wouldn’t start in the mornings and maintenance would have to bring a fresh battery or we would have to re-schedule appointments.

If the truck sat for more than 4 hours without supplemental juice you were just screwed.

The government employees they hired to wire them may have done a typical government job.
But my experience with them soured me.

Just get a good cooler and dry ice
 
I have one - from IceCo. Bought it for a long hunting road trip to S Texas. Also have their small companion battery. For the 10 days, the icebox was always plugged into the battery, which remained plugged into a 12v outlet. Thus the running vehicle ran the icebox but when shut off the battery took over. With at least a couple hours on the road each day, the battery stayed topped up enough to run the box overnight and during hot mornings/afternoons in the field. It was great never needing to refresh ice for food and drinks on the way and beer while there... then cranked it down to freezer mode for getting birds back to NC (I'd frozen birds after cleaning them in TX).

For camping or periods of being in 1 place for several days and not getting the battery charged while driving, you'd need to have a larger battery and/or solar.

Getting ready to load mine up for a trip to Nashville. It's also come in handy as an extra fridge for gatherings. We had lots of family in for Thanksgiving - I plugged it in (ac) and left it on the porch. A great place for all the extras needing refrigeration.

Wish I'd bought one sooner.
 
Most people running these for camping have a second battery(deep cycle) with a charge controller. While driving the engine charges the second battery and when the car is off it automatically disconnects from the starter battery and runs off the secondary battery. If you partner with a decent solar panel you should maintain useable charge for a good amount of days without running the truck.
 
A hunting buddy has a Whynter and he swears by it. He regularly uses it to freeze and transport seafood and ducks from Washington to Montana or store food in sharptail camp. Doesn't seem to draw too much power and is well insulated.
 
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