BOONDOCKING WITH A 12 VOLT FRIDGE | LITHIUM BATTERY TEST WITH 12 VOLT FRIDGE | ROCKWOOD 2109s
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
- This week we test our 12 volt fridge in our 2022 Rockwood mini lite 2109s and see how much power do you consume during boondocking a day and a weekend to see how much power do you actually need to use a 12 volt fridge for boondocking / dry camping.
Come to find out that with the fridge using about 70-80 amp hours a day and a total of 90.7 ah a day for the whole system. This test proves that you do need some extensive power reserve to be able to dry camp and that the factory 12 volt lead acid battery won’t even get you 24 hrs of usage.
List of products used for the Lithium Install ( with Amazon Affiliate Links)
- Victron Smart Shunt: amzn.to/3XprjF8
- Victron Lynx Distributor : amzn.to/3iNRqqq
- Windy Nation 2 gauge wire: amzn.to/3CRbbo9
- 2 gauge wire lugs: amzn.to/3XleITW
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What are your experiences with 12v fridges ? We feel you really need an adequate battery bank to keep up with a 12v fridge for sure !
Actually 90 watts every 15 mins of cycling is pretty good for a Fridge that size...And the more stuff you can use 12 volts on. The better the efficiency..Why going 24 volts on a small RV with limited space is useless.. As you have to convert back to 12volts. Unless you want to pay 4x as much for 24 volt appliances.If you can even find them..
I have 400watts of solar and 2 100ah batteries. With full sun my batteries are maintaining a full charge with the 12v fridge on "Off Grid" mode. I suspect that the batteries will go sown 20% over night and still have a 80% charge when the sun comes up. So I should be able to go indefinitely with m solar and batteries.
I was an early adopter of 12V refrigerators. We just bought a new FW with a 20 cubic foot Furrion 12VDC refrigerator. It consumes about 90 amp hours per day. But I have 2000 watts of solar and 920 amp hours of lithium. So I can run for several days without recharging. Fortunately we boondock mostly in desert areas, so we rarely have to deal with trees.
@@ZonaJim that’s a huge fridge , but not a bad draw for that much Cubic foot fridge. That much solar and battery power will for sure make a difference. I do think it great open areas with good solar it is definitely feasible. Thanks for sharing your setup !!
I’ve never owed an rv but we’re coming down the short rows. It happening in the next couple months Lord willing.
We’re getting one with a 12v fridge of course.
We will be on full hook up’s 90% of the time. For the other 10% I’m really thinking of a couple 100 ah agm batteries. We will be full timing and expect to see our share of cold weather. ( which I have read is the enemy of lithium)
I’m expecting the batteries to require a charge once a day while we are off grid.
(Propane generator)
Does that sound about right?
I just upgraded my friends trailer with a 12v fridge. He had two lead acid batteries and 1 160 watt panel. I changed to 200 life04 battery’s and added a 160 ground panel. Big difference, he boondocks a week with good sun here in north Idaho with no problems.
Glad your friend is having good luck with the new fridge. I think solar and lithium can keep up , just as long as you have enough quality solar to keep up with the power demands. In good weather we have done well keeping up, but in limited sunlight we struggle hard. Thanks for the comment !!!
Great presentation, just what I was looking for -- real-world experience, in, say, the worst conditions for a 12 volt frig. On our first outing, at a lake with lots of trees, our experience was pretty much like yours. We got through 2 days and nights, no problems, it seemed. We did not, rather, do not have the Shunt hook up to monitor, but our experience seems to mirror yours. Being ignorant, for the most part -- on the third day, it was really cold, down in the 30s, actually every night was in the 30s. So, we did run the heating a bit, not much, though, as we both like it cold, but there is a limit. On the third morning, I turned the Heat on, and it ran for about 15 minutes and shut off. I turned the LED light on over the stove and it came on then faded out to a very dim glow. Lucky, or premonition, I had back a Gas Buddy, mini heater, with a couple of small propane bottles. Still, the frig seemed to still be trying to work. The freezer went to 27 degrees, but the lower part hovered between 38 to 48 later in the day. Apparently, the freezer stayed cool enough to keep the bottom from completely collapsing and saving food, but the freezer not so much. I am sure, if this had been a summer outing, that would have been the end. So, like you, we found two days and two nights and after that something else has to happen. Solar of a gas generator, maybe both. That is my two cents. Our travel plans do not include much in the way of boon-docking. Older and less adventurous, we opt for campground or RV parks with full power, and this frig is super for that. Thanks again for the great info and confirmation.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It's great you had other ways to combat not having power, but its a hard place to be in. The 12v fridge does shin if you dont boondock very much or you just need to invest into a beefy battery /charging system, which ours is still evolving !!! Thank you for the support !!!
I have 200ah of lithium and 600watts of solar. My experience has been similar to yours when camping below tree cover. I also have a portable 100 panel I use to chase the sun but it only slows down the drain and requires frequently moving that panel.
With full sun the energy is limitless. But I have found I can camp 3 to 4 consecutive rainy/cloudy days before running out of power but one full day of sunshine fills those batteries right back up.
Thanks for this video, nice to get confirmation others have had the same experience. Currently weighing a 3rd 100ah battery as well.
Those days when the conditions aren’t well are the true test. But I think like you said having portable panels and being able to chase the sun is vital. We are also leaning towards extra batteries as well to help combat the not so good days. Good luck with you setup and camping this next year !
I did 9 days off grid with 12 V fridge and 300 amp hour battery. And we were very short of sunlight. I was impressed.
That is better than I would expect. Glad you are getting such amazing results. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the real-life info. Very informative. The salespeople are clueless when you ask them how they do off-grid. We're looking at your exact unit. We usually camp in the PNW so tree cover is a problem as you well know. Now I'm pretty sure we would go for the old school 2-way fridge. That's what we have now and it's no problem for days. I really like the idea of the 12 volt, but I don't want to stress while camping. I'm glad Rockwood still gives you that option. Also, thanks for all your campground reviews. So helpful!
Thanks Phyllis for the amazing comment. We knew what we were getting into , but you are right that salesman are out there probably pushing these 12volt fridges without having these conversations. The 2 way fridge is still a great option , a little smaller , but we haven’t gotten anywhere near filling this monster when we go out. There are definitely pros and cons to both fridges as the propane toy shouldn’t run while moving and also have to be more careful with leveling. But overall we have been happen with our Rockwood and has had almost no issues in this 1st year of ownership.
Appreciate all the support and watching all tue local video content. And hope to see you out sometime enjoying the PNW. Hopefully we help a bit with your Rockwood purchasing process !
LOL, I liked the way you sound like your camper is on meds. (Lithium)
Somedays it really depends !!!
We traded in our 2016 Gulfstream travel trailer that had a fridge that ran off LP or shore power. I could literally run all camping season off 2 20lbs propane tanks worked great. Our new 2022 jayco has the 12v only. It's been terrible so far just like your experience We dry camp as well and can't make it more than a day or two without having to run our generator. Wish I'd never got a camper without a propane fridge. If you dry camp IMO propane fridge all the way!
There are definitely pros and cons either way , but the pork pane fridge definitely has less of a power requirement. Just doing videos like this to make sure people understand what is needed for these 12v fridges !! Thanks for the great comment and good luck with the new trailer . Hopefully you guys get it figured out.
Wowww พลังงานแสงอาทิต์ยอดเยี่ยมมาก thanks for sharing 👍
Great content that makes a simple question easy to understand in a real (normal) situation.
I agree, one more battery will absolutely crush the worry of needed power, especially for a short trip.
Manufacturers have done a poor job of laying out exactly what "solar ready" means on their particular unit. More importantly, what else is needed to do exactly what you laid out for a weekend of boondocking.
As first year newbies, boondocking would have opened up more opportunities since campgrounds are booked out on the weekends. We were concerned the fridge wouldn't last 24hrs without frequent charges on a lead acid battery with a portable solar panel.
Again, your video helped solidify a needed upgrade for next year. Just put camper in storage for the winter (northeast).
Thank you!
Yes its hard when they are doing general advertising and I think you are right in the sense that if you are more capable to boondock then it will open more places and oppertunities that others may not be able to swing. These are some of the reasons we went smaller and have invested so much in our battery system. But I feel just like with the crappy matteresses that they put in the trailer s theny just dont know how everyone is going to camp, which then I cant blame them for putting in a basic setup . Good luck on your camping and upgrades for next year !!!
This helps me. We are looking at a new RV and it has a 12v frig. We boondock a lot and I am concerned about the 12v frig usage. I can handle 100ah of use per day. Thank you!!
Awesome, glad we could help you out.
Great vid and test, thanks. I was hot on getting a compressor/12v fridge when I was looking. This based on experience with a compressor cooler when car camping. Incredible performance, beats the pants off LP refers. But... man am I glad I ended up getting an old-style LP fridge in my used trailer. Vastly better for real life boondocking. Because, yes, we all want to park in the shade and don't want to dump $1-2k on an impressive lithium/solar setup.
I glad we can provide the resource for information to make a good decision. I think the coolers are fairly small where the fridge we have is 10.4 cu ft. On a traditional 2-3 day weekend we barely fill up 25% of its capacity. Which I would also assume decreases efficiency. I personally think they should offer different size levels and that may help. Thanks for the great comment. Good luck with your camping !
It is amazing how much the fridge sucks power! We think the movable solar is a good idea. We agree lithium batteries are a game changer and we now need to get solar! Thanks- Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya
We kinda knew it was going to be a power hog , but no to that degree. It’s a crazy huge 10cu ft fridge thst might be a bit overkill for our needs. But man does it keep things cool ! We feel solar is pivotal step to unleashing what freedom lithium can provide. We are currently working on a custom ground unit system that hopefully we can have ready for the spring time , will be great to chase the sun and bring in some pretty hefty amps ! Thanks as always guy for supporting us !
Appreciate the vid; this has since past. Love the 12V we had old school dual fridge never again. We have 100 AH Lithium. We pack at our home connected to shore power. And fridge gets super cold in 2 hrs: Refreshments & spirits are in an outdoor cooler this way we're not opening and closing fridge allot. At night before turning in. We place fridge in eco mode or night mode depending on your fridge. I connect my car for about 3 hours in two days of boondocking but we use everything. We also camp in real cool weather. We went 2 full days. Used our truck for a total of 3 hours for power. Love the advantages of towing and fridge is super cold working off the 7pin. We dry dock over night at rest stops & Crackle Barrel etc. Love the space the 12v fridge gives us and no worries about being leveled. No worries about defrosting. Listen if it means $2k up upgrade in power source, i'm OK with that. We spent $800 on a 200 AH battery our rig already came with the transfer converter with Lithium selection. We have stock 165watt solar and have 200 watts portable solar. We bring portable only if we're purposely boondocking.
There are a bunch of good advantages to the 12v fridge with getting colder faster and running the fridge while driving is also a great benefit. I think in colder temps there is some possible advantage with the 12v fridge . But as with you guys we do whole heartedly believe that you should most likely have lithium with a 12v fridge. Great points Jesse and here’s to hoping you guys continue to have safe travels with your rig !!
@@UniqueAdventurez I SUBSCRIDED, LIKE YOUR VIDS REAL YT. We live in Miami, never boondock here unless we're getting some Cold weather meaning it needs to drop into the low Sixties in order to sleep comfortably. We have our MaxFan that brings cool air through a small window openings and literally have a breeze inside the couch with how much the fan pulls air. Our current TT 2022 Grand Design XLS 22mle Imagine.
I am so happy with my 12v fridge, it works really well, had bad experience with propane fridge not cooling enough, but I don't boondock as much.
That is for sure one of the strong suits for the 12v fridge is it’s cooling ability . We barely get our fridge to half power before it almost gets too cold for regular food. Glad you are having a great experience with the fridge !
With a family IMO you would need at least one more battery (I would go two ) and one more solar panel to feel somewhat comfortable and secure in your boondocking. Yes the fridge sucks power, but what a great convenience it is versus an ice chest. You have a nice set up.
I think the extra power / battery will definitely combat heavier usage with a full family camping trip, especially if you get a couple days of not so good weather. We will be adding a ground solar unit for this upcoming season to help chase that power around. We also hope to test in a full sunny day circumstance to really see if these panels/ battery bank can keep up with a normal weekend of camping and definitely is better than an ice chest. I’m hoping it will be enough , but we will see ! Thanks for the awesome response
Lots of great info.
Appreciate the kind words !!!
Great job
Thank you !
Thanks for the info. Might upgrade our fridge to 12v and this is good jnfo.
Glad you got some info out of it . Thanks for the great comment , we appreciate it !!
We are rv shopping, and have run into the fact that all the rv’s available come with the 12V fridge. I don’t like that we are being forced to have one. Not even an option to have a absorption fridge put in. I know these 12v ones are so much cheaper to install than the absorption fridges. But I’m a fan of the propane fridge,so simple they are, no moving parts no compressor to wear out and also no compressor noise. We’ve had a few RV with the propane fridge always preformed perfectly. To bad the RV manufacturers don’t care what works best,only concern with more profits.
They are a lot cheaper to install and do have some upsides , but are very power hungry. When we bought ours the standard was the 12v fridge (which also comes with the 1000 watt inverter and 190watts of solar)but you could option out to the propane fridge for an added cost. I hope that they find out how to make the systems more efficient to make it more convenient for the consumer. Hopefully some of the brands will continue to give the option like Rockwood does. Also helps when you order a unit vs picking up what they have on a lot. Great comment !
@@UniqueAdventurez yes thanks, even though the Rockwood says they offer the option, so far we’ve been unable to get any RV dealer to do a custom order. I’ve had one dealer say they do special orders. But so far I’m on hold with them until they talk with “regional manager”. I know from our existing solar on our Lance trailer that it works great. But when we boondock, the campgrounds are in the trees, and the solar doesn’t keep up even with the absorption fridge we have.
@@doubled9361 I wonder if the issue with doing custom option builds is that they have a lot of extra inventory right now. We did place our order back in October 2021, when inventory was non existent and the only way to lock in a trailer was doing a custom order.
AGREED! They are saving money up front on the install and THEN making more money off you when you are basically forced to upgrade to Lithium. These companies are smart.
Look for a good used 2018 with gas and electric. I wouldn’t have a good camping trip if I had to watch the voltmeter all the time. Also I don’t care for solar because I like a shaded campsite. Also I don’t like putting holes in my roof mounting solar panels or the expense of the lithium batteries and solar setup.
I really, really appreciate this video. Your setup is very similar to what we are moving towards. We have a Wildwood FSX 179DBK with at 12v fridge and boondock for 4-5 days at time. We were told the fridge was super efficient and that running our little generator for a few hours a day could keep our battery (single 130ah lead acid) charged enough to make it work. We optioned a second LA battery just to be safe. As you can imagine, we have been really struggling and despite our best efforts the LA batteries are now toast and we constantly had to worry about using all the available/allowed generator hours, which was a really pain. So I am upgrading us to Li batteries and upgrading to an LI Converter for this season and have watched your videos on it...also appreciated. I was planning on 200ah of lithium, but I think 3-400 might be smarter if I can swing it. Where we camp it's quite woodsy, like in this video, so I am not sure the expense of solar would make sense.
Really glad the videos are helping you guys out. If you can afford a little more for extra amp hours it’s always a plus. But 200ah of lithium will be 2x more useable power then you had before. Plus the fast charging with the converter charger will cut your possible generator time down by a bunch. Good luck with your install !!
Iv'e come to the same conclusion - 200 isn't going to do it. I need 300AH for a weekend.
@@ScottDLR if conditions don’t allow for much solar then you are correct. We got by at 200, but better to be safe at 300ah !
@@UniqueAdventurez We just finished our first weekend with 200ah Lifepo4 (vs 260 lead acid). It was a huge improvement. Not only did we have more usable power, and not only was the generator more efficient/faster at charging when we had the opportunity, but the BIGGEST advantage was not worrying about over discharging my batteries and damaging them. I wasn't even close to using all the power we had, but simply not worrying about damaging the batteries removed more stress than I realized I had while camping. On to the next steps of a new converter and then I am waffling between solar vs a third battery. We'll see!
@@davidgrimes2745 Glad you ad a better experience with the lithium upgrade. Being able to focus on camping and skin hat worry away is worth is weight in gold, especially when you are making those memories. We are also debating between another battery and more solar. Really depends on where you live and how much solar opportunity you have while boondocking. I would definitely do the lithium converter charger next. Awesome story !
Great info. Appreciate tis alot. We live in Washington, we boondock and we run a CPAP. Currently shopping for a trailer. We were thinking about 6v because of our occasional cold weather. What made you choose lithium over 6v?
we have a great video actually on the comparison. But the cost of ownership is less in the lifespan of the batteries , plus no maintenance to them (as the 6v batteries need fluid checked and need to be trickle charged). Another great feature is the ability to take more power faster. And also lighter.
With our 12v batteries we would need a lot more batteries to be able to boondock and dry camp.
With cpap usage having the ability of using more power , lithium is a great option. Thanks for the great questions !
Thanks for this video. I was hoping you would show your battery bank and be more specific regarding your solar panel (how many wats). I’m trying to max a Keystone TT with the flex 200 on it. I’m looking at 2 100ah 12v litthium. Wondering how long that will power our 12v 10.3 cu fridge, lights etc. May add an inverter. I already have an 4300kw inverter generator as a backup. Thanks again for the video.
I thought we touched on it David , but maybe not.
We are running 200ah of SOK Lithium . We optioned 2 190 watt go power solar panels from the factory , so we have 380 watts at this time, hard mounted with no tilting. We are getting set to add some additional ground level panels to chase some sun as well.
We did a test just a couple weeks ago that we will be doing a video on where we were in full solar and brought in over 90ah in a day. We were 40ah down for overnight and we were fully charged by 12:00. I’m thinking it could have brought in more , but the batteries stayed topped off during the rest of the day to the early evening.
200 watts is a good start , but I would look at adding more either on the roof of r on the ground to help combat that fridge. If your system has a lithium converter charger you also will be able to charge faster even if you use the generator. Great question and good luck with your system.
Great video! We have a 2022 keystone cougar 22rbs with the 400i solar package with inverter. Our 12V Norcold compressor fridge throws an E3 low-voltage code at night when solar goes away (batteries are fully charged). Don’t know if this will be helped with upgrading to lithium batteries from our current dual 6v lead acids or if there’s a wire gauge size issue in the fridge. Online it appears that companies are not wiring these fridges with the proper gauge wire. Also I have to run a CPAP so I bring a dedicated power station for that when boon-docking cuz there’s no way that’ll run with the fridge as well.
I would hope that the RV companies are placing large enough wire for these friges. Have you checked your batteries voltage when it gives you these codes ? Sounds like that might be more the problem if it stays charged during the daytime when solar is present.
Does your RV comes factory with that Dometic fuel and electric one? Did you replaced with this 12v one? Seems like a house fridge style .
I currently have the propane and electric one and thinking to put a residential fridge style , since those 12v one are soo expensive
I really like our 12v frig. It gets cold fast. It maintains the temperature very well. The freezer is quite cold, no soft ice cream. I plan to have 400ah and will also feed our microwave via an inverter. I do not use any solar since we almost are always under trees at the campsites of the state parks in Wisconsin. I do not plan to need any more then 2 to 2.5 days where I’m only on battery. It’s nice to know what a 12v refrigerator needs so I will have a victron shunt to track the usage for the times a can’t reserve an electric site. Nice video!
Randy , glad the video gave you some perspective. We also find that our freezer gets crazy cold as well ( like -20 degrees cold) so we try and balance the fridge and freezer temps as best as possible. 400ah of lithium will be solid for your setup and needs and the smart shunt is worth its weight in gold. Good luck on the upcoming camping season and thanks for the great comment !!
Randy, appreciate your insight on WI camping with a 12v at State Parks. We just bought a camper with a 12v Fridge 100 watt solar and lead Acid interstate deep cycle. With all the hookup sites being booked out at WI state parks, we plan on boondocking for up to 2.5 days (weekends) with 2 kids. Looking at upgrading to Lithium and maybe one more panel. I do have a generator in case we completely miss, but that's no fun. Please throw suggestions my way for a total newbie
@@noahwoods9916 if you have the 12v fridge you either need a bigger battery bank or more Solar to combat the power usage. We have 390watts on the roof and after a test we did last month it had us full after 4-5hours of direct solar exposure. Another benefit with the lithium in regards to a generator is that with a lithium charge converter you can charge the batteries at a higher rate , thus decreasing the amount of time needed for running the generator. With the fridge and other systems using roughly 100ah a day . Even with a standard 2 12v lead acid setup will only buy you an overnight
@@noahwoods9916 just know that Wisconsin state parks do not allow generators. There is an approval process but only for unique situations.
@@randyschultz6594 I guess I will need to go in Batteries Full or a good Solar panel set up! thank you for the heads up
Thanks for this video. I agree on the positive and negative of 12 volt fridges. I have a 12 volt in my Rig. Another thought on the reasons propane fridges are hard to find , saw on another video (forgot whom) that one of the fridge manufacturers stopped producing propane fridges. True or false I'm not sure.
They are still making propane fridges, but i think there for a while when they had supply shortages that they were harder to come by then the 12 v fridge. Appreciate the great comment.
Was thinking of doing the 12v fridge to replace our two way but im re thinking that now. We do boon dock on occasion and just run two flooded deep cycle batteries that have been fine in the class C. I really dislike the 2 way propane fridge but im thinking it might be best to just keep it until it breaks.
I don’t think personally I would make the move if your current setup is working well. Plus the added need to beef up you battery or charging system is pretty much a necessity due to the power requirements.
Thanks god bless
Appreciate the kind words !
This is great .. just purchased a wolf pup 18to with a 12v fridge and the stock (from Forrest river) 12v deep cycle 100ah battery … the fridge drains it in a day..
Yeah, I wish they would prep people a bit more before selling units with 12v fridges. We knew what we were getting into, but already had plans on going to lithium.
Good video. I know most people suggest a dedicated lithium battery for residential fridges but I’m not sure about 12 volts
12volt fridges are supposed to be more efficient since the power doesn’t have to converted vs a gas fridge . But that’s the trade off !!
@@UniqueAdventurez if anything ever happens to my fridge I plan on doing the Amish 12 v conversion
Thing to consider with rv fridges.....It is not just the compressor that is drawing power. Most RV fridges have automatic defrost cycles that kick in periodically to prevent fridge from frosting up. Most people don't realize this. Some will allow you to manually override this. Others will not.
Great point . We do know it is an issue with some people’s fridge’s freezing up
I love my 12 v. refer. I have 510 watts solar on my roof and 300ah of lithium batteries. I boondock a lot with no problems.
Bob, that’s a solid setup for a 12v fridge !
I got a small Dometic CFX3 35 cooler and found it uses .66 Ah which adds up to just less than 16 Ah a day. It looks like your unit is larger but from your measurements show it's not as efficient on power use. I think your idea to get some portable panels that can be setup in the sun away from the trailer is a good solution when tree cover is present.
We are most definitely looking at some portable panels for our setup. Crazy how efficient those 12v coolers are, we would love to have only 16ah to run it.
Thanks for the great comment !
I got out of breath listening to you get out of breath.
Good info. Thanks for posting.
Glad it was helpful!
W❤️W! That’s Awesome! 🤗❤️✨
Thanks for checking out the video !
Does the sound of the fridge bother you at all? Maybe at night?
Also, don't your batteries charge from your tow vehicle?
Thanks for a great vid! and BTW, we're in Bothell.
It has a little hum, but isn't terrible. Doesn't keep us up at night at all. As for charging from the truck , I would think it would be minimal just through the trailers connection. To do serious charging from your tow vehicle you really need a DC-DC Charger setup with dedicated power lines and a battery isolator. Thanks for the great comment Scott. Always glad to see some local faces on our channel !
A nice 200A standalone suitcase panel moved into the sun will keep you topped off.
Nice video.
For me, I almost exclusively dry camp, and I really don’t like to listen to a generator if I don’t have to. My goals when setting up an RV is generally 3+ days of battery if there is no sun, and enough solar above my use to recharge a mostly depleted battery bank within a day or two of good sun. Could be done with a compressor fridge, but I’d figure 200+ amp hours and maybe 300 watts PV in addition to what I’d usually run.
12v compressors do cool faster, and absorption fridges are hugely inefficient on 110, but the cost of extra solar and storage…. I’m gonna stick to absorption for now.
The 12v compressor fridges have their advantages , but do carry that need for extra power. If you have a gas absorption fridge we personally wouldn't recommend changing into a 12 v fridge. Love the comment !!!
@@UniqueAdventurez I do wish rv makers would continue to allow a customer the option. Fairly easy to convert a rig to 12v compressor, but kinda tough to add holes in the roof and wall for vents if there’s framing in the way, and the edges aren’t framed out. Maybe they could leave the structure in the wall and mark where a vent could go- like they often leave framing in a bedroom wall and mark or provide directions for where a TV mount goes for those who want one.
That would be better . But I’m assuming part of the reason to going with 12v is all based on cost and labor
Yeah there does seem to also be a shortage of absorption fridges. Sounds like Norcold may go 12v only and I’m not sure what Dometic’s production is. Back east people mainly seem to do campgrounds with hookups, and in that case a 12v fridge would totally make sense. Would also make sense where people snow bird, and often leave an RV in Arizona year round.
My 40+ years old truck camper has a 3 way fridge. Absorption of course and I always pre cool it with 110v the day before I leave then run it on propane unless there's shore power. Still works great! 😊 Cheers!
I swapped out my 3-way fridge to a marine 12V compressor type fridge. The old one was a power hog on 12V but the compressor type is very frugal. Not sure what type you have.
we have a 9.4 cu ft GE model , it does like its power. WE are hopeing that as this evolves that they can get these fridges more energy efficient across the board.
just got a rig with the norcold 12V but my batteries (2/12v) running way down. I learned I have to use the might mode (moon feature)which lessens the compressor kicking on and off. That works better only uses about 80 watts, camper with TV is is using about 130 watts. but if I don't have solar and the generator to recharge my batteries it sucks?
I am probably gonna need to get lithium batteries. the dealer put in those calcium batteries they are horrible
Yeah , with the 12v fridges Lithium should just be a standard option in my opinion. And I think it will be there eventually. That’s awesome your fridge has a night mode. We did also find without solar for extended periods of time trying to rely on a generator just gets us by. Thanks for the great comment and good luck on your future adventures!!
I’m leaning toward AGM batteries because they are supposed to handle cold weather better than lithium.
From everything I’ve read cold temps are the achillea’s heel of lithium
Really depends on your camping. A lot of the lithium have heaters or some level of cool protection. Light freezing weather outside won’t allow the inside of your trailer (if you are relocating inside) to get cold enough to effect them. Just really depends on how much time you are camping that cold
@@UniqueAdventurez
Yeah makes sense. We are going full time. There’s a good chance we’ll see a lot of cold weather.
I'm just setting up solar for our rig with 12v fridge, tv's and lights. I'm thinking 400Ah and 5 panels. I recommend putting frozen water bottles in the fridge to keep it colder initially. I hope to get 5 days dry camping every other week. Thanks for the diagnostics!
We also try and work a pre chill sometimes to get the fridge down to temp as well , but that is a great strategy I don't think a lot of people know about. I think you have a pretty good setup with 400 ah (hopefully its lithium) and 5 panels as long as you aren't shaded most of the day. Appreciate the comment and good luck with the camping !!!
With 400ah battery bank and 5 solar panels you can dry camp FOREVER!! I dry camp for 5 months every summer. I have 200 ah bank and 2 solar panels! NO GENERATOR EVER! Fridge runs on propane though.
Looks like you started with just over 13V (when you showed 98% at the beginning). If your lithiums were fully charged that should have shown 14.4-14.6 for fully charged lithium. Do you have a converter that recognizes and properly charges lithium batteries? We had to upgrade to an auto-detect converter to achieve that fully charged status.
We do have a lithium charge converter as we had switched it when we put in the lithium. I do have reservations about the charging that in provides and we have also purchased a auto detect WFCO system and hope to get overall better charging. Thanks for the comment !!!
Is there the follow up video with the solar..
Brock, stay tuned for our drop this Monday. We are doing another video, this time with full solar.
I have 100AH lithium & 320 watts of solar. It’s not enough it run great on LP or DC when driving. It’s a medium sized NorCold.
Really depends on conditions.
I like our 12V fridge. With the solar and 2 golf cart batteries it works well.
Glad your 6v setup can keep up. I know the Geo Pros have smaller 12v fridges. Our 10 cu ft fridge just each too much power for a 6v setup. Thanks for the awesome comment !
UA 2 x6 = 12 in a series… so that is an alt to Lith.
@@Worthrhetime 2 6v batteries to make a 12v system , but even most 6v battery systems only have 100-120 Ah’s available before going below 50%, or without putting up to 4 batteries on the trailer.
@@UniqueAdventurez yep been doing it for some time … I use Dragon fly 12V x 2
What kind of fridge? Does it have an eco mode? Is it a chest or upright?
It’s a Ge 9.4 cu ft fridge . It’s a 12v fridge and unfortunately it doesn’t have eco mode
I like everything about Lithium batteries except the price. I have been repairing R V s for 45 year and specialize in D C power issues and installs of batteries, solar ETC. I am using four 6 volt deep cycle batteries in my fifth wheel with 500 watts of solar. Except for weight of the batteries, I like my 6 volts. I get great performance for dry camping. And, Four batteries cost less than one Lithium battery.
Lithium prices will continue to drop and if you look at cost per cycle they will be cheaper in the long run. Some applications can't get away with having 6v batteries, like ours. With the consumption of our 12v fridge it makes it hard to go 6v batteries as for any kind of boondocking we would need 4-6 batteries, which would substantially kill most of our carrying payload. We are looking at upgrading another 2 lithium batteries to get to 400ah to get us safely through a 3-4 day weekend (if we dont have access to solar). 6v applications / situations are still out there and we started with 6v batteries in our last trailer, but for us and this new trailer lithium is the way to go. Glad your 6v setup is performing well, seems like you have it dialed in !!!
So you don't have propane as an option on your fridge? I see people going to the 12v fridges, can't see why that would be an advantage for rv's with 2 big propane tanks. Please clarify?
Great question. This setup doesn’t have a propane option. Just strictly 12 volt. Advantages to the 12v are being able to safely run while driving and also no need for perfect leveling to be able to run.
With Rockwood if you go with the 12v fridge they include the 1000 watt inverter and 190w solar panel. From what I have seen , you now need to option into a 2 way gas/ ac fridge as the 12v is their standard now. If you have proper power , you can boondock longer and for us our furnace and stove still run on propane.
Just want to make sure people know what they are getting into with these fridges.
Residential refrigerator is more efficient even with an inverter especially with those type of batteries +solar. Not to mention much cheaper too than a 12v refrigerator.
You need to have some isolator pads for the residential refrigerator though for vibration?
The # 1 advantage is running the frig (12v) enroute so if you travel a lot I suppose it would be worthwhile - maybe. One does not dare run frig enroute on propane / dangerous / illegal and tunnels are posted to that fact.
I have a new TT that had propane / AC frig but thats fine as I won't be doing really long trips. Just boondocking in a few near by states.
Very glad to know this information and thanks for a great video. I really like knowing what it takes to discharge a 200 AH lithium battery as that is what I'm getting to start with for solar.
I thought you should not go below 50% discharge on lithium.??
@@ellafields9424 great comment. On most trailers without a 12v fridge power needs are dependent on what things you use. If you are working lights , the propane fridge and the furnace then those run directly off of 12v . Now if you are running electrical outlets , microwave or the AC then you are using AC power which you would need a inverter for and that can drain a fair amount if you are inverting that power. Lithium you can carry way more amp hours for less weight and they can be completely discharged unlike led acid batteries. Hope that helps !
Mine used about 100amp per day. The same as you. 400amp lithium and three 200 watt solar panels. We hardly ever camp in the sun. It will pick up a charge driving from the sun.
Seems like you have a great setup. Always good to have some extra amp hours and solar !!
So while so while you were doing the unloading and using the jacks why didn't you leave it on the truck with the power feeding the batteries from the truck so that you weren't using the battery power to do that before unhooking the truck?
We could do that in a pinch, but for this test I wanted a real weekend test on what we would use. We could have cut corners and done some different things to save power. But normally I would use the truck power for the tongue jack only, which we did during this test. But to deploy the stabilizers and slide outs , we were disconnected.
@@UniqueAdventurez and that unhooking is hard on your motors. High voltage makes for happy motor. They run cooler. Your welcome. Are Vee In A Fix
Tiptoing around the fridge. I didnt realize they took so much. A lot of RVs are not set up for boondocking. I agree with the lith.
The 12v fridge is the new kid on the block and continues to be pushed as a self sustaining item. Which is good if you have enough battery / solar power to combat it. I feel they are doing some people a disservice without giving all the facts !! Thanks for the great comment !
@@UniqueAdventurez agree 100% I would have never known they are such a energy suck without this vid.
why not just let your inverter generator run 24hrs your generator is one of the louder ones we go camping up in the mountains and i just let my champion 4650 dual fuel running on propane run 24hrs works great
@@kyleerickson3382 everyone has preferences on how they like to camp. Personally we don’t see the need to run a generator 24hrs a day. The only reason I would do that is if we were running the ac in an extremely hot situation. This test was to see what kind of power usage the fridge and trailer accounted for to help establish proper battery / power setups. We still bring he generator and with he beauty of lithium batteries and a lithium charge converter we can resupply 35-40amps while running the generator. So even if we weren’t able to charge with solar we could easily charge enough in like 2-2.5 hrs. I wish we had more remote places to take a trailer here in Washington. But most boondocking places we get to go to around here aren’t far away enough to allow 24hr generator use.
@@UniqueAdventurez i understand thanks for the reply u think 100ah lithium would survive the night say like 10pm to 9am having a 12v fridge i can not make up my mind lithium or 6v batteries i would replace my converter with pd 4655vl for $289 direct replacement of my old one how would my solar work 100watts came with camper 22 26dbhbl grey wolf would that solar be compatible for lithium thanks
What brand and CF fridge do you have?
Great question . Ours is a GE 12v fridge
A 2-way refrigerator makes much more sense. That’s what I will be ordering, and if Rockwood/Flagstaff quit optioning them it is a deal-breaker for me. I want to be active outdoors instead of watching and fretting about battery level.
Scott, a lot of people are in your camp with having the 2 way fridge. The effeciency isn't quite there yet with a stock battery system for these fridges and they should be forthright with providing people this kind of information so that educated decisions can be made. They now list the 12v fridge as the standard and to sweeten the pot they throw in the 1000 watt inverter and 190 watt solar panel, which i thing should be doubled by anyone with the 12v fridge, but we did know what we were getting into with it and made sure to prepare our electrical needs accordingly. The 2 way fridge as of 2022 was an up charged option. Thanks for the great comment !
So what’s so bad about running the generator for an hour or so to help out. Do it midday when everyone is out walking
Nothing wrong with running a bit during the day. This was a test to see what our system and our camping style produced for power. We do bring it with us most trips just incase. We just don't want to be needing to run it all the time and our test showed that we can be by for 36 hrs or so without needing to recharge. Thank you for the great comment !
I have the same setup, 12v with solar on the roof, 200AH lithium. We boondock for week in the middle of summer in the mountains in NY so it's hot and has alot of shade. Solar is useless where we go so I run the Genny during generator hours. Last year we did okay, ran the generator most days for about 5-7 hours. We don't have any upgrades so the lithium battery doesn't charge to 100% off the generator. But we made it the week. I personally hate the 12v fridge. It's loud at night, no matter what setting it's on or how cold it is, it seems to run 3-4 times an hour. I would swap it if I could and my next camper will have the propane fridge.
Joel, thanks for sharing you experience with your 12v fridge. It can be lout at times and we had the same concerns with being able to sleep ,but for us it hasn't been an issues and it is annoying at times that in kicks on/off frequently. Great points on knowing what kind of camping environment when you do dry camp. For you I would look at upgrading the charge converter to maximize your charging and also to allow for a higher rate of charge so you don't have to run the genny for that long if only needed for charging. Great points and thanks for the comment.
@@UniqueAdventurez I was looking into upgrading the converter. Might be my next project.
We are also going to upgrade our conveyer to a auto detect.
@@UniqueAdventurez I upgrade our converter this year and it made a world of difference. Dry camping for a week and never saw under 75% on the battery.
Were you ever going to mention the fridge model and brand??? That is literally the most important factor in power consumption. There are 12 v fridges that are over 10 cubic ft in size that only use 1.05 Amps and 12 watts or less after getting cooled.
The RecPro 2120 is 16 cu ft. and uses 4 amps / 48 watts at startup, then after cooling down it only uses 1.05 amps and 12 watts or less to maintain.
I'm shopping for a used camper now and I keep running into these 12v fridges. They do me no good as all my camping is off grid. I hate missing out on deals or having to offer $1500 less to be able to buy lithium and solar to run something that I believe where a two way should be standard. Even finding a small 12v is hard in campers.
I personally think you hit something there, the size. Our Fridge is over 10 cubic feet and for most of us doing weekends and shorter trips its way overkill on size, especially in a couples sized camper like our 2109s. A lot of the space doesn't get utilized and thus needs more power to manage it. I think these 12v fridges will cont to increase effeciency and lithium will continue to go down in price to a point where it might make better sense. But for now its kinda of a headache if you aren't sure what you are getting into. Hopefully your trailer hunt goes better and you can find a unit with a 2 way fridge.
How many watts of solar on your roof? A good ratio is 2 watts for each ampower. 3 is even better. A good upgrade would be victron Smart Solar Charge Controller instead of the gopower PWM.
Great question Eugene, we have 380 watts of solar on the roof and 200 ah in lithium, so we are close to your ratio. We are currently working on a ground unit system to give a little extra so that we can also chase the sun a bit if needed. We will also be looking at adding a victron unit for our ground solar and then see about changing out the PWM.
@@UniqueAdventurez My understanding is a PWM & MPPT will perform equally with a 100 watt panel. There's not much extra power for the MPPT to work it's magic. With 380 watts an MPPT would increase your daily yield I believe.
@@eugenebreindel that is also what we are thinking. We are going to test out some results with a 200 watt ground unit and decide if we want to make the total MPPT switch
Refrigerators can be wrapped with insulation. The thin metal and inadequate insulation that comes with the fridge.
Will have to check into that with these 12v fridges. I would assume these new fridges would come with decent insulation
Just use a small generator for an hour or so and your DC fridge is good to go for another couple of days with a 200AH battery.
We are set to replace our charge converter out to a WFCO auto detect system. The charge converter we had since we installed our lithium charges where it needs to , but does it with a low charge rate. We hope to be able to use a generator if needed in short spurts
not bad for a fridge, an RV gas /12v is a lot of more power hungry., BTW my computer and monitor uses 12 A when running
That’s a lot of power for a monitor and computer. Never realized they also are very power hungry.
Great video ? And very informative..I’m so pissed off.. why keep inventing the wheel.. if you want to buy these fridges? I’m all for it. Don’t take my propane away.. mother truckers.
They haven’t solely taken it away but for Rockwood trailers the 12v fridge is now the standard and you have to option back into the propane fridge. If you are having a trailer built it can be options , but if you are buying off the lot then that’s where it gets tricky. Hopefully dealers are optioning both to have some diversity. Thanks for the great comment !
Propane is better?
Most cost effective with the power for sure . But the high sides of being able to safely run my fridge while driving. Rockwood you have to pay more to option out of the 12v fridge. Just wish they were a bit more efficient.
The expense of all this solar and batteries is astronomical in my opinion and what really is the life expectancy of the batteries? I have tools with lithium batteries and it doesn't seem to be too long untill the batteries just loose alot of thier useable storage capabilities
Great question . The lithium batteries in power tools and such are not the same as the LiPo4 (lithium iron phosphate batteries we) we use in the RVs. Average cycles of these batteries can range from 3000-6000 cycles depending on manufacturer. At that rate these batteries will last maybe longer than the trailer will. And even after that many cycles the batteries still can run like 80% of maximum capacity.
The cost of lithium RV batteries is all up front and cost expediently less over the life of the batteries as traditional lead acid battery. As the cost of lithium continues to go down it will almost make it irrelevant to use a lead acid system.
@@UniqueAdventurez oh right on very good info to know. Thanks!
@@worldradio520 👍
Our 2022 freedom express 29se (which is the worst built trailer i have ever seen) came with the 10cu ft EverChill 12V. Turned it on this year for its second season did not cool. Dealer replaced the fridge. In 3 weeks this one failed as the freezer totally froze up i think due to a bad door seal (still investigating). IMO these are not designed to run long term. They must be poorly insulated as they constantly run on and off and are not quiet. Last year during a power outage on our Led acid it barely made it through the night. The solare kept us alive. As I said I miss our propane/120v. While smaller when connected they ran on 120v and were quiet. When not connected they ran on propane and still quiet. So fare not impressed with these units
That stinks you guys had such a rough time with the 12v fridge. They should At least do more education with the power needs of these with regular lead acid batteries. We also find rust 10cu ft is a little overkill for most peoples uses. I do think they are using more of them due to the decreased labor for install and they are a bit more simplistic. But nothing runs perfect on either side of 12v vs propane fridges. Thanks for leaving your experience and hope things get better for you guys !
You would get more time with a friend Iceco or a setpower refrigerator/ freezer.
I thinking of maybe trying something like that to see how big the power saving are
@@UniqueAdventurez I can go three days on a 100ah lifepo4 using the Iceco vl45 as a freezer, after two days I change the battery up. Run mc4 wires and just plug into a charge controller set for lifepo4 batteries. Power Queen has one preset and it’s under $100.00
Add more battery capacity, run your generator don't get hung up on power enjoy camping, I have 400 amps batteries, and 400 watts on the roof plus 200 to follow the sun
Sounds like you have a pretty solid solar setup. We are looking to add to our battery bank before next season to allow us a little more flexibility. The only issue with not having enough battery /solar with 12 v fridges is that you do worry and dont want to be left stuck. Thanks for the great comment !!
12v only fridge is an absolute deal breaker for me on a new 5th wheel and it's looking like ALL manufacturers are going this stupid route. We're looking at pre-owned pre-'22 models with old school, AC/LPG fridges.
Great that they have solar from the factory but if it consumes all the battery storage for 12v fridge and on-demand water (another brain fart IMO) it's useless to run much more in the trailer when boondocking - and that's ALL we do. Running generators for hours daily is not ideal for sure.
Compounding our problem is that my wife has COPD and runs an oxygen concentrator through the night. We've done well in our '15 303 with 400w solar, 2000w inverter and 4 6-volt flooded batteries @ 216ah per for nearly 900ah (50% is about 400ah usable). We've gotten 9 years and counting out of these batteries 🧐. Considering lithium but they're only 100ah per so at 80% 4 of them gives me 320ah usable and about $5k and will not get it done. I ran the oxygen at home with a Kill-O-Meter and drawing 2.67kwh overnight (8-ish hours) so will do the math again. We might have to stick with the 303 and add one more 200w panel and a couple more 6-volt batteries, which means all 6 will need to be new.
That’s why we are doing these test. Not everyone’s camping style is the same and some people have different needs. For sure seems like a 12v fridge setup may not be the best thing for your power needs. I know there are some good brands of lithium that are cheaper than you are referencing. Lithium can be essentially used down farther than 20%. In the long run there are lithium options that are more space and weight effective than lead acid if you are needing extensive power during your boondocking.
ALLWAYS back up with a generator
Always good advice when you are dry camping.
What fridge is that?
It’s a GE 9.8 cu ft fridge
Model #GPV10FSNBSB
Your gonna need to stay away from trees if you're running on solar
For sure , we get about 2 days without solar