Anyone swap 12v for a propane frig.?

[56Jeff]

Is this an option a local dealer would do. I think 12v frig dry camping is not a good idea.

Hints & thouhts welcom to educate me.

TIA
56jeff

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Yea, I thought the exact same thing when we bought our 2023 340RL with the 12v frig. If Lithum batteries prices had not fallen through the floor, it might still be a hard pill to swallow. However, you can get 300-400 amp hours of Lithium batteries now for cheap. Using the single solar panel that comes with the RV's now, you could stay out for ~5 days. Add another battery or solar and you could go for ~10 days. (granted you have sun for the panels). Lithium batteries can also charger VERY fast...so add in a small Honda generator and you'll be able to top off batteries in a few hours.

 

[Lantley]

I think the original thought is correct. 12 volt fridges are not ideal for boondocking. However for $1,000.00 or so you can purchase additional power sources to make the 12 volt fridge viable.

 

[dwcfish]

I think the other consideration in going from a 12V to a propane refrigerator is that you will need to do some major cutting on the exterior of your rig for venting and air flow.

 

[stanburnb]

I installed 920 ah of lithium batteries with 2200 watts of solar and a Victron MultiPlus II inverter. I don't worry about the 12 volt fridge. Yesterday I ran the air conditioner for 8 hours and this morning I am at 72% charged. I don't carry a generator. The draw of the 12v refrigerator can be dealt with in various ways.

 

[Lantley]

The point is if you plan to regularly camp off grid you need to make additional power additions and modifications for the 12 volt fridge.
My old school absorption fridge requires no additional resources to go off grid.
That said it is a different off grid world today. Solar and Lithium are changing how the off grid game is played.
Nevertheless the 12 volt fridge alone forces campers to take the next solar/Lithium step in order to ensure they have adequate fridge power when going off grid.
In the long run I'm sure it's easier to add solar/Lithium power to the 12 volt fridge vs. installing a new absorption fridge.

 

[DanNJanice]

Lots of good points made in this thread. I deliberately sought out an Alliance with the absorption refrigerator for the very reason you state. I could probably run all summer on 1 or 2 propane fills. However, retrofitting a absorption refrigerator could get very expensive, depending on what you want. For example my double door Dometic costs almost $7000 new.

 

[Long Islander]

I too used to feel as you do about the DC Refrigerator. Now that we've used it for a couple years (our last trailer had one also), I've come to really like the DC powered refrigerator. The 2 extra cubic feet (8 vs 10 cu-ft) of space inside comes in very handy and it works really well, no matter how hot it gets outside. I only sized our battery plant so we could boondock for a few days so we only have 2 100AH lithium batteries (I could easily add more) and a 400 watt solar panel. We also carry a 4000/3200 watt generator, but haven't needed it so far. So, I agree with Lantley and the others above, that you could buy a lot of lithium batteries for $1000.

The biggest issue we have with boondocking is the Furrion instant water heater. It wastes SO MUCH WATER!

 

[BryanValRox]

I think the other consideration in going from a 12V to a propane refrigerator is that you will need to do some major cutting on the exterior of your rig for venting and air flow.

Great point, that alone would push me to exploring the path of Solar upgrades and additional lithium battery capacity.
We don’t boondock, so we never have had an issue with the 12 volt camping or on travel days.