upgrading 2-way fridge to 3-way ...

[mrffrank440]

I kind of started this question in another thread, and got responses from xrated and happy frood, but I wanted to get responses from the entire community.

The topic: Keeping the fridge cold while in transit using battery power.
The Question: Has anybody made their 2-way into a 3-way fridge. Pros, cons, cost and was it worth it?

I know the following:

* My 2020, 22MLE does not have solar and 1 lead acid battery (already replaced once. Next battery will be lithium)
* My typical drive-to-destination is about 3-6 hours, in outside temps typically 80F and above
* No dry camping for the foreseeable future
* I do not have, nor want a generator
* Running LP while traveling is not recommended, although sounds like many do it.
* Pre-cool the fridge 2 days before (which I can and have done in the past)
* Freeze what you can and place it in the fridge. Typically I also include a 5# bag of ice, although this limits the amount of space for other stuff.
* I really do not want to bring a cooler, but have in the past
* I was thinking about upgrading to a 12V fridge, but the $1,200 - $1,800 is a little steep and honestly, I like having the LP when all power goes out at a campground, which has happened to me twice!

When growing up we had 2 Golden Falcons (22' and a 28') and a beautiful 32' Dauphin trailer. All of them had 3-way fridges. For the convenience and safety, I am not sure why the industry went for only 2-way, especially given the solar and battery technology improvements these days. I know some current drivables have a 3-way fridge, but I can see where it would be easier to make this happen and manage.

Based on the feedback from xrated, (I would) ...need an inverter and connect that to the fridge receptacle. From Happy Frood, you'd have to configure the inverter to power the refrigerator plug outlet for travel ....

I did not understand the statement from Happy Frood about "configuring the inverter..." but has anybody tried doing this? The holly grail for me would be to have the battery (even if it means getting a 2nd battery) maintain its charge while traveling down the road, keeping and maintaining a cool fridge.

[xrated]

I moved this out of the General Section to the Appliances Section

[NB Canada]

* Running LP while traveling is not recommended, although sounds like many do it.
.

I would say “most” do it
It really is quite harmless and you should consider just doing it. Very safe,simple and you already have it

[Hoopy Frood]

I kind of started this question in another thread, and got responses from xrated and happy frood, but I wanted to get responses from the entire community.

The topic: Keeping the fridge cold while in transit using battery power.
The Question: Has anybody made their 2-way into a 3-way fridge. Pros, cons, cost and was it worth it?

I know the following:

* My 2020, 22MLE does not have solar and 1 lead acid battery (already replaced once. Next battery will be lithium)
* My typical drive-to-destination is about 3-6 hours, in outside temps typically 80F and above
* No dry camping for the foreseeable future
* I do not have, nor want a generator
* Running LP while traveling is not recommended, although sounds like many do it.
* Pre-cool the fridge 2 days before (which I can and have done in the past)
* Freeze what you can and place it in the fridge. Typically I also include a 5# bag of ice, although this limits the amount of space for other stuff.
* I really do not want to bring a cooler, but have in the past
* I was thinking about upgrading to a 12V fridge, but the $1,200 - $1,800 is a little steep and honestly, I like having the LP when all power goes out at a campground, which has happened to me twice!

When growing up we had 2 Golden Falcons (22' and a 28') and a beautiful 32' Dauphin trailer. All of them had 3-way fridges. For the convenience and safety, I am not sure why the industry went for only 2-way, especially given the solar and battery technology improvements these days. I know some current drivables have a 3-way fridge, but I can see where it would be easier to make this happen and manage.

Based on the feedback from xrated, (I would) ...need an inverter and connect that to the fridge receptacle. From Happy Frood, you'd have to configure the inverter to power the refrigerator plug outlet for travel ....

I did not understand the statement from Happy Frood about "configuring the inverter..." but has anybody tried doing this? The holly grail for me would be to have the battery (even if it means getting a 2nd battery) maintain its charge while traveling down the road, keeping and maintaining a cool fridge.

Just a short chime-in from me: the 3-way fridges went away because the old 12V part of the 3-way was lousy, it simply wouldn't keep stuff cold, and drew a, relatively, large amount of 12V power.

[huntr70]

I know some current drivables have a 3-way fridge,

Not sure where you see that, I haven't seen a true 3 way refer in years.

[mrffrank440]

....the 3-way fridges went away because the old 12V part of the 3-way was lousy, it simply wouldn't keep stuff cold, and drew a, relatively, large amount of 12V power.

Would you say LP is more effective in keeping the fridge/freezer cooler than shore power as well ? If yes, then this makes sense, as I could see a flame would be better at keeping the ammonia "boiling" better than heater coils.

[jkwilson]

The 3-way units didn’t even try to match their operation on 12V to that of shore power or propane. The power demand is too high, so the cooling ability was greatly reduced for 12V operation.

In order to fully cool, a typical RV refrigerator needs about 320W for heating and nearly another 30W for control electronics. 350W from the 12V system is nearly 30A. With the 8A or so typically provided to the trailer by the tow vehicle, that leaves the trailer battery providing 22A. With a typical single battery setup, that would work for a couple of hours at best.

It’s not impossible to upgrade the battery bank and add an inverter to handle it, but it would be simpler to change to a 12V compressor cooling unit or change the whole refrigerator.

[OshawaDave]

I would say “most” do it
It really is quite harmless and you should consider just doing it. Very safe,simple and you already have it

Agree 100%.

[Dadeo6472]

Stop overthinking it. Just turn the fridge on and use propane while underway. That's one of the reasons for having a propane fridge. They work great while moving while traveling.

The only time turn off the propane while underway is when required to for tunnels and some bridges. For these situations pull to the side and turn off the gas.