Lou,

Pop asks a great question. If you're not comfortable troubleshooting the electrical system, take the whole rig to an automotive electrical specialist. That will give you peace of mind, and a reefer that will work while you're underway!

Jim

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1967 17' Hi-Lo Bon Voyage (1967-1969)
1969 19' Hi-Lo Bon Voyage (1969-2011)
2004 27' Hi-Lo TowLite (2010-present)
2007 Chevy Suburban

Big Lou,

If you have the refer and its contents cold before you leave home you could probably go most of the way with it turned off. Just don't forget to turn in on as soon as you get to your destination. We turn the refer on the day before we leave and transfer cold things from the house the night before or first thing in the morning. Just make sure everything is cold when you put it in, like soda and things that normally are stored without refrigeration. The refer does a good job of keeping cold things cold but not at cooling allot warm things. When the refer is full of cold stuff it stays cold a long time.

Assuming you have a 12 volt charge line from the tow vehicle you should be able to run the refer with no problem and still have lots of battery power. If you will be plugging into shore power when you get there your battery will charge back up.

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Great Wife, Joyce
2010 2310H Hi-Lo
2012 F150 4X4 SuperCrew EcoBoost w/Leer Cap
Reese WD Strait-Line Hitch
Amateur Radio K3EXU

Pop, I believe all my wiring is correct I just wanted to see if the solar panel combined with the truck would keep the battery charged with frig. working.

FWIW, I run on DC while driving (F350), and have 3 Sensi solar panels. The only problems I have had draining battery, even on long drives, was when the connector was not making contact at the truck. The original connector has too much insulation on the end (almost 1/8 in), and does not make good solid contact, can work loose even when latched properly. Replaced connector no problems since.

Other issue was a refer controller board. Sometimes while dry camping, refer set to run on propane, but controller board decided to ALSO activate DC, so was running on both DC and propane! Replaced the board with a Dinosaur board last fall. Seems to work now, but need the full summer to test for sure.
Dinosaur has better controls, even fine tune on temps. The temp fix I used for this issue on the original failing board was to pull the 30A fuse for the DC element while on propane, (in the refer lower compartment) then plug it back in when going on the road to use DC.

G

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2507C - 2007 50th Anniversary Edition Classic
1999 F350 CrewCab SRW 4WD Longbed
Amateur Radio W0MKZ since 1957

Never tried DC on mine. Previous owner said it would drain battery. I plug into AC a day or two before and load up when it is cold. I did use a block of ice one time on a longer trip. But usually it will stay cold and I just hook back into AC at my destination. I'm a little timid yet at "dry camping".

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1989 FunLite 19'
2005 Ford Explorer
1999 Dodge Dakota (Hopefully hitched soon)

When you dry camp, you should run the refrigerator on propane. That won't affect the battery.

If you have a strong enough lead from the tow vehicle, it should charge the battery and not drain it. With our Tacoma, we had to upgrade the wiring to a larger size in order to charge the trailer batteries.

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Les

2006 22ft towlite (replaces 97 21TL)
2006 Toyota tacoma pre-runner 4.0 L V-6 quad cab
w/ 98 chevy Powervision towing mirrors

Run a 10 gauge wire for the charging system and that is all you need.

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1996 22'Hi-Lo
2001 Toyota Tacoma

We just returned from a 4,000 mile trip in the western US and used the fridge on DC while driving (around 5-7 hours each day). Our food always stayed cold. One night we stayed in a hotel and I set the fridge to gas for the night. The top was down and it still worked fine. Probably won't do that again now that I know about the vent issue, but it did work. I have 10 gauge wire running to my charging circuit on the trailer with a 30 amp breaker. Also left the fridge on DC while away from the trailer during the day. Sometimes for several hours with no dead batteries. I think if you have adequate power to the trailer, DC should work well, even when it's hot outside.

I use dry ice for long trips, I tried it for a short trip, and hell, it froze my beer! I dont stock the bottom, that is where I put the dry ice, and I put my beer in the cooler now, lol.

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From Kansas: 29ft '95 5th, converted to toybox in rear, by Hilo. Pics soon, Some Here.

YES but set on # 1. When Parked FOR A WHILE & ESPECIALLY WHEN FILLING WITH LP GAS OR GASOLINE BE SURE TO TURN OFF THE TANKS & FRIDGE.

YOU MAY HAVE A FUSE BLOWN IN YOUR TRUCKS CHARGING CIRCUIT. FUSE PROB IN DIST BOX UNDER HOOD OR PU AT REAR IS WIRED WRONG.