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Subject Topic: Fridge question
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Personnavver
05/8/2020 at 8:34pm
 Location: West country
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To be honest you will be lucky to get 2 amps into the leisure battery while towing if the fridge is also running. Not really worth bothering with.

The alternator current will virtually all go to charging the car battery as that has far less volt drop being so close. Once teh car battery is charged the alternator will reduce voltage.


PersonMJRJ2015
via mobile 06/8/2020 at 12:08am
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Too late now though I guess? Can I run the fridge off the leisure battery for transit then and switch it over to mains electric hook up when we arrive?

If not I guess the beer will stay warm for a while, or at least until the fridge cools


Persontango55
06/8/2020 at 12:18am
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As previously mentioned, the 12 volt power to run the fridge will be delivered from the towing vehicle's alternator only, providing that the circuit is wired up with a live feed therefore you can't operate the fridge from the leisure battery merely because it would simply drain the battery in a short time. The only other remaining power sources are gas or mains electric, that's why they call it a 3 way fridge.


Personmarg6
06/8/2020 at 8:18am
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Quote: Originally posted by MJRJ2015 on 06/8/2020
Too late now though I guess? Can I run the fridge off the leisure battery for transit then and switch it over to mains electric hook up when we arrive?

If not I guess the beer will stay warm for a while, or at least until the fridge cools


certainly not to late! get him to come back and do the job correctly, no excuses this time


PersonCrypto
06/8/2020 at 6:17pm
 Location: Sussex
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It's a big job to install the two large cables from the battery area back to the tow bar. Involves a lot of trim removal with the risk of causing damage to the tow car interior. That's why it costs a lot of money to properly wire a 13 pin socket or indeed a 7 pin grey socket.
Coupled with the need to re-program the tow vehicle's cpu to defeat the smart alternator it's no wonder it's a hard job to get a properly fitted and wired towbar these days.


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PersonColin21
06/8/2020 at 6:57pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Crypto on 06/8/2020
It's a big job to install the two large cables from the battery area back to the tow bar. Involves a lot of trim removal with the risk of causing damage to the tow car interior. That's why it costs a lot of money to properly wire a 13 pin socket or indeed a 7 pin grey socket.
Coupled with the need to re-program the tow vehicle's cpu to defeat the smart alternator it's no wonder it's a hard job to get a properly fitted and wired towbar these days.



Yes it is a big job installing those heavy cables, but if that's what the customer wants, it should still be done. It's not for the installer to decide what they are not going to do without consulting with the customer before they start.

I manage quite happily with just a 7 pin socket, but that is my choice. If I wanted a 13 pin socket fitted I would expect the installer to give me the option of a basic installation or a complete one.


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Best Regards,
Colin


Personnavver
06/8/2020 at 7:49pm
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If you do relatively short journeys like 3 to 4 hours or less the fridge will stay cool if it's pre cooled on mains 230 volt or gas before the journey and you keep the door shut. Just plug it in the day before and preferably fill it up.

You must not use the fridge on gas while towing.


PersonMJRJ2015
via mobile 06/8/2020 at 7:57pm
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Thank you, that’s what I was thinking. Gonna struggle with precool though as it will be storage....


PersonColin21
06/8/2020 at 10:35pm
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Quote: Originally posted by MJRJ2015 on 06/8/2020
Thank you, that’s what I was thinking. Gonna struggle with precool though as it will be storage....


That would make things more difficult. You would need to pre-cool it though even if you had a supply from the car. The car supply only really keeps it cool, it won't be enough to actually cool it much. You would probably be better getting some frozen foods and/or ice packs you have frozen at home and fill the fridge with them before you set off. Keep the door shut on the journey and you should be fine unless you are planning to travel to the south of France or somewhere. It's what we usually did with our previous caravan. The one we have now has had a domestic mains-only fridge installed at some point, but fortunately we keep it at home so we plug it in overnight the day before. We still put some frozen stuff in before we leave though as we can't connect it to the car, being mains-only.


-------------
Best Regards,
Colin


Personmarg6
07/8/2020 at 2:13am
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Quote: Originally posted by MJRJ2015 on 06/8/2020
Thank you, that’s what I was thinking. Gonna struggle with precool though as it will be storage....


just take your food with as much as you can already frozen, for items your not going to be needing right away if you put them in your freezer box they will stay frozen for a couple of days without any power at all, aslong as the freezer box is full and doesnt get opened, the fridge section will be nicely cold for a couple of days if you have as much as you can such as 1 pt of milk cartons, frozen butter sausages bacon etc etc and they will slowly thaw but be perfectly fine for many hours travelling like that


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PersonMJRJ2015
via mobile 08/8/2020 at 8:33am
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Thank you for all of your replies.



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