Refrigerator

[Throckmorton]

We just bought a 2018 Arctic Wolf 5th Wheel. How do you keep refrigerator on while driving or dry docking?

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Throckmorton

We just bought a 2018 Arctic Wolf 5th Wheel. How do you keep refrigerator on while driving or dry docking?

What kind of refrigerator is it?
Is it a residential refrigerator or is it a standard RV propane/electric fridge?

[Throckmorton]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

What kind of refrigerator is it?
Is it a residential refrigerator or is it a standard RV propane/electric fridge?

Thanks for answering. It’s an LG residential fridge.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Throckmorton

Thanks for answering. It’s an LG residential fridge.

You will need an inverter. Be sure the wattage is big enough to handle the fridge. An inverter changes DC voltage to AC voltage.

[bikendan]

It should already have an inverter if it has a residential fridge.
Did the dealer not explain how the fridge works during the PDI/walkthrough?

[Curt and Michele]

You posted a residential refrigerator is what you have. These run off of 120 volt just like at home. Unlike a stander-ed RV fridge that will run off of propane or electricity. You will need shore power or a generator to power it.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Curt and Michele

You posted a residential refrigerator is what you have. These run off of 120 volt just like at home. Unlike a stander-ed RV fridge that will run off of propane or electricity. You will need shore power or a generator to power it.

Well, not exactly. The inverter mentioned above transforms 12vDC to 120vAC to operate these residential refrigerators. The most be turned on and have sufficient 12v input power.

[ScottBrownstein]

As others have already said, you should have an inverter in the TT that powers the reefer from it's house batteries, looks like a 1000 watt unit. When driving, you should make sure that you have a working charge line connecting the TV to the TT that will use the TV alternator to keep the batteries charged since the inverter will be discharging them to power the reefer. I good charge line should give plenty of current to offset the load of the reefer when the TT engine is running.

When boondocking, the TV will not charge the house bank so you will need a generator to occasionally re-charge the house batteries. If you have two batteries you will need to run the generator for at least 3 hours in the AM and 3 hours at bedtime. If you boondock for a significant period of time, you really should install a Victron or Trimetric battery gauge so that you will know the state of charge of your house bank. Not a good idea to let it run down below 50% or so as that may permanently damage your batteries.

Finally, if you leave the TT connected to the TV when boondocking, you should have a diode installed in the charge line to prevent the TT from discharging your TV battery.

Long term, solar may help you manage your %SOC, but a generator is a must. Some people get by running the TV and letting the alternator re-charge the TT batteries but that depends on your alternator and charge line. Depending on your reefer, it canl draw around 6-7 amps all the time from your TT bank so you really need at least 20 to 30 amps of recharge current and more than likely the generator connected to the TT's converter will be the only practical way to re-charge after 8 or more hours of boondocking.

Sounds complicated but with an SOC meter it really isn't a problem. Of course, these numbers will change if you run the furnace, which draws about as much as the reefer but not 100% of the time.

[jimla]

Scott explained it well. The only thing I would add is during our PDI the tech mentioned to start ref. up ahead of a trip, so that ref will draw less out of the batteries while traveling. Just make sure inverter is turned on. inverter is what they call pass through, so you can leave it on while hooked to shore power or turn it off until needed while on the road

[Throckmorton]

New here and not sure who this is going to. Our dealer did not explain diddly! Thanks to all the information. As new 5th wheel owners, we are starting from the ground up- especially since we got a 10 min walk around AND because there are no manuals. I’m sure we’ll be back for your help and knowledge.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Throckmorton

New here and not sure who this is going to. Our dealer did not explain diddly! Thanks to all the information. As new 5th wheel owners, we are starting from the ground up- especially since we got a 10 min walk around AND because there are no manuals. I’m sure we’ll be back for your help and knowledge.

Please post the name of the dealer so others can avoid them or demand a proper PDI/walkthrough.