We always start out with ours cold before heading out - we actually keep the fridge and freezer full and plugged in all season long. Since this unit is our first with a residential fridge I was a bit apprehensive and did some dry runs before heading out on the road. With the 2 dealer installed batteries fully charged I was able to get 24 & 26 hours respectively with my backyard tests, keep in mind that this was the refrigerator / freezer only, no cabin lighting or fans. We have had no problems with the unit while on the road travelling, battery indicator never leaves full. We did however just get back from a 2 week dry camping trip in the Adirondacks. In preparation I added a 3rd battery in the front compartment to have a few extra amps and require less generator running. The first couple of days I was very impressed but by only running the generator 2-3 hours a day my batteries would be low, not dead. The limited runtime was not enough time to peak out all three batteries, but not really an issue.
One thing that I learned midway through our trip is that the invertor draws significant power over time whether the fridge runs or not. The second week when we would call it a night I would turn off the invertor which take the power from the fridge, but being insulated and not being opened till morning it stayed plenty cold on its own. That 6-7 hours each night really eliminated a lot of current draw and helped to maintain my batteries.
All of my fears of a residential unit are gone - really like the extra space now I understand how to use it.
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Working because we have to - camping because we want to.
2015 Salem Hemishere 337 BAR
2014 Ram 3500SRW Laramie 6.7 I6
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