A powered cooler to fit between the second row captains chairs

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377th PFAB

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I was so happy to find this forum and thread. I agree that a cooler would be incredible. Here is what I'm working on. I purchased an ARB refrigerator. I want it to be able to run when the truck isn't running. In order to accomplish this, you need a deep cycle marine battery that will provide the power to run the compressor. You also need a way of recharging the marine battery as I'm told that the OEM alternator is not designed to provide the charge. To accomplish this, a 100 W solar panel can be installed on the roof and wired to the marine battery. I have not done this install yet but it does work as I have just bench tested it. Putting a marine battery in the rear of the Expy is not big deal for me as I store all kinds of equipment back there already and the battery can be placed in a protective case. I hope to get this done in the next couple weeks and will let everyone knows how it goes.
 

montecarlo31

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We have an engel and it works very well, we had it in our expedition as well as our QX and now LC. Be warned the Expeditions have limited battery space run time is a factor (remember once cooled and at temperature amp draw is very low. It's also difficult to find a good dual battery setup for expeditions. We were able to offset the battery issue with a simple remote start system. When battery voltage dropped below a specific threshold it would start the truck and charge the battery to a point. I could set the run based on interior temperature (high or low) as well as battery voltage.

https://expeditionportal.com/buyers-guide-portable-fridge-freezers/
 

aggiegrad05

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If there is one thing I have learned on this forum (from this thread, the one about powering a dashcam/radar detector from the rearview mirror, anything FORscan related, tunes, etc.) it's that I have a VASTLY different definition of "simple" and "easy" than many of you incredibly smart folks do. HA!!

Keep up the good work!
 

Sgt Darkness

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My 18 has a household plug in front of the second row, however, when you shut off the vehicle I assume the power to the plug shuts off too otherwise your battery would take a beating, but I’m just not sure at this point.
 

Habbibie

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Yea but doesn't coolers consume more than 400 amps of power anyways? That's what the factory 120v plug can supply as far as I know.
 

montecarlo31

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Yea but doesn't coolers consume more than 400 amps of power anyways? That's what the factory 120v plug can supply as far as I know.
400 amps? That would be two house panels in the average house. I think you mean 400 watts.
 
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