Portable fridge in the heat

[Maverick Man]

I've searched past post to see if this has been talked about and I haven't found it yet. I want to get a portable fridge to put in the back of the Maverick. I need it for summer time where is likely to be 100° or higher on road trips. I have a soft toner cover. It seems that all of the refrigerators emit heat from the fan and being that I have a cover on it I would think it would get extremely hot in there and make it difficult to work or even burn out the motor. Has any used a portable refrigerator in the truck bed WITH the cover on?
Thanks much!

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[Tim d]

I've searched past post to see if this has been talked about and I haven't found it yet. I want to get a portable fridge to put in the back of the Maverick. I need it for summer time where is likely to be 100° or higher on road trips. I have a soft toner cover. It seems that all of the refrigerators emit heat from the fan and being that I have a cover on it I would think it would get extremely hot in there and make it difficult to work or even burn out the motor. Has any used a portable refrigerator in the truck bed WITH the cover on?
Thanks much!

Following.i don't think the inverter will put out enough to power a portable fridge?

 

[TrailMaster]

Following.i don't think the inverter will put out enough to power a portable fridge?

Easily! Most car fridges can run off the 12v power port. They pull like 50-60w.

 

[Tim d]

Easily! Most car fridges can run off the 12v power port. They pull like 50-60w.

Thx,good to know! I don't think the heat would be an issue, if you think about all the small fridges in a small camper. You could keep the tanu cover cracked open a bit in the back.

 

[crashdumie]

mini fridges do not have that much of an output, Big Truck Drivers, have one in their cab.
they also make electric coolers. those are made for vehicles so I would presume the heat output would not be too much. and you can pull it out and take it with you when you stop somewhere.

 

[Refrigman]

mini fridges do not have that much of an output, Big Truck Drivers, have one in their cab.
they also make electric coolers. those are made for vehicles so I would presume the heat output would not be too much. and you can pull it out and take it with you when you stop somewhere.

But the thermoelectric portable refrigerators only will pull down to temps of about 40 degrees below their ambient temperature. So if placed in an area at 100 degrees they will only cool to about 60. If placed in the back seat of your air conditioned cab they will work fine. The small compressor powered units will do better but do draw more amperage. Neither will give off enough heat to cause any damage to your tonneau cover.

 

[bgn]

The AC inverter is not made for things with compressors. You can get portable fridges that run off 12 volts and they work very well.

 

[ndmiller]

I use this in the back of my Rivian plugged into a portable battery plugged into the truck. Pull from battery when I'm away from truck but while driving pulls from truck. Have solar panels to recharge portable battery in about 1-2 hours I can use while at soccer tournaments to power fridge essentially forever.

Haven't used in daughters maverick, but the principal would apply the same.

ICECO GO20 Dual Zone Portable Refrigerator, Separate Control, 21 Quart/20 Liter, DC & AC, 0℉ to 50℉, with Secop Compressor, Mini Fridge Cooler Refrigerator for Outdoor, Home Use, White

 

[Panther City Outdoors]

I use this one and have it hooked up to an Ecoflow battery. I leave mine in the cab, where it easily heats up to 100. I don't think you'd have a problem at all, just have at least 500W (less if you van hook up a solar panel.)

https://amzn.to/4bYb75e

 

[Maverickman74]

So I have been using 2 of the cheapest portable fridge freezers available since 2018. I have run them in an AMC Eagles, a 96 Bronco, a ZJ, and our Maverick with a topper on the back. The bigger and older one currently lives back there and is occasionally subject to pretty hot temps though most of the time we use it our dogs are back there with it and we have to windows open for them. I have had them running in my bronco for up to a hour with all the windows up in the hot tropical sun. I'm sure the pump was running more than normal but the drinks were ice cold.

Long story short, think it will be fine. Some companies also sell thermal blankets that fit their fridges. You can also make on of these for any fridge fairly easily. In my bronco, it replaced the center console so I made a foam wrapped in vinyl armrest for it, it helps with insulating the lid. The lid is the most vulnerable part. If you do make a cover don't cover the vents for the fan and condenser.

 

[Silvaire]

I have a soft cover and a portable fridge and we carry it back there 24/7. I plug it in when we leave the grocery store or go on trips and it works fine. When the compressor is running it takes about 45 Watts

 

[EjayM]

I use this. It's a small fridge/freezer, but I bought the magnetic battery pack. I also have a bed rack with a rooftop tent above it so it might not get as hot as your tonneau cover is hit by the sun directly.

https://icecofreezer.com/products/new-silver-58qt-apl55-dual-zone-12-volt-fridge-iceco

 

[AceGoliath]

I have a 43L Anker Everfrost that I got during their Kickstarter campaign last year. Pretty much been running 24/7 for the last year whether it's in the Bronco, the bed of the Maverick, at home used as extra fridge space, and/or for drinks for parties.

I’ve had it in the back of the Maverick on hot summer days in the 100s with no issues under a soft trifold tonneau.

It also has a battery and has a temperature range down to -4F. The 36 hour battery life is at 39F, but on hot days I definitely can get at minimum a full day at 32F no issues off the battery.

If needed, I plug it in and it only draws off of the vehicle as needed to recharge when the vehicle is on and running. Advertised to go from 77F to 32F in 30 minutes.

It runs off the battery. So when plugged in and running the only draw is essentially just to charge the battery and/or keep it charged once it’s at 100%.

If the battery is removed it still can run off the cord as well, but draw will obviously be higher.

 

[mav_kev]

I will echo the others and say you'll be fine - just don't pack a bunch of stuff around the vents for the fridge so that it can dissipate the heat generated by the compressor. Judging by some of the dust incursion I've had on dirt roads, there's likely more airflow than you think with a closed tonneau.

I too have an Iceco fridge, that I hook into a small Bluetti power station, which I plug into the outlet in the bed. To me, this seems like the optimal daisy chain for travel, especially with any extended stops.

 

[BAScott62]

I drive solo 99% of the time. I moved the passenger seat up where only a midget could fit and put a 30 qt size in the floorboard behind it. Sits secure and is in handy reach for a cool bottle of water on those long road trips.

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