12V coolers?

[rusty ol ranger]

I was thinking about getting one for the semi. That way i could put pop, water, and sandwich meat in it without having to piss with ice.

Plus it would save me money from stopping for stuff and paying gas station prices.

But my question is how much power do these draw? They plug into the cigarette lighter so i cant imagine much, but i dont wanna park the truck after i get back then go out the next day and it wont start.

I got 4 battries on the thing.

Input?

 

[Josh B]

My sister uses one on hers but she's on the road all the time. I've never really asked her much about it

 

[RonD]

You would need to pick a size that works for you and then get the Watts or Amps used at 12volts

Most vehicle batteries are rated in CCA(cold cranking amps) which is of no help for this, lol
You need to know the AH(amp hours) of the batteries, see if its available on-line

AH of 100 means battery can power a 1 amp load for 100 hours before its completely dead/drained
so 2 amps for 50 hours
or 5 amps for 20 hours

With the coolers amps and battery AH you can then figure out how long it can sit with battery only power, I wouldn't go lower than 50%

You can get a 110v to 12v converter with cigarette lighter type plug in, and take cooler inside when staying over somewhere

Also just a heads up, these do emit HEAT in order to cool, just like an AC system in the engine bay gets hot to cool the cab, its a different process but you still get heat out for cool in

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Copy. I guess ill look into it further then. The truck has a mini fridge but it quit working and was inconveant anyways cause i couldnt just grab a drink cause its in the sleeper.

 

[RonD]

Yes, they do that so it can be vented to the outside, the heat that is

You may want to get that frig fixed for sandwich meat and back up drinks and then just get a small cooler for driving drinks and snacks
Not sure you would even need a 12v for that, if drinks are already cold then a good small cooler will keep them cold for quite a few hours
Could also use 2 cold packs and swap them back and forth from sleeper frig to the driving cooler for longer trips

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Yes, they do that so it can be vented to the outside, the heat that is

You may want to get that fixed for sandwich meat and back up drinks and then just get a small cooler for driving drinks and snacks
Not sure you would even need a 12v for that, if drinks are already cold then a good small cooler will keep them cold for quite a few hours

I was having phantom drain issues at one point (well not really, turned out to be a starter and our know it all mechanic wont listen) so i think it msy just be unhooked. Ill check it out.

 

[Josh B]

I talked to my sister earlier and hers is a Coleman she got at Love's on her fuel points. She drives for Werner and only takes a two day break each month. She said it didn't bother her to leave it overnight but on 2 day breaks she unplugs it

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I talked to my sister earlier and hers is a Coleman she got at Love's on her fuel points. She drives for Werner and only takes a two day break each month. She said it didn't bother her to leave it overnight but on 2 day breaks she unplugs it

I haul milk. 2 day breaks are non existant lol.

 

[Dirtman]

Simply solution to dealing with ice piss... dry ice... just make sure you attach a hose to the cooler drain and then vent it outside the cab so you dont, well... die...

That's what I've been doing for my coolers lately. Dry ice last over a week.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

That's the 2nd time I've read the term "ice piss". What is it?

 

[Dirtman]

Ummm well when ice melts it turns to water... then your cooler pisses. Ice piss...

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Lol. I never thought of it that way. I had a lot of much grosser guesses.

 

[Dirtman]

Piss jugs on the other hand are a totally different thing... I keep one of those big wide mouth ice tea containers under my seat at all times. When I was working 3rd shift at a job 3 hours away I was practically living out of my truck. There is an off ramp on the way home littered with those ice tea jugs. I threw a FULL one out the window there every morning coming home.

It sure beat pulling off to pee in a truck stop... those things are creepy as hell at 3am.

I mastered the art of driving with one hand, opening a cap with the other, getting in position, and letting loose then closing the cap without missing a beat at 80mph.

 

[lvwill]

I use one in Vegas. The main problem I've had is that the plugs melt in the power outlet. So I cut the plug off and just hooked up the wires to the CB circuit on the dash and all is good now. I drive 6 days a week locally so no battery problems.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I use one in Vegas. The main problem I've had is that the plugs melt in the power outlet. So I cut the plug off and just hooked up the wires to the CB circuit on the dash and all is good now. I drive 6 days a week locally so no battery problems.

Thats what i run, 6 days but home everynight. What did you haul?