How I Run My 12v Fridge While Camping (2 Years of Camping!)

In this article we’ll be discussing my own experiences using 12 volt refrigerators while tent and car camping, and how the experience differs from my camping trips using a cooler.  I’ll cover how I power it, the other ways you can power it, the fridge’s performance during camp trips, and how it performs on different trips for me, or how I use it on a 5,000 mile road trip vs the weekend campsite a half hour away.  I’ll also cover a few of the deciding factors that led me to my choice of a 12 volt fridge, some of the factors may be different for you!

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Disclaimer:  There will be Amazon Affiliate Links for the items I use in this article, but I encourage you to make your own assessment and buy what will work best for you and your family’s needs.

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About the 12 Volt Camp Fridge I Use

My fridge is a 12v Euhomy fridge. Some relevant info:

Why Did I Buy the Fridge?

I bought it because I was sick and tired of dealing with ice.  It seemed like no matter how much I wrapped my food up or what Tupperware I put it in, water would find a way into the food by the end of the camping trip and ruin a few items.  Leaving a campsite to buy ice was becoming a pain just for it to melt a day later, and I wasn’t going to shell out hundreds of dollars just to buy a more expensive cooler that would melt ice a day or too later and still leave me dealing with ice. 

I camp regularly enough and use simple enough gear (I still sleep in my 10 year old Walmart tent) that I felt I could justify one large purchase to dramatically increase my enjoyment while camping and traveling. 

Lastly, I also live in an area that gets a lot of storms in the Spring and Fall.  It’s not uncommon for a thunderstorm to knock out our power for a few hours to several days once or twice a year.  The longest so far was 9 days of no power; unfortunately, I did not own the camp fridge then. 🙁 

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How I Power the Fridge When I Camp

The great thing about almost all 12 volt camping fridges now, is that they can be powered several different ways. 

Almost all, including mine, can be powered off AC outlets while at home to pre-chill the fridge, or by plugging them into a traditional cigarette lighter port in your car.  Since my trips are often a mix of camping and road trips, I purchased a battery that fits into the fridge as well. 

I don’t recommend buying a battery specifically for the fridge like I did and I’ll cover why later.

So how the fridge is powered on my weekend trips is like this:

• Plug the fridge into the wall at home to get the temperature down
  • I do this as I’m packing food into the fridge
  • This is running the fridge, and charging the battery as well
• When we’re ready to head out, I plug the fridge into the cigarette lighter of my car
  • This is also charging the battery as well
• At the campsite, the battery is fully charged, I use a small solar generator to continue to keep the battery topped off at the campsite.  I plug the fridge into the AC ports on the solar generator
• If there is power at the campsite, I plug the fridge into the shore power
• Anytime I leave the campsite, to a trail or store, I take the fridge with me and plug it into the car to charge a little again while I’m driving

I do not have my cigarette lighters in the car wired to continue to drain the car battery when the car is turned off, so when the car is turned off, no more charging from the car.

The solar generator I use is no longer made, it is a 4 year old Aeiusny 300 watt Solar Generator.  Equivalent spec models right now are in the $150-$200 range on Amazon. 

And no, I hadn’t heard of this brand either, although it’s really worked well.  Because I bought a model that was no longer being made, I was able to find cheap solar panels for it on eBay, likely being sold by somebody upgrading their own setup.

The reason I regret purchasing the battery for the camp fridge, is because it does nothing productive for me, other than run the fridge. 

I could’ve used that $150 for a second solar generator, or larger solar generator, that would run all AC/DC/USB gadgets I have.  Instead, I used it to buy a battery that only works for one thing, the fridge. 

If I hadn’t bought the fridge battery, that means anytime I turned off the car, the fridge would turn off as well because there would be no battery running it.  

This means that if you stop driving to run into a store, restaurant, or go on a hike, the temp in the fridge would slowly climb until you got back to the car and turned it back on again.

To get around this, you would have to plug the fridge into the solar generator when the car is off, so the fridge continues to run off the solar generator in the car while you’re on your outing.

When you get back to the car, you would plug both the solar generator and the camp fridge into different cigarette lighters in your car to charge them both.  If you don’t have two different cigarette lighter ports, you can get them on Amazon, but don’t get a cheap one as you want it to handle the load of the refrigerator. 

Your fridge will likely use 45 watts of electricity, even if it’s a small one, meaning 90 watts surge for a split second when you turn it on.  If you buy a DC splitter that can’t put out 90-100 watts on a single port, it won’t do you any good.

Tl;dr:

While camping, I run the fridge off a solar generator, and the 12 volt “cigarette lighter” port in my car when driving.  I do not use a traditional gas generator, but will use AC power when it’s available (very rarely).

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Any Unique Features I Should Look For?

To keep it simple, in a way.

The more “features,” the more opportunities there are for things to break down.  You need your camp fridge to function reliably and not to worry about unnecessary gimmicks.  If you see one advertising a Bluetooth speaker built into it, or a super flashy app or extra large cupholders built into the lid, stay away.

That being said, there are a few conveniences I like about the fridge, features I use regularly.

The LED light inside. This bad boy is just bright enough to light the inside of the fridge at night and turns on automatically when you open it.  No more rummaging in a cooler filled with ice cold water in the dead of night, having a light in the cooler is truly a luxury.

The handles are tough as nails as well.  This fridge weighs 45lbs without anything in it.  1 gallon of water weighs over 8lbs, so the weight can add up quickly.  When you’re shopping for a fridge, make sure the handles are reinforced and/or repairable.  If they have visible screws, it’s workable.

Wire baskets.  The wire baskets make it super easy to pull the entire contents of the fridge out quickly, but it also serves a more important utilitarian purpose.  The wire makes sure the fridge contents don’t touch and cover the sides and bottom of the fridge itself.  These small gaps of air made by the wire basket help circulate the cold air, cooling all the fridge contents equally.  Think of the opposite, a cooler half filled with ice.  The canned drinks are probably in the ice, cooling really well, but some of the food is having to sit on top of the ice, potentially thawing or warming a little too early. The wire basket promotes equal cooling and it’s actually noticeable.

Other Aspects to Notice:

If you’re buying a heavy fridge, consider opting for one with wheels and a long or retractable pulling handle.

If you don’t need wheels make sure the handles look tough and reinforced.

Handles that lift up and down on a hinge are easy to grab, but if they look cheap, they will break.

Think about opting for handles that are molded into the fridge itself.

Look for reinforced corners for a more rugged and reinforced shell.

An “ECO” or “Low Power” mode helps a lot if you’re going to be without easy power access.

We’ll discuss eco modes later.

Make sure it comes with both an AC and DC plug.

If you need one that comes with a freezer, make sure you can control both independently from each other, ie turn one off and the other on

What Does ECO Mode on a 12v Fridge Mean?

Many 12 volt fridge models have an “ECO” or “Low Power” mode on them.  I have not know these to be a gimmick and most of them operate in a similar way.

On these fridges, you set the temperature to whatever you want, let’s say 40 Fahrenheit. 

On a normal or “Max” mode, the fridge will do it’s best to keep the fridge at exactly 40 degrees.  This means it will repeatedly turn itself back on the moment the temperature reads 41 degrees, just to knock it down 1 degree.  This turning on and off of the compressor (what does the cooling in refrigerators) is not an efficient use of its battery.

You’ll want to verify with each manufacturer you look at, but all 12 volt ECO modes I’m familiar with operate the same way, they give a +/- of 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit.  In other words, if you set the thermostat to keep the fridge at 40 degrees Fahrenheit on ECO mode, the fridge will allow the temperature to rise to somewhere around 45-47 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the manufacturer. 

At 45-47 degrees, then it will turn on the compressor and cool things down.  At this time, it won’t always stop when it gets the fridge to 40 degrees either.  In an effort to keep itself from turning back on again too soon, some fridges will get the temp down to 33-35 degrees Fahrenheit (the +/- 5-7 degrees mentioned earlier), so it won’t have to turn back on for a little while longer.  Using ECO mode really has made a noticeable extension of battery life for me when I’m off grid.

How To Extend the Battery Life of a 12v Fridge

The obvious ones are to charge the fridge often, pre-chill the fridge before you leave, and only put cold items in the fridge to prevent it from heating up.  All these are plenty of places online.

The more unique ways I’ve done it in real world use is as follows:

• Use the freezer every time you have power (AC or DC).
  • If I’m not using the freezer for actually frozen goods (which I never do), I’m using the freezer to freeze ice packs!
  • Anytime I have access to real power (like my car when I’m driving, a campsite with power, or a hotel for the night) I’m freezing ice packs and water bottles.
  • When I’m back on the battery or solar generator, I put the frozen ice packs, water, etc. into the refrigerator side and turn the freezer off.
  • The frozen goods you place into the fridge helps cool the fridge down even more, without using any power!
  • This is my favorite
• Fill up the fridge
  • The more cold things you have in the fridge, the easier it is to keep cold when it doesn’t have power.
  • This means I will refrigerate non perishables when I have the room
  • This is usually canned soups, canned beans, canned veggies, etc.
  • It’s also boxed foods like pastas or mac & cheese
  • It is breads
  • Canned/Jarred Sauces
  • Fresh fruits like apples, bananas, berries, etc
• When you have real power, (AC outlet or driving your car (DC)) turn off ECO mode and crank the fridge lower than you need.
  • Anytime I’m driving or with access to an outlet, I’m riding the fridge pretty hard
  • I want to make the most of the power I have access to, no matter how short of a time I have it
  • I want the fridge to cool down as fast and aggressively as possible
  • This means if i’m keeping the fridge at 40 degrees Fahrenheit on ECO mode, if I have a 20 minute drive, I’m cranking it down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit on MAX mode
  • It isn’t likely to get down to 20 degrees in 20 minutes, and even if did, the food and drinks won’t freeze immediately below 32 degrees.  That’s just when the freezing process begins
  • If you’re driving here and there to different sites or trail heads like me, then this one works really well

Conclusion: Are 12v Fridges Any Good?

I can only speak for my experiences and the ways that I camp and travel, but I’m very satisfied with my camping fridge. I paid a steep penny for it, but I think it was definitely worth it for how we like to travel. It makes food and drinks way easier to pack and access while on the road or at a campsite, and never having to plunge my hand into a cooler filled with freezing melted ice is a luxury I never thought I’d have.

If you have any questions for me, I’d love to be able to help!

Happy camping!

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