Powering a chest freezer at a motel

[eaglemountainman]

If I'm lucky, I'll be heading home from Alberta in Oct. with a freezer full of frozen moose meat. It will be a 4-5 day drive, and I'll be overnight in motels. I'm hoping to run an extension cord to the freezer while I'm there.
Has anyone here done this, and if so, was the motel okay with it or not?

 

[Duh]

I’ve done it and left the freezer in back of the truck. Just brought two extension cords and parked close to an outlet. Never asked the motel and just did it.

 

[Hectocotylus]

If you have the meat cool/cold before you get to the hotel the freezer should act like a big cooler overnight especially since it isn’t in the sunshine then. Run the freezer during the day when you have a setup for it and leave it alone at night would be my thought


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[eaglemountainman]

I’ve done it and left the freezer in back of the truck. Just brought two extension cords and parked close to an outlet. Never asked the motel and just did it.

Thanks.
Yeah, that's my intention. I have a 2500 watt inverter, but it won't fit with all my other gear. So the freezer will be a cooler while I'm on the road, and plugged in while at the motels. I'd even be willing to pay a few bucks extra.

 

[Bubblehide]

Install an inverter in the bed of your truck and run the freezer when the engine is running, and you likely will not have to worry about it.

 

[roadrunner]

Ship enough of your gear home to make room for the inverter. That way you can have the freezer unplugged at night.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Install an inverter in the bed of your truck and run the freezer when the engine is running, and you likely will not have to worry about it.

I have an inverter outlet in my truck console. I'm told it's not enough to power the freezer compressor. I'm not looking to install one with larger capacity for a one shot deal.

 

[JoeB]

we have come back from Colorado with freezers full and just have extension cords to plug into outside outlet at hotel. never asked never had an issue. stays cold all day traveling once cold

 

[solostalker]

Will your meat be completely frozen at the beginning of your drive? If so, depending on how well your freezer is insulated and the temps it should stay mostly frozen for the trip home even without having to run the freezer

Lots of people transport frozen meat like this in large coolers and have no issues with it thawing. Maybe throw is some frozen milk jugs or dry ice.

 

[Bubblehide]

Ship enough of your gear home to make room for the inverter. That way you can have the freezer unplugged at night.

A typical freezer draws 5 amps. A typical vehicles high amp fuse is 40 amps. 8 gage wire can handle 40 amps. One can easily get compact inverters from 200, to 10,000 amps. So literally, no need to ship gear anaywhere, despite the over active imagination of yours.

Pro tip, use jumper cables as your wire run from battery to your inverter. Simply cut to lengts and replace the ends. Easy peasy. If you want it on a switch in the cab, you can use solenoid like one for a winch if you have a high draw.

 

[wnelson14]

My plan with taking a freezer is leaving big jugs of water frozen at the bottom to help when it’s unplugged.
Replug in and hopefully Jugs refreeze.

 

[roadrunner]

A typical freezer draws 5 amps. A typical vehicles high amp fuse is 40 amps. 8 gage wire can handle 40 amps. One can easily get compact inverters from 200, to 10,000 amps. So literally, no need to ship gear anaywhere, despite the over active imagination of yours.

Pro tip, use jumper cables as your wire run from battery to your inverter. Simply cut to lengts and replace the ends. Easy peasy. If you want it on a switch in the cab, you can use solenoid like one for a winch if you have a high draw.

Simply replying to the OP's post:

Thanks.
Yeah, that's my intention. I have a 2500 watt inverter, but it won't fit with all my other gear. So the freezer will be a cooler while I'm on the road, and plugged in while at the motels. I'd even be willing to pay a few bucks extra.

I don't need the suggestion, but thanks anyway.

 

[Bubblehide]

Simply replying to the OP's post:



I don't need the suggestion, but thanks anyway.

Perhaps someone is mixing up an inverter with a generator.

 

[roadrunner]

Perhaps someone is mixing up an inverter with a generator.

 

[MtnW]

Bring some duct tape. Did this in WY one year. Left camp with 2 elk in the freezer when the temp was around 50F outside. Got to the hotel for the night. Used an extension cord but couldn’t close the hotel door completely. Woke up in the middle of the night to 50mph winds , blizzard snow blowing into our hotel room and about a 50 degree temperature drop. Never able to get our room heated again and made for a long night. Duct tape would have helped seal around the door.

 

[Dented]

A typical freezer draws 5 amps. A typical vehicles high amp fuse is 40 amps. 8 gage wire can handle 40 amps. One can easily get compact inverters from 200, to 10,000 amps. So literally, no need to ship gear anaywhere, despite the over active imagination of yours.

Pro tip, use jumper cables as your wire run from battery to your inverter. Simply cut to lengts and replace the ends. Easy peasy. If you want it on a switch in the cab, you can use solenoid like one for a winch if you have a high draw.

I had cables made to run power from my battery to the bed of my truck. Beautiful workmanship and reasonably priced. Just google battery cables or i can go find the link if interested. Turned into a very clean install.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Perhaps someone is mixing up an inverter with a generator.

Or perhaps someone doesn't know what an inverter generator is....as opposed to a DC/AC inverter.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

A typical freezer draws 5 amps. A typical vehicles high amp fuse is 40 amps. 8 gage wire can handle 40 amps. One can easily get compact inverters from 200, to 10,000 amps. So literally, no need to ship gear anaywhere, despite the over active imagination of yours.

Pro tip, use jumper cables as your wire run from battery to your inverter. Simply cut to lengts and replace the ends. Easy peasy. If you want it on a switch in the cab, you can use solenoid like one for a winch if you have a high draw.

5 amps at 120 volts AC is equivalent to 50 amps at 12 volts DC. Accounting for losses in the wiring and inverter, you would probably want to use a ≈60 amp 12 VDC fuse. Coming straight off the battery like you suggested with an inline fuse (instead of tapping into the fuse box) would be a pretty easy way to get the juice needed to run a freezer.

*Edited for clarity*

 

[JFK]

Try to get it frozen before you hit the road. Bring the extension cords and use them if you can. Plan B would be to chuck some dry ice in there if you can’t power the freezer for a day or two. Almost all grocery stores carry it now.

 

[Bubblehide]

5 amps at 120 volts AC is equivalent to 50 amps at 12 volts DC. Accounting for losses in the wiring and inverter, you would probably want to use a ≈60 amp 12 VDC fuse. Coming straight off the battery with an inline fuse (instead of tapping into the fuse box) like you suggested would be a pretty easy way to get the juice needed to run a freezer

yep.