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l0velydesign · 09-10-2019, 04:18 PM

We own a 2016 Grand Tour that has the refrigerator on top and a huge freezer on the bottom all run on electric only. What is the deal with this? We don't need a freezer that large so we don't run it and only use the fridge but I sure miss having a freezer. We mostly dry camp and have 400w solar on top. It would be a waste of power to run both for the little space needed for frozen items. I freeze my meats at the start of our trips and can last out a week when we'd be going to the store anyway. Has anyone else dealt with this? Suggestions?

Pahaska · 09-10-2019, 04:50 PM

I have the 2018 GT with a slightly larger refrigerator above and a much smaller pull-out freezer below. This is a much better arrangement than the earlier units like yours where there were essentially two similar refrigerators with the lower one being used as a freezer. I think the later setup is much better.

They can be turned off independently. The only time I expect to turn off the freezer is if we make the cut for the balloon caravan where we will be dry camping for 5 days at Amarillo. In the meantime, it is nice to have ice for our drinks.

TayaraTravel · 09-19-2019, 07:39 PM

I turn off the freezer at night when we are dry camping. We also use the "blue ice" type of freezer blocks; freeze them when driving around, and let them help keep stuff cold overnight with freezer off. We can keep bag ice in the freezer for several days with this on/off cycle. We don't keep meat or anything that would spoil.

Tronadora · 09-20-2019, 07:03 AM

I have the same setup as the OP, and we also do not need to freeze much.

We keep the freezer set so that the upper compartment freezes nicely (about 20 degrees), the middle section will slowly freeze drinks (great for ice cold beer for a day or two before freezing, or long term liquor storage), and the bottom area almost never freezes (great for soda, etc.).

This makes our total refer volume much larger than just depending on the main refer.

swilly43 · 09-20-2019, 09:32 PM

Check out this thread, I ended up using a good cooler and use the freezer sparingly as needed. The cooler fits nicely in the freezer. My set up is 440 AH of battery and 200 W solar. This works well as long as you have sun during the day. The contents in the cooler stay frozen for several days. If driving we turn the freezer on and it helps keep thing frozen. The extra insulation works well.