@SharpeCat - Thanks for organizing! After going back and forth the last couple of days deciding on which model to go with, (we) decided to go with the vl45pro. I really wanted to take advantage of the vl65 dual deal, but I think when the tailgate is extended, it would prevent cover to open up all the way as the fridge will be sitting on my drawer system which is about 8" off the floor. The removable cover on the pro was the deciding factor. Now have to figure out how to provide power for it for 3-4 day trips =)
My pleasure brother!
Short answer: Get a 500-1000 watt hour portable power bank (Like a Jackery) with DC pass-through charging & low-voltage cutoff, and a 100-120 watt solar panel (i like the Flexible or the Foldable ones for easy storage) that can connect directly into your power bank; fully charge the bank before trip.
Power consumption is similar across all models, due to them all using the same compressor. As you get bigger in volume, you will consume more but the difference is not significant. Also, DC is generally more efficient as converting to AC will usually come at a loss (as high as 20-25%). I did try both AC and DC during testing and using the adapter(s) they provided.
When compressor is off, it uses just a few watts of power to keep electronics on (as low as 1). When compressor is on it is about 45-60W continuously (DC). Most of the time (unless heavy use/lots of lid open events), the compressor will be off. It will come on and bring the temp to about 3 below what you set it as, and then shut off until the temp is around 3 above what you set it as (that's the entire cycle).
How much time the compressor spends being on versus off will depend a lot of personal mileage: some people will open the lid 20 times to grab 20 things over 2 hours, and some people will open the lid just a few times. Some people/their pets might just leave the lid open to get a whiff of cool air/stick their head in it for a few minutes, and that's going to be very costly in terms of power consumption. Personally, i averaged about 20W continuous over the long run.
Lets say its 30Watts hours per hour is your average during the day/heavy use hours. When you are sleeping/not using it, it's way less (cooler at night). It's probably not far off to guess the entire day's average use to be around ~20watt hours per hour.
Now, 24 hours at 20Watt hours per hour (compressor on ~1/3rd of the time) = ~480watt hours per day:
- a 100W solar panel (plugs directly into power bank) will get you about 60watts continuous while the sun is out, so 8 hours of sunlight = 480watts hours.
- Your AC port in the back of your LC is 100W continuous, so 5 hours of driving/alternator charging will refill 500 watt Hours.
- Your starter battery has excess charge left after a drive, so transfer that to your bank after you park (via 12V DC).
So on days where you can't get 8 hours of sunlight, chances are you'll have enough battery saved up in the power bank (Assuming you charged b4 trip). Worst case and everything is drained/no sunlight, just drive around for a few hours (unlikely that you'll need to unless it rains/cloudy the entire 3-4 days).
I have gotten by with one similar to the 250wH one on ICECO's site (mine was a jackery 240), but for you guys i'd recommend a 500-1000 watt hour bank. They're all pretty similar but if you ever see a Group buy or good discount on a Jackery 500 or bigger (20% ish is their sale discount), then i'd grab it! With no discount then just get whichever one is the best deal (Renogy banks are good as well, and there are many many others that i haven't researched).
