Fridge in truck bed

[thudnblunder]

I bought a Bodega 53 quart 12V fridge ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D96FM73/ ) and I'd like to use in the truck bed under my BAK X4S tonneau cover. It fits, but my concern is that when the truck is parked, it will get really hot inside the covered bed and the fridge won't work very well. I expect to be away for 3-4 hours at a time from my truck riding my bike, so I suspect the fridge will cook in that time.

Is there a way to ventilate the bed? A small ducted exhaust?

I'm not leaving the truck in generator mode, I have a 300W Jackery that the fridge can run off, and the Jackery charges up when the truck is on the go. I also don't want to expose the Jackery to very high temperatures. If the ambient outdoor temp is 100F, I imagine that under a black tonneau in an enclosed bed we'd be over 135F at least.

My back up plan would be to move the fridge to the cab and leave windows cracked open when the truck is parked but that's a nuisance with a full fridge.

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[thudnblunder]

It's a long shot but maybe something like this with a wide flat intake at the bottom of the tailgate to pull in air, or a wide flat intake to pull in air from the front edge of the tonneau.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/VIVOSUN-...athrooms-Kitchens-and-Attics-Silver/355558160

 

[thudnblunder]

Or maybe a stake pocket hole could be used for a duct. A chimney!

 

[FrankSJ]

Or maybe a stake pocket hole could be used for a duct. A chimney!

At the front of the bed at the bottom are holes that some use for tonneau cover drain tubes, you could vent through them

 

[Chads first F150]

It might be worth doing a little test. Try not doing anything else to your truck and see how warm the cooler contents get after your ride. If you start with a cold cooler and cold contents, the insulation on the cooler may be enough to keep things cool.

Unfortunately for me, now that I read this post I find myself wanting a Bodega...

 

[12Lariat21]

You might want to throw a thermometer in there and see...

The tonneau should act more like an insulator for the bed, should be cooler than the cab. The cab gets extra hot because of the windows (green house). Inside the bed would be more like a shade tree, and shouldn't really increase the temp over ambient (just the exposed surface of the tonneau will get hot).

If you duct the fridge fan out one hole, you may want to get an auxillary 12v fan to be drawing air in from another hole in the bed..

But then again, only being away for 3-4 hours really isn't that long so you may have nothing to worry about at all.

 

[Emmittfan22]

I bought a Bodega 53 quart 12V fridge ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08D96FM73/ ) and I'd like to use in the truck bed under my BAK X4S tonneau cover. It fits, but my concern is that when the truck is parked, it will get really hot inside the covered bed and the fridge won't work very well. I expect to be away for 3-4 hours at a time from my truck riding my bike, so I suspect the fridge will cook in that time.

Is there a way to ventilate the bed? A small ducted exhaust?

I'm not leaving the truck in generator mode, I have a 300W Jackery that the fridge can run off, and the Jackery charges up when the truck is on the go. I also don't want to expose the Jackery to very high temperatures. If the ambient outdoor temp is 100F, I imagine that under a black tonneau in an enclosed bed we'd be over 135F at least.

My back up plan would be to move the fridge to the cab and leave windows cracked open when the truck is parked but that's a nuisance with a full fridge.

I have had the same ARB Fridge(I know different then yours) in the bed of my current and past truck for about 4 years now and it is for the most part always on when the truck is going and have never had an issue. I also lived in the Phoenix area to show how how the bed can get during the summer and have never vented to help it.

 

[LightF150]

You might want to throw a thermometer in there and see...

The tonneau should act more like an insulator for the bed, should be cooler than the cab. The cab gets extra hot because of the windows (green house). Inside the bed would be more like a shade tree, and shouldn't really increase the temp over ambient (just the exposed surface of the tonneau will get hot).

If you duct the fridge fan out one hole, you may want to get an auxillary 12v fan to be drawing air in from another hole in the bed..

But then again, only being away for 3-4 hours really isn't that long so you may have nothing to worry about at all.

I was thinking on this before I ordered a tonneau. The BLACK tonneau would absorb solar heat and radiate to the inside, but I don’t know how much. I was thinking of getting one that isn’t black, as I want to do the same as OP. Would be neat to find a tonneau that a solar panel could be mounted to and then use a power station inside the truck bed to run fridge.
I would be interested in what the OP finds with a thermometer.

 

[powerboatr]

might put a piece of foil bubble stuff as a radiant heat barrier between cooler lid and truck cover

 

[Baywolf]

Maybe get some "space blankets" and put them on the outside of the cover before you leave, silver side up. This should reflect most of the heat off the cover to keep the inside fairly cool.

 

[Buyer2021]

If the ambient outdoor temp is 100F, I imagine that under a black tonneau in an enclosed bed we'd be over 135F at least.

IMO when you're at or approaching 100F ambient with a black tonneau all of the 'active venting' and 'passive insulation' will make very little meaningful difference in the temperature under there. I seriously doubt you'll pull the accumulated temperature above ambient (radiant heat from above, heat dumped from the fridge itself, heat from whatever power-pack is operating in the bed, heat rising from the muffler/exhaust below) down by half-way to ambient.

Methinks that all of the effort and complication won't make a real difference in how well (or not so well) the refrigerator performs in that environment.

One opinion, just for your consideration.

 

[Calson]

There is a maximum ambient operating temp for any fridge and a maximum amount it can cool down the inside depending on the ambient temperature. In an RV the inside temperature is going to be 80 degrees or less and no problem for a fridge to keep food cold.

In your situation it would be worthwhile to add a layer of freezer packs to the top of the cooler to help the motor maintain the inside temperature.

 

[ImChris]

I have a Dometic running in my bed for long summer trips, granted I have a black soft topper but it still gets pretty warm. Before that I had a different brand (SetPower) for a few years in my previous trucks.

A couple things I've done:

1. I picked up a cooler insulator cover/blanket. They make them model specific, but a lot of coolers share the same or similar designs. Just adds a little layer of heat protection so the compressor doesn't have to work as hard. Bonus, it helps add a little protection (just make sure it matches your compressor vent area on your cooler so it doesn't overheat). Something like THIS COVER
2. There is an Eco mode and a Max mode on my fridge, if I know it's hot i'll leave it in Max mode which draws more power from my battery setup, but if I know it's only a few hours and it'll recharge once I start driving, it keeps temps more consistant in hot weather. I keep it in Eco when the topper is open and air is flowing.

-Chris

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