When ever I tow with 12 volt - refer, it draws my battery. If I turn off the 12 volt/refer completely my scamp battery charges right up to 13 volts, but as soon as I turn on the refer while towing or even not towning it drains down the battery quick. Infact if I leave my car hooked up it will eventually draw down the car battery. So all my fellow campers tell me to run the refer on propane when driving. I have heard that wont work either as the wind will blow it out.
What has been your experience?
Gary
gwhaile
Have always towed with fridge on propane with all models of Scamps and never had any issues. I usually just keep my fridge on propane the entire trip as it runs the coolest of the three modes. Never used 12v on any of them, it's pretty inefficient and would really need Lithium batteries and good roof solar to probably work well.
Some folks have run 4ga charge lines back to trailer, added high end alternators, and gotten it to recharge well while towing, but stock wiring and alternators probably won't keep up.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
They are typical small RV fridges, they take forever to get cold. I plug my Scamp in the night before (shore power) and turn the fridge on. For long trips of 6+ hours, I pack a Glad-type container frozen solid--an ice block. I run the 12 v on the road, but I don't think it does a whole lot. Everything is nice and cold at the end of the trip, and the ice is still frozen. I am a big chicken about running the propane, I have never fired it up!
Rhonda Riebow
We have a 2019 13 with the three way fridge. I have had 6+ different RV's and never had an issue while traveling on Propane but this one is not good at staying lit. it is 50 % success at best So we do use the 12v while traveling but I did run much larger ground and 12v+ wiring I ran 8 and 10 guage for both and it works If I leave with the camper battery well charged. If The camper battery is already discharged the plug and wiring is not capable of charging and running the fridge. The fridge alone uses around 10 amps continuously and could completely drain the camper and auto battery over a day of sitting. I go one step farther and relight the Propane if I am going to be more than an hour with the engine off. It is inconvenient but works. A much better wind baffle would be needed to be reliable while traveling.
2019 Scamp 13 standard