May I throw in my 2 cents?

A friend of mine also has a Westy and she asked me a similar question. We went in different directions on this one. She had the deep cycle battery installed as well as and marine perko switch for switching the batteries, which if your going to have a dual set up..is probably the smart way to go. However, I felt that the second battery to run the fridge might not be such a good idea. Running the fridge on gas made more sense when on the road or dry camping. The good thing about having a perko is that if the main battery dies, you do have a backup. Well, needless to say, she sometimes forgets to switch to batt B when camping and both batteries drain overnight from the 12v fridge. Honestly, numbers don't mean much here..two batteries dead overnight for just the fridge tells the story. I went a different route, no aux battery and I run on gas, but I also have a a Coleman Powerchiller which runs off the main battery....it uses less than 1 amp and have never had a dead battery.
 In fact, I am considering re-engineering the fridge by installing a power chiller module and fan.

John Lane
1983.5 Westy
Iron Butterfly

----- Original Message ----
From: David Johnson <davidj@ELPASOTEL.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 11:00:38 PM
Subject: Amp Draw on 12v RM182

I have been searching for a while now, and haven't found a definite
answer.  Does anyone know the real amp draw of an RM 182 fridge in a
Westy when it is running on 12 volt power?  I am considering adding a
deep cycle battery to my '80 Westy, and I am wondering if it is worth
the trouble to try and get enough amp hours for limited fridge run
time, too.  I saw in the 182B manual there is a 10 amp fuse, but that
just means the draw is somewhat less than 10 amps.  Any input would
be appreciated, esp. on the math of the amp draw on the fridge.

Thanks.
David.