I have a 2016 Prius. Looking at buying a portable car fridge. Gemini AI is telling me the following... is it true? The "Ready Mode" Trick: If you are car camping or want to keep the cooler running during a long stop, you can leave the Prius turned on in Ready Mode (parking brake engaged). The car will run cleanly off the large hybrid battery, and the gas engine will only cycle on occasionally for a few minutes to top off the battery, consuming very little fuel over a weekend.
yes, but more or less fuel based on draw and climate. make sure gen 4 doesn't have auto off after a certain amount of time in park.
That's the way I do it in my gen 3. I remember some reports that gen 4 might automatically shut down after some period of time in READY without going anywhere, but I also think I remember there's a way to prevent that shutdown. Maybe that's in the thread bisco linked. You have to be aware that if you leave the car in READY when you're not there, someone can drive it away. You can lock the doors and take the key and fob with you, but someone who breaks in can still drive until they turn the car off. Portable car fridges come in two families, the thermoelectric kind (less money) and the refrigerant/compressor kind. Although more money, the latter kind can stay cool on so much less power that it can be practical to let them run for a while on the 12-volt battery while you are away and the car is off. Some of them also have a built-in low-voltage cutoff that will shut them down before they drain the battery far enough to keep you from starting the car (at the expense of your food, of course). With a 60-watt solar panel on the roof of my car, I can often make it through a long weekend with the fridge in the car, if I remembered to park where there's sun.
