Fridge dilemma(s)

[entropy]

This isn't out of range, but I am willing to spend for convenience (not dealing with food in ice cold water). I am looking at a small trailer that won't be much more than a super easy and secure tent at the same time.

In the days of my TJ and 20s/30s...no way. But I am closer to 50 than 40 and money isn't as important as enjoyment. It's all perspective. For me, if a $900 fridge makes life easier than a $200 cooler and ice trips, or water in the cooler...well...ok.

No need for ice trips if going out for 5 days or less cold packs keep the cooler cold. Theres no water.

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[mnjeeper]

No need for ice trips if going out for 5 days or less cold packs keep the cooler cold. Theres no water.

I'm open minded. Got some links to good stuff? I have good coolers, you might save me a pile of money.

 

[entropy]

I'm open minded. Got some links to good stuff? I have good coolers, you might save me a pile of money.

i love the engel deepblue. Ive kept stuff there cold for up to 7 days. Cheaper and better than yeti.

I have a jack500 and solar panels. Which i bought to power a 12v fan and trailer lights, so i could technically get a fridge. Maybe in the future but my trips have never gone past 5 days without civilization yet. The engel has served me well for the past 5 years, it is an awesome cooler. Engel and yeti both make good icepacks that freeze at around 25F so they last a bit longer, but honestly any icepack will do

Id say give the cooler a try. And if it doesnt work out you can always buy the fridge then.

Engel is also grizzly , certified and stuff. i come from a backpacking and hunting background and have a lot of outdoor training and follow bear safety protocols. The cooler gives me huge peace of mind.

 

[supermike]

The battery is not needed. I use mine for alot of long term excursions. The jeep can power it easy for a day. I would not go 2 days unless you have the vehicle running to recharge. Overnight is no issue either.
Trust me I know you are thinking this is more of a PITA than getting ice, but trust me it is not. It's wonderful!

+1

I have been running my Dometic CFX 45 in my back of the jeep for 50+ hours(setting at 2C/35F ) no problem. If you drove the jeep during the day, plug it in overnight won't be any issues at all.

 

[OllieChristopher]

Interesting. So you plug it in the Jeep and theres no risk of depleting the battery? I wouldnt want to risk this in the middle of nowhere.

What risk?

 

[OllieChristopher]

As far as an electric cooler there are none that last much more than 3-5 years max if they are being banged around off road. Even the high end Engel coolers fail in harsh off road conditions.

I just buy a cheap one and replace it as it fails. Dometic and ARB are no better or worse than than the cheap Chinese BougeRV cooler that I beat up.

Now if you are taking care not to go off road, not plugging/unplugging frequently, and are careful handling and not tipping your cooler at extreme angles, then the higher end ones will last a really long time. Engel coolers are known to give over 10 years of service if taken care of.

 

[LittleDog]

@mnjeeper Dometic and Iceco (and ARB) are not the only brands around, just the ones pushed hardest in the past few years by social media.

Maybe give some more usage examples, e.g. # days with no resupply, # days not moving, # people, recharging capability for what you are planning.

I agree wholeheartedly with @entropy on Engel. They are rapidly becoming a forgotten brand. I have a small one (15ltr?) that lives in the jeep 99% of the time, and a larger (45ltr?) one as well. Look up the super cool Sawafuji Swing compressor that they use. Completely different technology. Lower start-up Amps and lower Amp draw overall, compared to most anything, and at least as dependable. Those are important limiting factors when it comes to boondocking.

One thing no one has recommended, I prefer using a smaller sized fridge/freezer in freezer mode, then supplementing with whatever size cooler suits the trip.

Keep the unit set to freezer and fill with Engel or Yeti or other new-brand phase change 20°F or 32°F ice packs in the freezer, along with meats/ice cream/whatever. Then transfer ice packs to the cooler every morning. Then you have dual zone, without a single, expensive, heavy, enormous dual zone unit, and you can scale the cooler to whatever excursion.

Edit:
Deferring to @OllieChristopher OP should also mention what sort of trails and how he runs them. I don't think anyone really parks and spends the night at a 30° angles like the manufacturers say is possible though.

 

[entropy]

This is another reason why I prefer a bear proof cooler:

Bears get into anywhere to get food it happens. I've seen it happening. Where do you leave your fridge? inside the camper? or car?. I go to bear country a lot. 2 years ago I went for a hike to the mt. whitney area, parked on a parking lot at the trails entrance that is a famous campground for hikers. When we came back from our hike the car parked next to us looked as if it was t-boned. A bear broke in to get a bag of chips they left in the car. Ranger told us it happens every single week.

 

[LittleDog]

This is another reason why I prefer a bear proof cooler:

Bears get into anywhere to get food it happens. I've seen it happening. Where do you leave your fridge? inside the camper? or car?. I go to bear country a lot. 2 years ago I went for a hike to the mt. whitney area, parked on a parking lot at the trails entrance that is a famous campground for hikers. When we came back from our hike the car parked next to us looked as if it was t-boned. A bear broke in to get a bag of chips they left in the car. Ranger told us it happens every single week.

You make me heavily consider full black-out windows and a pepper spray air freshener.

There is pretty much nothing short of an armoured vehicle that can passively withstand even the weenie bears we have on the East Coast.

Proactively though, pots and pans work on our little bears.

 

[wibornz]

I power off the stock OEM battery. I used the ARB wiring kit so it is on it own and wired directly to the battery.

I have a Jakery 1000 with two solar panels and I have a 200Ah Lithium battery in the camper with 100 watt solar panel. So I have some options to power the fridge, but it has always been powered by the Jeep.

Mind you we camp and wheel a lot. Like a lot a lot..... All four season, We are around 70 days this year in just camping not including the trips that we have taken that the camper stayed home. I believe my 2020 camper has approx 24,000 miles on it in the last year and half.

My ARB fridge is strapped down in the Jeep so that it does not get thrown around in the back of the Jeep.

 

[Vinman]

As far as an electric cooler there are none that last much more than 3-5 years max if they are being banged around off road. Even the high end Engel coolers fail in harsh off road conditions.

I just buy a cheap one and replace it as it fails. Dometic and ARB are no better or worse than than the cheap Chinese BougeRV cooler that I beat up.

Now if you are taking care not to go off road, not plugging/unplugging frequently, and are careful handling and not tipping your cooler at extreme angles, then the higher end ones will last a really long time. Engel coolers are known to give over 10 years of service if taken care of.

My Engel 35 was purchased in 03 or 04 and has been plugged in at least 85% of the time since new. It has been on the trails in Moab 6 times over the years as well as at least a couple hundred other off-road trips, lots of those trips were dusty with no top on the Jeep.
When not in the Jeep it’s in my work truck all Summer with all the windows closed to keep jobsite dust out which sky-rockets interior temps.
That fridge hasn’t missed a beat yet and will still freeze drinks if I set it higher than about 2.5 on the scale of 5.
Quite honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for a brand new model for fear of getting a dud.
When I did the initial research I was finding examples of Engels running after 30 plus years and have no reason to not believe mine won’t.
Buy once cry once.

 

[Big_Lebowski]

I've had the ARB 47 for 5 years and it's been flawless. I bought some other brand before that and it failed in 2 days. If I were building my own teardrop, and I have been contemplating that for quite a while, I would probably go ARB, but I do think Dometic is a strong contender.
Fan favorite is when I pull out Klondike bars at lunch during 90f+ days in Moab on the trail.

 

[OllieChristopher]

Hi there Vince, you are one of the lucky ones. It is very rare to see these last more than a few years in extreme conditions. Having it plugged in most of the time is one of the contributing factors of it lasting.

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