ARB Roller Drawer/Roller Floor - 12 volt Fridge Options

[Will Van]

Instead of trying to figure out how to get the fridge lower what about just traveling with a step? One step up should give you plenty of visibility down into the fridge for you or other companions.

I’ve seen these used for this exact scenario: ALU-BOX.com.

Obviously that’s overkill but if you get the idea. Pack he thing with lightweight kitchen stuff or clothes and then use it as a fridge step or camp seat. If you can find one that fits in your drawers even better!

Thanks, I might do that. For now, I'm just going to go with the ARB Elements 63 fridge and mount it directly to the slide to see how it works.

Dimensionally it fits perfectly on the drawer slide top (according to the brochure). It's the shortest of all of the fridges I have been looking at (only 17" tall vs. at +18.5" for the rest of the fridges). The lid opens the "correct" direction. The controls and plugs are one the "correct" sides (plug in the rear, controls in the front). I like the optional tie-down kit as I think it will work well with my L-track idea. And I can always unstrap it and slide it around on to the tailgate if necessary.

The only thing I'm worried about is the battery-saver cutoff switch. I know the SnoMaster has that feature, but will the ARB leave you stranded with a dead battery if you let it run all night?

I'll keep the thread posted once I received it and get it installed.

 

[Qball]

Thanks, I might do that. For now, I'm just going to go with the ARB Elements 63 fridge and mount it directly to the slide to see how it works.

Dimensionally it fits perfectly on the drawer slide top (according to the brochure). It's the shortest of all of the fridges I have been looking at (only 17" tall vs. at +18.5" for the rest of the fridges). The lid opens the "correct" direction. The controls and plugs are one the "correct" sides (plug in the rear, controls in the front). I like the optional tie-down kit as I think it will work well with my L-track idea. And I can always unstrap it and slide it around on to the tailgate if necessary.

The only thing I'm worried about is the battery-saver cutoff switch. I know the SnoMaster has that feature, but will the ARB leave you stranded with a dead battery if you let it run all night?

I'll keep the thread posted once I received it and get it installed.

That’s basically my plan, going to screw couple of d rings to the elements fridge and then strap to my L track on top of my slide top.


As far as battery goes arb and most fridge have battery protection feature. The old ARB fridge I had I set to medium which turns off the fridge at 11.9v and my 80 won’t start at 11.8v however my diehard platinum batter didn’t have enough cranking power and it died hard. So a good battery should be able to start even at low 11v and set battery protection at medium should give you fair amount of margin if error.

 

[Will Van]

Quick update - I received my ARB Elements fridge today from UPS. Everything arrived in excellent shape. The ARB has an electronic lock feature to keep your friends from stealing your beer. Unfortunately, my fridge arrived in the "locked" position, with the cords and instructions neatly packed away inside the locked fridge.

After a few minutes with ARB customer service, I was able to pop open the lid manually and plug in the fridge to confirm it works and play with a few of the features. I am going to utilize the ARB wiring kit to hardwire the fridge to the battery.

And I'm still waiting on my tie-down kit to tie the fridge to the slider. But here are a few teaser shots of the ARB sitting on the sliders. The dimensions are perfect. Plus, I was probably over-thinking the access. It's going to work fine.

I'll keep you posted once I get it fully wired and tied down. Hopefully tomorrow evening so I can go to the lake on Saturday!

 

[eric90503]

Very nice. Do you know if the arb element slide fits on your drawers?ARB10900040

I'm debating the 63 element vs snomaster 66D

 

[80t0ylc]

...........As far as battery goes arb and most fridge have battery protection feature. The old ARB fridge I had I set to medium which turns off the fridge at 11.9v and my 80 won’t start at 11.8v however my diehard platinum batter didn’t have enough cranking power and it died hard. So a good battery should be able to start even at low 11v and set battery protection at medium should give you fair amount of margin if error.

.............The only thing I'm worried about is the battery-saver cutoff switch. I know the SnoMaster has that feature, but will the ARB leave you stranded with a dead battery if you let it run all night?

I'll keep the thread posted once I received it and get it installed.

I recommend installing an aux battery instead of "playing with fire" with a single battery on your rigs. If you're taking the time & money to install a fridge, why not do it right? An aux battery system, set up correctly will pay dividends down the road for camping, overlanding, off roading & being away from civilization. Especially when hauling the family with you. Save yourself a stranded experience and kicking yourself because you got distracted and go to start your rig in the middle of nowhere with a discharged single battery. Or your fridge shuts off and the food spoils and you and/or your family gets sick. You probably have intentions to do it, but I'd bump it up on the priority list, even above or at least even with wiring up the fridge.

 

[Will Van]

Very nice. Do you know if the arb element slide fits on your drawers?ARB10900040

I'm debating the 63 element vs snomaster 66D

I do not know about the ARB Elements Slide. The drawer dimensions are 35-5/8" (metal edge trim to handle) x 19-3/4" (metal edge trim to metal edge trim). Let me know if you need any other measurements. But I have the slider-top drawers. Dunno if the fixed top drawers are different dimensions. ARB is pretty good about positing all of their product's dimensions online.

SnoMaster was actually my first choice, but because of the height of the truck, the height of the drawers, and the directions the respective doors opened, ARB Elements made more sense.

I recommend installing an aux battery instead of "playing with fire" with a single battery on your rigs. If you're taking the time & money to install a fridge, why not do it right? An aux battery system, set up correctly will pay dividends down the road for camping, overlanding, off roading & being away from civilization. Especially when hauling the family with you. Save yourself a stranded experience and kicking yourself because you got distracted and go to start your rig in the middle of nowhere with a discharged single battery. Or your fridge shuts off and the food spoils and you and/or your family gets sick. You probably have intentions to do it, but I'd bump it up on the priority list, even above or at least even with wiring up the fridge.

The Slee Offroad Dual Battery setup is high on the list for mods. But for now, the single battery and auto shut-off feature on the ARB works quite well for the intended purpose of the truck - day trips and hanging at the lake. When I do off-grid camping, dual battery will be a "must-have."

 

[Wompom]

Quick update - I received my ARB Elements fridge today from UPS. Everything arrived in excellent shape. The ARB has an electronic lock feature to keep your friends from stealing your beer. Unfortunately, my fridge arrived in the "locked" position, with the cords and instructions neatly packed away inside the locked fridge.

After a few minutes with ARB customer service, I was able to pop open the lid manually and plug in the fridge to confirm it works and play with a few of the features. I am going to utilize the ARB wiring kit to hardwire the fridge to the battery.

And I'm still waiting on my tie-down kit to tie the fridge to the slider. But here are a few teaser shots of the ARB sitting on the sliders. The dimensions are perfect. Plus, I was probably over-thinking the access. It's going to work fine.

I'll keep you posted once I get it fully wired and tied down. Hopefully tomorrow evening so I can go to the lake on Saturday!

@Will Van now that you've had the setup for about a year how are you liking it?
I'm thinking about the same drawer and fridge setup but debating the regular 63qt series II vs the elements fridge.

 

[Qball]

@Will Van now that you've had the setup for about a year how are you liking it?
I'm thinking about the same drawer and fridge setup but debating the regular 63qt series II vs the elements fridge.

I like the element a lot. Better insolation and lid with Strut is awesome! Slightly bigger than the blue 63 but not by much and only a “small” premium to go to the element.

Also the element’s solid aluminum latches will not break like the plastic blue latch the old arb fridges would.

 

[Wompom]

I like the element a lot. Better insolation and lid with Strut is awesome! Slightly bigger than the blue 63 but not by much and only a “small” premium to go to the element.

That's what it's looking like. Though i'm wondering if the slightly thicker insulation makes up for lack of a transit back option. Hmm. For a unit thats going to live in a truck i have a hard time making the decision and i can't find any reviews comparing the two side by side.

 

[Qball]

That's what it's looking like. Though i'm wondering if the slightly thicker insulation makes up for lack of a transit back option. Hmm. For a unit thats going to live in a truck i have a hard time making the decision and i can't find any reviews comparing the two side by side.

The transit bag was outrageously expensive and pitifully useless. The element has a lot better insolation than the old fridge with transit bag installed, I had the old 49q with transit bag. Only gripe I have is I wish they made a 49q version, but it still fits fine on my arb slide top so not too much complaints here.

 

[Wompom]

The transit bag was outrageously expensive and pitifully useless. The element has a lot better insolation than the old fridge with transit bag installed, I had the old 49q with transit bag. Only gripe I have is I wish they made a 49q version, but it still fits fine on my arb slide top so not too much complaints here.

Funny i've read a bunch of articles stating that the transit bag made a significant difference! Good to know though. I do much prefer the shape/finish of the element to the series II!

 

[Qball]

Funny i've read a bunch of articles stating that the transit bag made a significant difference! Good to know though. I do much prefer the shape/finish of the element to the series II!

Does the transit bad make a difference? Yes. I it really good? Not really. Without the transit bag the the side of the fridge would be hot to touch in summer days. With the transit bag it would be lukewarm but fridge still runs a lot. Element doesn’t seem to run as frequently as the blue ones even with the bag. Unfortunately I don’t have both to do side by side but I am very certain the element out perform the old blue one with transit bag by a big margin. It is designed to run in the really hot and harsh environment of Australia, more specifically run on the out side of the vehicle hence the name element. It just feels like a huge improvement compared to my blue 49q fridge.

 

[Will Van]

To be perfectly honest, I have not been that impressed with my ARB Elements fridge. I have set the temp to 32 degrees and colder, but the interior of the fridge always seems to be just cool, not ice cold. This is more of a "it doesn't feel that cold" than an actual determination.

So to be fair, I need to do more diagnosis and get actual quantitative data ("The fridge is set at 34 degrees for 24 hours, but the interior temp is only 58 degrees."), before I approach ARB customer service or give a harsh review. But I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it yet.

 

[surfpig]

Instead of trying to figure out how to get the fridge lower what about just traveling with a step? One step up should give you plenty of visibility down into the fridge for you or other companions.

I’ve seen these used for this exact scenario: ALU-BOX.com.

Obviously that’s overkill but you probably get the idea. Pack the thing with lightweight kitchen stuff or clothes and then use it as a fridge step when you need it or a camp seat. If you can find one that fits in your drawers even better!

That's why I prefer the fridge at or near floor level. I'm not very tall.

I often use my kitchen box as a step though, sometimes it's necessary...

 

[Wompom]

To be perfectly honest, I have not been that impressed with my ARB Elements fridge. I have set the temp to 32 degrees and colder, but the interior of the fridge always seems to be just cool, not ice cold. This is more of a "it doesn't feel that cold" than an actual determination.

So to be fair, I need to do more diagnosis and get actual quantitative data ("The fridge is set at 34 degrees for 24 hours, but the interior temp is only 58 degrees."), before I approach ARB customer service or give a harsh review. But I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it yet.

Are you still set up off a single battery (IIRC)? Running full time? Wonder if it's cycling until low battery level shutoff, stopping cycling and not staying COLD vs cool?

 

[Qball]

To be perfectly honest, I have not been that impressed with my ARB Elements fridge. I have set the temp to 32 degrees and colder, but the interior of the fridge always seems to be just cool, not ice cold. This is more of a "it doesn't feel that cold" than an actual determination.

So to be fair, I need to do more diagnosis and get actual quantitative data ("The fridge is set at 34 degrees for 24 hours, but the interior temp is only 58 degrees."), before I approach ARB customer service or give a harsh review. But I just haven't had the time to dedicate to it yet.

I don't know your experience with portable fridges but all the portable fridge/freezer I know all don't have a fan and the ARB has the temp sensor on the bottom. So if as soon as the bottom of the fridge reach desired temp the whole thing shuts down. Some people put a 12v fan in there to help with this particular issue. Most people just set the temp somewhere between 5-10 degrees lower than the desired temp and everything is fine. I usually set my element at about 25 and unless things are in there for 3 days it's not going to freeze but will be ice cold. The same applies to my non-arb fridge also. I know the fridge works well because it will have ice on the sides fairly quickly if I set it to 25.

 

[Will Van]

Are you still set up off a single battery (IIRC)? Running full time? Wonder if it's cycling until low battery level shutoff, stopping cycling and not staying COLD vs cool?

No, I have installed a dual battery system. And I am also testing it on both shore power and battery power. Under both scenarios, it's cool-ish, but not cold. Supposedly it works as a freezer, but I don't see how it's currently getting cold enough to store ice cream.

Let me do more quantitative research and report back.

 

[Will Van]

I don't know your experience with portable fridges but all the portable fridge/freezer I know all don't have a fan and the ARB has the temp sensor. So if as soon as the bottom of the fridge reach desired temp the whole thing shuts down. Some people put a 12v fan in there to help with this particular issue. Most people just set the temp somewhere between 5-10 degrees lower than the desired temp and everything is fine. I usually set my element at about 25 and unless things are in there for 3 days it's not going to freeze but will be ice cold. The same applies to my non-arb fridge also. I know the fridge works well because it will have ice on the size fairly quickly if I set it to 25.

Good intel. Let me play with that info and get back to you. I have several remote wireless temp gauges on order. I'll set one at the bottom of the fridge and one at the top. We'll see how it does.

 

[Qball]

No, I have installed a dual battery system. And I am also testing it on both shore power and battery power. Under both scenarios, it's cool-ish, but not cold. Supposedly it works as a freezer, but I don't see how it's currently getting cold enough to store ice cream.

In my old blue ARB fridge, I've tried to store Icecream at 8 degrees but the ice cream was fairly soft and the fridge ran a lot! I got about 24 hours out of my 31M battery. I need to try it in the element one of these days.

 

[ItsBavid]

got any updates OP?