Fridge (and accessory) recommendations (1 Viewer)

[dubyahard]

I had a SnoMaster CL56D, the 56l dual zone. I liked it and it fit well in the space I had on my older Ironman slide. Last summer, it quit working and they helped me by sending me parts to replace to get it fixed. After none of these worked, I shipped them the fridge and they took a look and said the compressor was done for and there was no repairing it. I'm still waiting on them to replenish their stock for a replacement fridge that will fit my slide/situation (I don't want/like their tall options).

In the mean time, I needed a fridge. I say "needed" but after having one full time in my rig for 7+ years, it was hard to not have one for reasons: cold beer, cold snacks, midday grocery runs, etc. I bought the 45L from Phalcon Overland. I figured at $265, it could fill in for a short while and after my replacement SnoMaster arrived, I could move it to the real overland vehicle, our Toyota Sienna, for road trips. So far it has performed admirably. They also have a 30L drawer fridge that may work for some.

I have the SnoMaster 12v plug chopped and wired directly to a BlueSea fuse panel in the back driver side panel, which is 2awg to my 31 AGM battery. I have my Phalcon plugged into the 12v socket I have wired to the same BlueSea panel. No dead batteries yet and I have a starter pack backup. I also did the 14.1v ALT-S fuse upgrade and have 90w of solar. Living in Colorado Springs now, there is plenty of sun to keep everything topped off and running all the time.

 

[TeCKis300]

Re: Anderson plugs....

I have 2 of the Dual pole Anderson panel mount sockets mounted in my truck (I may add another)...
Powerwerx PanelPole2, Panel Mount Housing for Two Powerpole Connectors with a Weather Tight Cover - https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-black-dual

these are wired to a fuse box (you can use a single fuse or dual as you prefer for your circuit based on the load)...
then the cords are adapted to Anderson plugs -

Anderson Powerpole and SB Connectors | Powerwerx

Anderson Power Products Powerpole and SB Series connectors are available at Powerwerx. Shop for different gauges today!

powerwerx.com

Above links are everything you need.
I pretty much convert everything over to Anderson plugs on the cords since it makes it easy.
it will support up to 45Amp so way more than a fridge pulls... just use the appropriate cable (12g in my case) and a fuse (15amp in my case as well)
This wires into my 100ah lipo4 battery and fuse box in the rear.

FWIW... my recent 3 day trip, my 50L fridge was maybe 1/3 full, and that includes a full case of beer, soft drinks and food... 50-75L is totally fine for a week or so for 1-3 people... you will be resupplying before you run out of room..I sometimes use the freezer compartment to store frozen meals I pre-made and then just transfer to the fridge the day before you need them, or I just set it to be another fridge compartment and keep mostly smaller stuff in there. just depends on how you travel really.

Love Anderson's. It's a favorite topic around the campfire. Sometimes we get crazy and snip people's wires on the spot, helping them find Anderson nirvana.

So as not to lose functionality of the original plug, I'll usually cut the cig lighter off with a few inches of wire. Then crimp Anderson on both bare ends. Keep the Anderson to cig lighter pigtail around to use the fridge elsewhere or in other ways.

Speaking of other ways, the fridges are great for house parties to keep cooled drinks

 

[dubyahard]

Speaking of other ways, the fridges are great for house parties to keep cooled drinks

I have done this on multiple occasions. Nothing like having a fridge right next to the firepit at the house.

 

[hoser]

I have several fridges and don't need anymore but I'm tempted to buy the Ecoflow Glacier. A newcomer but it has a built in battery that is swappable. Dual zone or single zone with divider removed. Ice maker. I would go with a 12-24V converter (i.e. Victron 12/24-20A) and it'll fully charge in 2.1 hrs.

EcoFlow GLACIER Portable Refrigerator - GLACIER Portable Refrigerator / / - EcoFlow

• Industry's first integrated ice maker • Dual zone, dual control • The fastest cooling in the industry • Wire-free cooling for up to 40 hours • 38L large capacity • Detachable suitcase design • Smart app control * GLACIER's accessories (Plug-in Battery and Detachable Wheels and Lever) are sold...

us.ecoflow.com

 

[linuxgod]

I have several fridges and don't need anymore but I'm tempted to buy the Ecoflow Glacier. A newcomer but it has a built in battery that is swappable. Dual zone or single zone with divider removed. Ice maker. I would go with a 12-24V converter (i.e. Victron 12/24-20A) and it'll fully charge in 2.1 hrs.

EcoFlow GLACIER Portable Refrigerator - GLACIER Portable Refrigerator / / - EcoFlow

• Industry's first integrated ice maker • Dual zone, dual control • The fastest cooling in the industry • Wire-free cooling for up to 40 hours • 38L large capacity • Detachable suitcase design • Smart app control * GLACIER's accessories (Plug-in Battery and Detachable Wheels and Lever) are sold...

us.ecoflow.com

I seriously considered it. If it was bigger for $1000 I would’ve gone this route

 

[reddog90]

I went with an Iceco vl45proS because it has a secop compressor. I did not get a dual zone, but I got the pro model where the lid can open either way or come completely off which is very handy. If I used this thing a hundred nights a year, I would have ponied up for a national luna. But this works perfectly fine for me. The yeti 1000 core is good for almost 2 days in most instances, then needs some sort of help. it's just simple, leaves the vehicle alone and I can move it between vehicles. I sometimes trickle charge it from the truck I'm driving or I plug it into shore power at night if that's possible. Portable solar is next. I made my own cable with anderson plugs and used a cable chain to keep everything tidy in the 60 with this cargo deck. It's not nearly as organized in the 200. Iceco frequently runs sales and someone on here was organizing periodic discount codes with Iceco back when I ordered mine.

 

[HSTexan]

I have several fridges and don't need anymore but I'm tempted to buy the Ecoflow Glacier. A newcomer but it has a built in battery that is swappable. Dual zone or single zone with divider removed. Ice maker. I would go with a 12-24V converter (i.e. Victron 12/24-20A) and it'll fully charge in 2.1 hrs.

EcoFlow GLACIER Portable Refrigerator - GLACIER Portable Refrigerator / / - EcoFlow

• Industry's first integrated ice maker • Dual zone, dual control • The fastest cooling in the industry • Wire-free cooling for up to 40 hours • 38L large capacity • Detachable suitcase design • Smart app control * GLACIER's accessories (Plug-in Battery and Detachable Wheels and Lever) are sold...

us.ecoflow.com

Bluetti just released theirs yesterday with their new AC180T which utilizes the same battery pack as the fridge. I don't need a fridge enough to wire something in permanently so this seems to make the most sense to me. With one battery charged in the fridge it's supposed to run for up to 3 days. With 2 more in the AC180T you've got potential for up to 9 days without any further charging. Adding solar to the mix means keeping it topped off indefinitely pretty easily.

Click Me

 

[hoser]

@HSTexan Ah, nice! I hadn't seen that one yet. The LiFePO4 battery advantage would certainly sway me in that direction.

 

[TheComedian]

Partner and I did a 3 week trip and our 35L was great. Easily holds enough food and beer for 4-5 days, repackaging in ziplocs to minimize wasted space. One nice thing was the ability to keep beer/wine/water stashed elsewhere in the vehicle, and add those containers to the fridge on an as needed basis.

This! 35L is the sweet spot if you’re not carrying meat for 10 people for a week.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

This! 35L is the sweet spot if you’re not carrying meat for 10 people for a week.

Agreed!

 

[linuxgod]

This! 35L is the sweet spot if you’re not carrying meat for 10 people for a week.

or beer for one person for a weekend

 

[TheComedian]

or beer for one person for a weekend

The special trick is to not put everything in there. Only enough to bring four cans/hour to the right temp

 

[rlynch356]

idk... but a National luna 50 Dual, and the ARB 50 both fit a case of beer upright in them and still have room for other stuff.... no need to unpack it, just pop it in.

YMMV

 

[grinchy]

Oh I like that drawer that is self contained.

 

[linuxgod]

The special trick is to not put everything in there. Only enough to bring four cans/hour to the right temp

Yeah but after drinking 4 beers in an hour there’s no way I’m going to remember to reload the cooler

 

[coleAK]

I have two domestic duel zone 95L that my kids use commercially for their catering business. They have used them hard for going in 4 years. I also have a domestic single zone 55L. For 3-4 of us camping for 5-7 days completely off grid we always take the 55L and have never felt like we needed more space.

I run it off a Lion energy 1kwh battery and take 100-200w of solar (have 900w of portable panels for the business). Can go 3-4 days with no sun, and it will also charge off the 120v outlet in the LX.

I would likely have at least one iceco but sadly they do not ship to Alaska.

 

[linuxgod]

So I pulled the trigger last night on an Iceco VL60ProS. They’re available in eBay for $400 listed as “used”. They also have a larger size (either 75 or 90L… I can’t recall which) for $480. They come with a 90 day warranty. As best I can tell:

• The seller is actually Iceco selling units which were returned. It’s unclear to me whether they’re returned and repaired, or banged up in shipping, or just units people decided against and returned but don’t look new enough to resell as new.
• Apparently Iceco is also Setpower, because the email I received after purchase said “If there are any issues with your Iceco fridge please email support@setpowerusa.com with the order number for assistance”. Different compressors and electronics I’m sure but knowing this if you trust Iceco but were looking for a cheaper new option you might consider them.

For the price I decided a single zone would suffice since I used a cooler now and for my occasional use I was considering dropping $600 on a used Dometic off FB marketplace, and in this case I actually have some return policy. Hopefully it arrives in a usable condition and not as a box of smashed parts, but between eBay, PayPal, and my Mastercard I figure if it works and runs smoothly for the next month I’ll be fine and if not I have plenty of recourse.

 

[reddog90]

Sounds like a good buy. Only thing I did to mine was silicone all the seams inside the fridge and it's been g2g.

 

[MCtree]

My 2 cents and it would seem against the grain here.

I prefer a compact <50 qt single zone fridge. It's easy to get caught up in more - capacity, dual zones, features. At the end of the day, it's one dimension of the trip loadout, which will have to be traded with other parts for space utilization, weight, ergonomics, and importantly power (which then drives the need for more batts/charging/solar).

As with most things, it's a balance and less can be more.

Instead of more capacity, I try to pack more efficiently. Using ziplocks, vacuum sealers. I may not be able to load all my drinks at once but it's a fridge and will cool drinks when rotated in.

I have an Iceco 42 and it's all I need.

I know I’m late to this conversation, but I just want to say that I agree with this train of thought. I have a dometic 75L dual zone that I like, but I wish I would have gone smaller.
It takes up too much room and I don’t often need the capacity it offers.

 

[linuxgod]

I know I’m late to this conversation, but I just want to say that I agree with this train of thought. I have a dometic 75L dual zone that I like, but I wish I would have gone smaller.
It takes up too much room and I don’t often need the capacity it offers.

I have a 100 quart cooler and used to drop two big bags of ice in it. So about 80 quarts usable. 60 will be on the small side, but assuming stuff on the bottom is easily accessed I think it’ll be ok, I’ll just need to reload warm drinks into it more often when I’m maxing it out with food.

In my case so long as the height and width didn’t change, a bigger cooler would have been fine since the area behind it is pretty inaccessible anyway (and my 100 quart cooler is 38” deep). I will likely put the lithium charger in that spot between the rear of the fridge and the 2nd row, though it makes access to it for any other purpose a hassle.

Teckis300 and others are probably right though, smaller is better. Less power, less weight, more usable trunk space, less expensive, etc.