Well after 16 or so years my ARB handle broke. Outsane has a bracket that bolts right up and rectified the issue easily.
Official FRIDGE Thread
- Thread starter RoughOne
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Question for the group. Do you feel you need a fridge freezer single zone set up or a dual zone set up? I know this is an open ended question but for those that have used these for years, do you really need dual zone? is it a must?
Obviously, it’s not a must. But then even the single zone is just a want. Coolers sufficed for all of us for a long long time (still do for plenty of us!).
But having a freezer and a fridge side is pretty nice for longer trips.
Meats are good in the fridge for a week - tops. So having the freezer is nice for longer trips where you can pull things out to thaw as you need them.
And ice is pretty nice for drinks!
A freezer is a nice to have not a need to have. The above is a great summary.
One issue that one needs to look at is how much fridge space one loses by having a freezer. Sometimes one loses more with larger units.
That said it is fun to have ice cream and ice cubes at camp.
One issue that one needs to look at is how much fridge space one loses by having a freezer. Sometimes one loses more with larger units.
That said it is fun to have ice cream and ice cubes at camp.
We're missing the "elephant in the room" here. I think it boils down to how many cold beverages you need to have available. Folks that require an "abundant" beverage supply (many containers of beer or soft drink) readily available will appreciate the room of the single zone for keeping a generous supply of cold beverage containers, along with the food that needs refrigeration. But, if you want to also carry frozen items, you can sacrifice your current supply of cold beverages for the comforts of home by having the dual zone. But, restocking beverages can be a pain since they're hard, heavy and should be on the bottom to avoid crushing the more fragile food. However, whatever you choose will definitely be a step up from a cooler!
This! I would want a min of 15 or so of these cold ones, plus food for two for 3-4 days. I can restock the cold ones in the morning, usually the coolest part of the day, so the warm ones are not as hot. That way it has most of the day or at least till noon to cool down. I am looking at the 37-45 qt size. Currently I have a small 27 qt that works for short road trips for food only. I am looking to upgrade to something larger. I use block ice in my coolers so it does last for multiple days. Yeti, Rtic, rotomold coolers work well for 3-4 days. I just purchased a square drop camper and looking to add a fridge to it as it will have 200 amp/hrs of batteries and solor, so it should be fine for a fridge for as long as needed.
I have the NL 50 Dual, and I'm very glad to have the ability to have a freezer while also keeping a fridge. Example: We took a road trip to MD a few weeks ago, stopped at a local seafood place down there and loaded the freezer up with amazing crab cakes, which are now in my freezer here at home. It's also really nice when I'm on a job site I can keep the crew supplied with cold waters and Gatorade, but at the end of the day I pull out a box of ice cream sandwiches for everybody.
I have an Iceco VL60 dual zone and keep beverages in one side and food in the other. I rarely use one as a freezer. The compressor side, lower 'niche' is usually the coldest spot, if I put frozen food (usually meat) in that spot, it stays pretty much frozen even with the compartment set to ~32 F, which keeps the food cold, but not freezing the veggies at the top. Also, the removable baskets are nice for getting to the bottom stuff without having to dig through the top.
The VL60 is a bit big, but it's nice to have the storage volume on longer trips.
The VL60 is a bit big, but it's nice to have the storage volume on longer trips.
been running the VL60 for about 5 yrs now. It is perfect for 4-6 ppl for a week worth of food and drinks.
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Freezer is in no way needed unless you need a food item that will not last in a fridge for your intended trip duration.
It is fun to have ice cream and ice cubes for drinks. Making your fridge work harder to freeze will draw way more power. For me the biggest thing is the extra planning to thaw out items for meal in advance. We definitely used the freezer on our Alaska trip. On the road for 42 days. I was nice to be able to store meats frozen. But you couldn't just pull into camp and make your dinner decision on the spot. That had to be made in the morning so things could thaw.
Personally I feel like most dual compartments have too large of freezer side. I'd rather it was like 20% overall verse 40%. The NL-50 has the right split but is not big enough for our family. I've got the NL-60 and an ICECO 60 in the trailer. Both require commitment to alot of freezer space. I generally run the fidge in the truck as only a fridge. Trailer gets the split.
It is fun to have ice cream and ice cubes for drinks. Making your fridge work harder to freeze will draw way more power. For me the biggest thing is the extra planning to thaw out items for meal in advance. We definitely used the freezer on our Alaska trip. On the road for 42 days. I was nice to be able to store meats frozen. But you couldn't just pull into camp and make your dinner decision on the spot. That had to be made in the morning so things could thaw.
Personally I feel like most dual compartments have too large of freezer side. I'd rather it was like 20% overall verse 40%. The NL-50 has the right split but is not big enough for our family. I've got the NL-60 and an ICECO 60 in the trailer. Both require commitment to alot of freezer space. I generally run the fidge in the truck as only a fridge. Trailer gets the split.
This is true. I definitely can tell the difference in power usage when I have the freezer running. It's fine if I'm driving the truck every day, but otherwise I have to be careful. If we're stopped at a place for a few days that has a full size fridge available, I'll pull the freezer basket out and bring it inside, turn the freezer back up to fridge temp. Or, I'll run an extension cord out to the truck to run it on 120V if I can.
Funny/sad story: We did a similar trip 3 years ago, down to the Outer Banks. On the way down, we stopped at the same place and loaded the freezer with MD crab cakes, almost $200 worth. When we got to the B&B, I brought all the baskets inside and unplugged the fridge. A week later, we packed up to leave, we drove away forgetting to put the freezer basket back into the truck. We didn't realize until we were 8 hours away, almost to PA.
The B&B was gracious about shipping the basket back to me, but we had to give away all the crab cakes to the housekeeping staff. Now I stick a note on my dash if any basket has been removed.
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I don't really need a freezer, but I'd love to have some ice cubes for drinks on occasion. So what I've tried is to put a shallow container of ice cubes at the very bottom of my 25yo Engel, then pack the usual stuff on top. This does ok at setting 2 (range is 1-5, I think). I'm not too serious about this endeavor but if i were to set the fridge two 2.5, it'll freeze everything, explode bottles, etc so i live with my setup. I'd love me some ice cream samiches so maybe i'll try again to see how they fair on a future camping trip.
FrazzledHunter
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I am done DONE DONE with screwing with ice so for us a freezer is a must. We use flat cold packs to put in coolers for the beach, for example. So for us it's a dual zone or don't bother.
The unit we have is a Dometic CFX3 75L DZ. It can be configured all freezer, all fridge, or either compartment (large one or smaller one) as fridge or freezer. We usually set the smaller compartment as freezer but we don't have to. So you can have your cake and eat it too.
FrazzledHunter
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For those needing lots of beverages what I do is take a second cooler. Some beverages like Gatorade I freeze beforehand. I load it up and then transfer as needed to replenish the main cooler. After a couple days the Gatorade has thawed and is ready to drink.