wtb small 12v fridge

[murf]

Want to buy

Looking to downsize into a smaller 12v portable fridge freezer for camping. Arb, engel, edgestar, dometic, etc

If you have between a 35 to 42 Qt and just don't use it anymore, let me know please.

 

[centralworks]

Murf, were you able to find the fridge you were looking for? Not before you, but I would also like to buy a used 12V fridge if somebody has one of any size.

 

[murf]

No worries, jump in front for it.

I determined that don't long term camp enough (sad, right?! lol) to dictate having a fridge and have switched gears to trying out a 30qt yeti soft side cooler.

In order to keep the fridge running all the time to keep it cool, it would lead to possible battery drain and then would need to consider a solar set up to keep the battery charged. The advanced cooler thing is simpler and meets my needs. This ROTM weekend of 3.5 days of adventure will be the Yetis first test...

 

[Living in the Past]

Thinking about a fridge myself. For the upcoming weekend think I will try a block of ice verses cubes in my forty year old Coleman ice chest. Besides the draw thinking of the wiring needed. Not much of a cook so amount of space required is minimal. Add drinks as needed.

 

[GOLDY]

Thinking about a fridge myself. For the upcoming weekend think I will try a block of ice verses cubes in my forty year old Coleman ice chest. Besides the draw thinking of the wiring needed. Not much of a cook so amount of space required is minimal. Add drinks as needed.

We freeze bottles of water. Keeps food cold and as it melts we have super cold ice water.

 

[blatant]

@murf, I just sold a Yeti 30 soft that I wasn't using b/c it was a giant pita... the zipper configuration is awful. Even the new ones with the zipper on the side pretty much suck. It didn't yield itself to ease of use of any sort, aside from stuffing it with beer.

It you desire the normal camping staples ( aside from beer -- breakfast, leftovers, steaks, old pizza etc ) imo, it's not so hot. If you want to give it a shot, go buy an ozark trail walmart 30 or 40, ( read the reviews at least ) the thing at least zips normally / opens fully and is like 40 or 50 bucks.

Yeti's ship has sailed, again imo, with everything else out there. I've used the following for the last decade and it's original variant before it, the full steel version. Works like a charm. Welcome to borrow for the upcoming GC run if you like.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-54-Quart-Steel-Belted-Cooler/dp/B003K6W6JO?tag=ihco-20

The other key to coolers is ice type combinationa and fill all vacant area's with towels etc vacating open areas.

 

[Living in the Past]

We freeze bottles of water. Keeps food cold and as it melts we have super cold ice water.

Generally try and pre cool the food and drink before hand. Freezing water is a good idea as long as the thin plastic bottles hold up to the expansion of freezing. Like block ice besides lasting longer than cubes because is a solid chunk the commercial freezers they are kept in are generally kept colder. Colder ice the more BTUs required to melt.

 

[murf]

@murf, I just sold a Yeti 30 soft that I wasn't using b/c it was a giant pita... the zipper configuration is awful. Even the new ones with the zipper on the side pretty much suck. It didn't yield itself to ease of use of any sort, aside from stuffing it with beer.

It you desire the normal camping staples ( aside from beer -- breakfast, leftovers, steaks, old pizza etc ) imo, it's not so hot. If you want to give it a shot, go buy an ozark trail walmart 30 or 40, ( read the reviews at least ) the thing at least zips normally / opens fully and is like 40 or 50 bucks.

Yeti's ship has sailed, again imo, with everything else out there. I've used the following for the last decade and it's original variant before it, the full steel version. Works like a charm. Welcome to borrow for the upcoming GC run if you like.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-54-Quart-Steel-Belted-Cooler/dp/B003K6W6JO?tag=ihco-20

The other key to coolers is ice type combinationa and fill all vacant area's with towels etc vacating open areas.

at least I have something to look forward to

 

[centralworks]

I want to be beyond freezing water bottles so if somebody has a truck fridge for sale please let me know.

 

[Stepmurr]

I keep two frozen 3 liter bottles in my Engel fridge. When I have the engine running I keep the Engel temperature in the twenties, and raise the setpoint while I'm parked.

I turn the Engel off at night while I'm sleeping (too noisy!) and the frozen bottles keep the fridge plenty cold.

I run dual deep cycle batteries in both the Taco and the FJ40 so I never worry about draining the battery from running the fridge too much.

It took a few trys before I discovered that freezing the 3 liter bottles upside down works best - the hollowed out bottom expands before the cylinder or the top get distorted.

 

[TexAZ]

we live south of phoenix and make frequent "grocery" runs to the valley for trader joe's, whole foods, etc.
I have a dometic clone that works great in my truck, but we are looking for a 30ish quart size fridge/freezer for the wife's gx470.

@murf / @blatant +1 for the Ozark trail soft sided coolers. for the price they can't be beat. we did a 3 day jetski trip up lake powell and used the OT soft sided coolers strapped on the skis. they kept ice for a little over a day while out in the 100+ degree weather and no shade.
we also keep a 70qt Ozark trail cooler in the wifes car for previously mentioned grocery trips. it keeps ice amazingly well.

now if we would just remember to take the ice packs out and put them back in the freezer

 

[bwesty]

I keep two frozen 3 liter bottles in my Engel fridge. When I have the engine running I keep the Engel temperature in the twenties, and raise the setpoint while I'm parked.

I turn the Engel off at night while I'm sleeping (too noisy!) and the frozen bottles keep the fridge plenty cold.

I run dual deep cycle batteries in both the Taco and the FJ40 so I never worry about draining the battery from running the fridge too much.

It took a few trys before I discovered that freezing the 3 liter bottles upside down works best - the hollowed out bottom expands before the cylinder or the top get distorted.
View attachment 1768419

I use the same method employing those same Arrowhead bottles too. Good quality thicker plastic than most others. Keeps the fridge from cycling on so often and found I can turn it off completely at night too if the outside temps are mild.

 

[murf]

@murf, I just sold a Yeti 30 soft that I wasn't using b/c it was a giant pita... the zipper configuration is awful. Even the new ones with the zipper on the side pretty much suck. It didn't yield itself to ease of use of any sort, aside from stuffing it with beer.

It you desire the normal camping staples ( aside from beer -- breakfast, leftovers, steaks, old pizza etc ) imo, it's not so hot. If you want to give it a shot, go buy an ozark trail walmart 30 or 40, ( read the reviews at least ) the thing at least zips normally / opens fully and is like 40 or 50 bucks.

Yeti's ship has sailed, again imo, with everything else out there. I've used the following for the last decade and it's original variant before it, the full steel version. Works like a charm. Welcome to borrow for the upcoming GC run if you like.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-54-Quart-Steel-Belted-Cooler/dp/B003K6W6JO?tag=ihco-20

The other key to coolers is ice type combinationa and fill all vacant area's with towels etc vacating open areas.

UPDATE: first off I realized that my new-to-me and never-used cooler is the larger Hopper 40 (not a 30) and it has a full top zipper that gives a more wide-mouth access. I am thinking the larger 40 must be that much bigger than the 30 where the zipper is longer and easier to use? It might work better for your big meat hooks you call hands , Blatant

PERFORMANCE: I followed the instructions and iced down the cooler for 12 hours before leaving to chill the insulation. I loaded it up Friday afternoon with room temp drinks and iced it down to the top. It performed well considering many times it was warm out and sat in the truck the whole time. By the end of the trip (38 hours later) and unloading, the ice had all melted but the water was still so cold it was hard to keep my hand submerged for too long. I could of picked up new ice at one of the stops along the trip, but wanted to let it ride out and see how it did from beginning to end.

Overall very happy with it and it meets my particular travel needs.

 

[blatant]

Thank you @murf

 

[Living in the Past]

UPDATE: first off I realized that my new-to-me and never-used cooler is the larger Hopper 40 (not a 30) and it has a full top zipper that gives a more wide-mouth access. I am thinking the larger 40 must be that much bigger than the 30 where the zipper is longer and easier to use? It might work better for your big meat hooks you call hands , Blatant

PERFORMANCE: I followed the instructions and iced down the cooler for 12 hours before leaving to chill the insulation. I loaded it up Friday afternoon with room temp drinks and iced it down to the top. It performed well considering many times it was warm out and sat in the truck the whole time. By the end of the trip (38 hours later) and unloading, the ice had all melted but the water was still so cold it was hard to keep my hand submerged for too long. I could of picked up new ice at one of the stops along the trip, but wanted to let it ride out and see how it did from beginning to end.

Overall very happy with it and it meets my particular travel needs.

On the same trip except loaded ice chest Saturday morning. Put a few small ice packs in the ice chest the night before which did not do much to precool the ice chest. Use frozen ice packs for the first hour and a half until located block ice in Flagstaff. Bought two small blocks. Everything was pre chilled except bottles of water I added and remove other ones. Ice pads were thawed in 24 hours. While small block were not completely melted on Monday and still ice the next morning after sitting outside all night. In Happy Jack not the valley. Ice chest is from 1979, not sure of the size but thinking around forty quart. Things I wanted the coldest I sat on the block ice and kept drinks between the two blocks to keep things like lunch meat from falling into the water from the melting blocks. Next time will buy at least one more block and remove the the ice packs that didn't last.

Years ago could get #20 blocks of ice that were not bagged. Needed to use a ice pick to get them apart from other blocks in the cooler. Those deeper frozen and lasted even longer. Not sure you could even find those anymore not being in a bag.

 

[Saddletramp]

@Cruddz , Alvis has the Canyon cooler, ice was still present on day 4. He did pick up another bag of ice but I think his cooler would have made it all 4 without the refresh. The folks needing ice for their cocktails might have been disappointed had Alvis not picked up the extra bag of ice

 

[Living in the Past]

@Cruddz , Alvis has the Canyon cooler, ice was still present on day 4. He did pick up another bag of ice but I think his cooler would have made it all 4 without the refresh. The folks needing ice for their cocktails might have been disappointed had Alvis not picked up the extra bag of ice

I did like Alvis's Canyon cooler. I think the temperatures in Flagstaff and on the north rim outside the park helped. Three nights at White Pocket may have been different. Not ready to dedicate my FJ62 to solely off road vehicle or only 4X4 I use. Investing in a modern cooler to replace my almost fifty year old cooler is probably a better option at this point.