Why did I get a dual zone Dometic fridge/freezer? What will I freeze?

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davidu

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Big Sky, MT, USA
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David
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I am just a weekend camper -- 3 nights at most. I recently purchased Dometic CFX3 95DZ when it was on sale and as I prepare to install it I started to think I didn't think about it fully.
  1. I now realize how huge it is. It's huge!
  2. I have no idea what I would need in a freezer for 3 days camping trips.

The fridge makes tons of sense... but unless I plan on ice cream during my 2 or 3 night trips, I'm feeling pretty dumb for thinking I needed the freezer.

What do you all use your freezer for when on short trips?
 
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If the freezer part is adjustable as most are just use it as a big fridge! But...The freezer option could be good for ice or meats. Thats what i'd worry most about if i had a freezer while camping.
 
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I was thinking the same but my wife actually froze some of the food we were going to use towards the end of our 5 day trip. So she had all our food on our first stop in the fridge area and the rest in thr freezer. Then we headed to the second part of our trip we set both sides to 37 degrees and she began thawing out the frozen food-worked great! Plus we had ice cream the first two day!
 
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davidu said:
I am just a weekend camper -- 3 nights at most. I recently purchased Dometic CFX3 95DZ when it was on sale and as I prepare to install it I started to think I didn't think about it fully.
  1. I now realize how huge it is. It's huge!
  2. I have no idea what I would need in a freezer for 3 days camping trips.

The fridge makes tons of sense... but unless I plan on ice cream during my 2 or 3 night trips, I'm feeling pretty dumb for thinking I needed the freezer.

What do you all use your freezer for when on short trips?
Click to expand...
I've used it for Popsicles, Ice cubes for mixed drinks, and I'll make premade meals and food seal it and freeze it then thaw it few days into the trip. I know with mine I can make it a fridge also if I don't want to freeze anything for the weekend!
 
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I got a killer DEAL from a nearby OB member who purchased a Dometic CFX75DZ. He too realized that it took up valuable space in his Jeep. He had used it once and it looked brand new. Fits wonderful in my F150 bed.

I don't use the freezer setting very often, but run both zones in the fridge mode. I have tons of room for breads, fruits,veggies and other things that would last longer in the fridge. That's the beauty of the DZ...you have choices.

I'm sure someone here would love you to sell it to them at a good price!
 
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We have the dual zone (not Dometic, a Unique model. As in, Unique is the brand. I'm not trying to suggest it's special!) that can be made fridge or freezer in either compartment. We use the smaller compartment as a freezer, and its full of stuff we've made at home -- chilli, curry, etc. These are easy to pop into the jet boil to thaw and eat in less time (and far healthier, particularly with regards to salt) than a Mountain House or similar dehydrated meals. Some folks like their fridge because they are Overland Chefs - they like cooking around camp. We don't mind it, but we don't want to cook a big meal every night, so having a few frozen portions that are easy to thaw works well for us. We might have to whip together some minute rice to go with it, but thats easy.

When on the road for longer trips, we can restock the freezer side -- it's easy for us to cook, say, a curry in camp one night, but buy the ingredients that day so we have enough for a few extra portions. Once we've eaten our fill, we can toss the leftovers into the freezer, and we're set for the next part of our adventure.
 
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i have the 65dz for just the wife and i and its plenty big for 1-2 week trips for us in the boonies and i rarely freeze food on trips, but it is nice to freeze bottles of water and thrown them in a backpack to provide cold water as they thaw. never know...you might end up on a longer trip and need to freeze meats, etc or lose power at home and can use it to save frozen items. we might make frozen dinners at home, like meat and gravy, and freeze it in bags and take on trips to cut down on cook time. as others have posted: its good to have options
 
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As mentioned, the second zone can be used as a freezer but it doesn't have to be. We haven't used it as a freezer YET but it's nice to have the option. The bigger benefit is that you can use one zone and reduce energy consumption by only cooling the zone you're using if you don't have much food vs. cooling the entire fridge regardless of how much food you have.
 
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I am wrestling with the same decision now. I want a metal fridge/freezer and not the plastic. the ICECO pricepoint fits and the reviews are good. The problem is the smallest metal dual zone is the VL60 (63qt) which will take up a lot of my JKU space. I am trying to see if I need dual zone and I thought about freezing food in case I went on a week long trip. I too am a weekend campter/offroader so that would remove the need of a cooler.
 
davidu said:
I am just a weekend camper -- 3 nights at most. I recently purchased Dometic CFX3 95DZ when it was on sale and as I prepare to install it I started to think I didn't think about it fully.
  1. I now realize how huge it is. It's huge!
  2. I have no idea what I would need in a freezer for 3 days camping trips.

The fridge makes tons of sense... but unless I plan on ice cream during my 2 or 3 night trips, I'm feeling pretty dumb for thinking I needed the freezer.

What do you all use your freezer for when on short trips?
Click to expand...

The dual zones allow you to use both side as a fridge too.
I bought the huge 75 dometic, and it is much larger than I need. I have both sides set to freeze and I have overflow meats in it now. lol
I did purchase a smaller dual zone to use in my fj on trips. Something really nice about pulling out a ice-cream sandwich on a trip though the desert.
If I don't take anything frozen I set both sides to fridge temps, or turn one side off.
 
I thought I'd have some input for you, but then I clicked into the thread and saw you're only doing 3 day trips max. I guess it just means you can run both sides at fridge temps, or you get to have ice cream! ;) I bought a dual-zone unit to supplement the single-zone on my trailer just before I did a 9 day trip last month. For me, it was a matter of being able to freeze chicken and other meats intended for late in the trip.

-TJ
 
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We use the freezer side for ice (for drinks), ice cream, frozen vegetables, and for food to be used later (meals or just meat). Being able to pull out frozen peas, broccoli, hash browns, etc and have them actually be frozen is great.

Our last few trips we've been swapping ice packs from the freezer to the drink cooler in the morning and the evening. We'll also pull something frozen to cook in the morning and let it thaw in the cooler. So far it's worked great - drinks are always cold, plenty of storage in the fridge, and items to be used from the freezer thaw and keep the cooler cold during the day.
 
I use my Iceco VL60DZ (dual zone) and I use the freezer for ice-cream, desserts, and for frozen vegetables for a side, or in a stir fry, or frozen veggies for an omlet, or packaged meals (simple skillet melas) for when its crappy outside, and you just want to setup camp, eat, and go to sleep. mine stays at 34* fridge side, and 0* freezer side. and when full it doesnt turn on much at all. I leave my truck off for about 16 hours each night, qand have not had any issues restarting in the morning. or going past the high battery cutoff setting.
 
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Mine will be plugged in while driving and then put on a jackery 500(plus solar panel) while camping. I'm just torn on the size because I have a JKU Wrangler and the VL60 is going to take up space since it's 31" long. I want the freezer for freezing meats, veggies and I admit ice cream. It's the meal freezing that I really like
 
we opted for the Snowmaster dual control 63 qt. in the teardrop...works well to store frozen meat and veggies for later in the trip... AND replenish frozen waterbottles overnight for our day hikes. We have discovered that about 40 miles on the Mohave Trail turns your cream (for coffee) into whipped cream... was tasty for dessert. the 12v will keep it running for over 48 hours with no input... a 200w solar makes all the juice needed (here in the Southwest) . My only
beef.... the latches invariably are sometimes not secured down all the way and as the fridge slides in.. the latches get slammed and tweaked. Arrggh!


tdwoods.jpg
 
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I'm running a Dometic CFX75. This might be a bit large for a three day trip. (as I usually come home with to much food, I'm working on this.) But my thoughts for the larger purchase , it is my back up fridge in case we loose power. ( here in Norther Cal.) The fridge runs all the time as I have it connected to a 200 AH solar generator. When I buy brisket I can leave it in my Dometic for a few days. The biggest reason for the freezer when camping, as was pointed out previously. Is for ICE. Cocktails need ICE.
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