12v fridge recommendations

[totalnobody]

I usually go out for three weeks at a time 3 or four times a year.
I have been using an ICECO DUAL ZONE FRIDGE/FREEZER for thee years with absolutely no issues what so ever.
works flawlessly.

In addition: the comments on solar for back up on a dual battery system.
Not so much as we never want to camp/park in the sun we always try to stay in shade so the solar ideal is not a easily a workable plan. ( does work but has its own hurdles) the better resolve is to go with a DC to DC charger in your system your house battery and start battery will always be at full charge with out having to cook yourself in the sun.

 

[John and Mandi]

I usually go out for three weeks at a time 3 or four times a year.
I have been using an ICECO DUAL ZONE FRIDGE/FREEZER for thee years with absolutely no issues what so ever.
works flawlessly.

In addition: the comments on solar for back up on a dual battery system.
Not so much as we never want to camp/park in the sun we always try to stay in shade so the solar ideal is not a easily a workable plan. ( does work but has its own hurdles) the better resolve is to go with a DC to DC charger in your system your house battery and start battery will always be at full charge with out having to cook yourself in the sun.

We have a DC to DC, solar, and a high quality AC powered battery charger. For shorter trips we agree that most won’t sit in one spot for more than a few days so less is more…and money saved. On really long trips it’s not uncommon to sit for long periods and, depending on season, sometimes it’s better to be parked in the sun. That being said, we had an AGM setup when we were driving south and had an Automatic Charge Relay (ACR) instead of a DC to DC charger. It failed on a long remote track and we were never able to fix it. We finished the South American portion of our travels on solar alone, about 4 months. Once we shipped back to the US, Blue Sea Systems sent us a new ACR. A month shy of 1 year since the original failed, we finally installed it before Expo East because we were tired of it being in the way. Again, for shorter trips one source is probably plenty but for those longer trips redundancy in power is well worth it…especially if you have a fridge.

 

[John and Mandi]

An example of random things saving the day…

In late fall 2020 we were in the mountains of TN and the first decent freeze took out our house battery. After 6 years of fulltime use it was done. We prefer free forest camping but the National Forest campgrounds in the area were reasonable so we drove to one and grabbed an electric site. We carry our fridge’s A/C power cord so we could get it running again, food saved but what do we do? We decided there were places we wanted to see before hitting up family for a space to sort out new batteries so we plotted a route and booked a bunch of campgrounds that had electric sites. The big issue was we like to stop and do things instead of just drive. Thinking we would buy ice and dump it once we made camp, we remembered we had been carrying around a 12v extension cord since 2015. We would start the van and run the cord back to the fridge, setting the temperature a little colder than usual, and shut it all off as we stopped to explore. It worked and we finally got to use an item from the nevers bin!

 

[Jdsint]

Iceco is working out good after a year

 

[leeloo]

I`m wondering that here so many people are using fridges above 30l size.

I did travel 75`000 miles with an Engel 15l Fridge, often with 2 travellers. In our fridge is just: Butter, ham, bacon, salmon, steaks, fish, milk beer, chocolate.

Weight and used size in the vehicle is always an issue.

Everything else like eggs, tomato, potatoes, onions and other vegetables like chicory or garlic can easily be carryed withoud the coldness. Yes it has to be safely stored too, but with less weight. You find even Salami who doesnt need to be cooled, at least you dont start to use it.

Camp Kitchen - tricks to save weight, energy and time

trippin

:) In principle you are right, but I can see your are not a beer drinker..
Half of my 40L engel is occupied by beer and Baileys.. And those need to be cold. Having them warm is very risky for health and can also lead to expensive divorces ..
When they will invent a good warm beer, I will go to a 15 l fridge as well : )

 

[Kevin108]

One thing to consider is how the lid opens. In my FJ Cruiser, I had the refrigerator (originally a Coleman cooler) setup behind the driver seat. I first bought a Costway refrigerator. Its lid hinged on the narrow side, and couldn't be opened all of the way when inside the vehicle. This was especially frustrating when loading it. It died after a year or so.

I opted to replace it with one that opened on the long side for better access (like the old Coleman cooler), and one supported by a longer warranty. The second time around, I went with a Dometic, which has been durable and reliable, even surviving the wreck that ended its stay in the FJ back in 2020.

 

[Viking1204]

:) In principle you are right, but I can see your are not a beer drinker..
Half of my 40L engel is occupied by beer and Baileys.. And those need to be cold. Having them warm is very risky for health and can also lead to expensive divorces ..
When they will invent a good warm beer, I will go to a 15 l fridge as well : )

This why I have the 65L Fridge, it can hold 48 cans of beer and all the food necessary for a week long trip. Mind you the only time I do this is usually when I go to hunting camp, still work full time so my longest camping trip has been about 5 days.

 

[TomInOregon]

You should check out ICECO VL series fridges. Dual zones are available or you can decide to go freezer or fridge. They use the SECOP compressor also used by ARB and Dometic. They offer a 5 year warranty on the compressor, free shipping, and way cheaper than the expensive brands.

Thanks for that info. We have been looking for a replacement for our National Luna 90L that will fit in the space we have on the slide. The 90L Iceco VL may work for us.

 

[Jdsint]

You should check out ICECO VL series fridges. Dual zones are available or you can decide to go freezer or fridge. They use the SECOP compressor also used by ARB and Dometic. They offer a 5 year warranty on the compressor, free shipping, and way cheaper than the expensive brands.

Thanks for that info. We have been looking for a replacement for out National Luna 90L that will fit in the space we have on the slide. The 90L Iceco VL may work for us.

Hobotech on YouTube has a discount code for it.

 

[archer75]

I was looking at the Dometic CFX3 100. Not sure if it's too big. Right now we have a travel trailer and that fridge will be loaded with food for a 3 day weekend and adult beverages and i'll also bring a coleman cooler full of non alcoholic beverages. There's 4 of us. But we're looking at selling the trailer so I need another option. Any other really large options?

 

[Norbwillm]

I like the BougeRV 12v compressor fridge. It's a great value for the price and has all the features I need. It's been a game-changer for our overlanding trips. It keeps everything perfectly chilled, even in scorching heat, and the dual-zone feature is awesome for having both fridge and freezer space. It's a bit pricey, but so worth it for the quality and reliability.

 

[Outdoordog]

Had a dometic cf18 (18 quart), went to a alpicool 35 qt. Love this fridge.
Dual zone, app controlled if you want.
It sits in my rig full time now, so helpful with groceries.

I went for the biggest one that would fit. It has handle and wheels, so it barely fits. Sometimes the jeep tailgate hits the fridge, but not an issue.

 

[JackAttack]

My recommendation for North America would be Engle or ARB. Both are robust, reliable and efficient.

 

[DosTacos]

Looking for the same information, stepping off on a week long trip. Likely going to Costco as well.

Speed Test​

I know people in the RV and overlanding community rave about Dometic and Iceco fridges. I looked at both but couldn't bring myself to spend $1000+ on a fridge when I was coming from a $40 coleman cooler and $2 bag of ice. I opted to go of an off-brand that I had seen mentioned on these forums a few times and couldn't be happier. I bought the Alpicool CF45 in 2020 and have had it running full time in my vehicle for over 3yrs and paid somewhere in the $200-$225 range. It currently retails for $270 on Amazon. I liked it so much I also bought the C20 fridge for my wife's vehicle about a year ago.
That said, if you are going to Costco, you may look into their dual-zone (fridge and Freezer) 30L for $189. https://www.costco.com/phantom-30l-portable-electric-cooler.product.4000146294.html

 

[Ebbs]

I have an Iceco 50L JP Pro. it's worked flawlessly for me running almost non stop for the last year. Couple small gripes that don't really have anything to do with the function of the fridge, just some things I wished I knew, or would have considered more when purchasing.
1. it's tall. fourtnuately the GS has a pretty tall rear cargo area (third row headroom) but the lid opens lenth wise and makes it tough some times (not a huge issue since the lid opens from both ends and can be removed completly but a consideration)

2. The wheels add about an 1" to the width that, when combined with a slide make for about 3-4" of "wasted" space when planning out storage this can be an issue

3. The latch on top can be a little sticky and definitely needs an extra little attention to ensure it closes or the alarm will go off (which isn't loud and easily missed for a couple min)

4. insulation bag, due to the way the top opens, lenth wise, but the insulation bag zips one side at the top, it makes it kind of a PITA, and since in can't just zip off the top, I'm left with just the top of the bag flipped off to the side... (probably just going to take the bag off)

5. wished I'd have gotten a dual zone. definitely not a NEED, but Having some ice for drinks, or a chilled mug/ice cream/popcicles on a hot day would have been awesome (good friend has an 80L Dual Zone Dometic and I'm definitely a little green with envy on hot summer days...

but I love the mobility, I use it a lot more than I thought I would to wheel it down to the beach, bring it to a party, or even just on to my porch for lazy days.

 

[reaver]

I have two fridges. My first fridge was purchased from Costco for 279 three years ago. It's from a company called Massimo, is a 45L, and is still going strong. Drawbacks to this fridge is there's no tie down points on it (I haven't gotten around to figuring out a workaround for this yet), and things get lost under the compressor (compressor is on the top). That being said, it keeps things cold, and works very well.

My second fridge is from setpower. I like this fridges VERY much. I know several people that have them. They have a better warranty than any other budget fridge, and share many components with the setpower fridges, as they're owned by the same parent company. Mine is the AJ30 (similar to the iceco JP30). I wanted a smaller fridge for solo trips, and it fit the bill. It was also only 230 bucks.

If you want a good fridge with a good warranty, grab a setpower. I feel like you can't go wrong with them.

 

[NotGumby]

My recommendation for North America would be Engle or ARB. Both are robust, reliable and efficient.

I second that - ARB. Bought the 35 liter in 2014 and with a few months usage each year, no issues.

 

[Cypress]

I have a Mr Heater Basecamp that has been running almost continuously since 2014. It has been flawless but I don't think it's available any longer.

For short trips with just me, I have an Alpicool C20. It's 21 Qts, sub $200, and sips energy. It weighs 25% of the Basecamp and holds enough food for 2-3 days if you pack carefully. It's 5 years old and has done a very good job as well.