Fridge size recommendations

[MazeVX]

Hello, did a forum search two times but couldn't find anything helpful, if I missed the thread, just post a link.

My question... What fridge size do you recommend going for shorter trips around 5 days with 2 people? We are cooking fresh 1 time a day and possibly restock every 3 day.

I'm currently planning a whole new setup and just asking what size of fridge I should buy...
I'm thinking about 40L volume wich is close to 9 gallon ?

Thanks

 

[soonersfan]

I am no expert here but my thinking would be buy the biggest one that you can accommodate in your rig. IMO they are too expensive to own multiple sizes, so you might as well max your capacity in case you do longer trips. I don't think the energy draw is dramatically different between sizes.

 

[MazeVX]

The energy draw is quite the same once they cooled down and that's no big thing, we not staying for a long time so the aux batt is charged every 1-2 days.
Price is a big factor, but in fact, limited space is the biggest problem...

 

[000]

I switched from coolers to the fridge a couple years ago. I went from a 75qt yeti to the 43 qt edgestar fridge and found that it holds about the same amount of stuff since ice isn’t taking up room. With either I always have brought a 20qt yeti roadie or 30qt hopper or both for beers since it’s portable and easy to keep nearby at the campfire and it gets opened a lot. This combination has worked out pretty good for me. The 63 qt would hold everything, but if I’m not hanging out right by the truck it sucks to constantly have to go to the truck and open the fridge every time someone wants something to drink.


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[Dario Carrera]

It really depends on a few factor, how many people travel with you? How "gourmet" are your overland meals? I know friends that only cook once a day and their 60 liter fridge can go a long way. We're a family of 4 and we have a Dometic 80 Liter fridge and its Plenty for us for a week or more, and considering my wife loves cooking... I thinks its great. You do have to consider where you load it (on or off the car) because once its loaded the 80 litter is HEAVY! and the weight might be manageable but the volume of the thing makes it hard for a one man job. That has been like that because we live in an apartment building. Hope it helps! \

In my opinion a 60 liter is sufficient for most users.

 

[000]

I switched from coolers to the fridge a couple years ago. I went from a 75qt yeti to the 43 qt edgestar fridge and found that it holds about the same amount of stuff since ice isn’t taking up room. With either I always have brought a 20qt yeti roadie or 30qt hopper or both for beers since it’s portable and easy to keep nearby at the campfire and it gets opened a lot. This combination has worked out pretty good for me. The 63 qt would hold everything, but if I’m not hanging out right by the truck it sucks to constantly have to go to the truck and open the fridge every time someone wants something to drink.


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[Steve]

I went from a Yeti 50 cooler to a National Luna 90 Twin fridge/freezer. Holy smoke is there a lot of room in there! Much more than I need, but I bought it at about the same price as an ARB 50, so I couldn't pass it up.

When I'm not using the full capacity, I keep Costco's square lemonade jugs full of water to occupy space, use as ice, etc. Like a cooler, dead air in a fridge is bad, and in the case of a fridge, it means the compressor cycles more frequently, using your battery. So whatever size you go with, fill that dead air space with something.

And even though the 90 is much larger than I need, I too would recommend going as large as you have space and $$ for. It is better to have extra capacity than wish you had more.

 

[MazeVX]

Thanks for your answers so far.
I specified my question in the first post a bit there was a few things missing.

 

[000]

Thanks for your answers so far.
I specified my question in the first post a bit there was a few things missing.

Maybe make a cardboard box of the same dimensions of the fridge and see if everything fits? I typically repackage a lot of food in vacuum seal bags to make the most of the room I have, plus stuff doesn’t leak. I can pack a lot of food in my 43qt fridge this way. A carton of eggs is bulky, but prescrambled in serving sizes saves a ton of space, time and no broken eggs.


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[Sparky]

I would recommend taking this time to plan out some overall storage options. Questions I'd ask , if you haven't already, would be if you're planning on running a sliding fridge tray and how the various trays on the market would fit in your vehicle. One model/size may fit better than others.

I'd also consider the access height of the fridge in the vehicle and who would be using it. Some fridge models have a larger footprint with shorter sides, making them easier for children and shorter folks to access, especially if the fridge is on a tall vehicle. This also relates to visibility, it'd be nice if you can get away with keeping the fridge mounted when not on a trip without blocking any potential windows.

We have a 50qt ARB with an extended slide which I like because it has room for a 20L NATO water can. Had the fridge for awhile, then found the slide for it and it happens to fit my truck perfect, but starting from scratch I'd make sure to check all those details out. The 50qt has suppprted 2-3 people on multiple 4-5 day trips. It can get tight but we also pack whole cartons of milk and eggs. We also drink a lot of diet cokes and stuff so there's always some room for cycling beverage cans.

 

[MazeVX]

I would recommend taking this time to plan out some overall storage options. Questions I'd ask , if you haven't already, would be if you're planning on running a sliding fridge tray and how the various trays on the market would fit in your vehicle. One model/size may fit better than others.

I'd also consider the access height of the fridge in the vehicle and who would be using it. Some fridge models have a larger footprint with shorter sides, making them easier for children and shorter folks to access, especially if the fridge is on a tall vehicle. This also relates to visibility, it'd be nice if you can get away with keeping the fridge mounted when not on a trip without blocking any potential windows.

We have a 50qt ARB with an extended slide which I like because it has room for a 20L NATO water can. Had the fridge for awhile, then found the slide for it and it happens to fit my truck perfect, but starting from scratch I'd make sure to check all those details out. The 50qt has suppprted 2-3 people on multiple 4-5 day trips. It can get tight but we also pack whole cartons of milk and eggs. We also drink a lot of diet cokes and stuff so there's always some room for cycling beverage cans.

You're right and I'm in that planning right now. The fridge will be on a fridge slide for better access, the access height is a thing I thought about, because I'm not the tallest guy and my gf is even smaller so I need to keep this in mind!
The height of the car will rise about 3" from now plus the height of the slide... I need to measure this...
There are a few different things that should be stored in the back, kitchen box, folding table and chairs, recovery materials, maybe a small water can and so on...
I need to start somewhere, so I'm going to build this around the fridge.

 

[CoDawwg]

Yes have a small chest to go with it for drinks so not to as open it as much. Also vacuum sealing is a plus also when on the trail.

 

[Kent R]

ARB 50 Works great

 

[ArkansasDon]

I got sold on Engel after seeing a video how many years of use some had on them. I have their 22qt. & it works perfectly for the wife & I. We basely use ours only for storing meats & our condiments, we use rotomolded coolers : Canyon Outfitter 22 & K2 Summit 70 for the other items. This video sold me on Engel.

 

[Truckee]

I'd say anything between a 40-65L would be fine. Perhaps choose fridge sized based on vehicle space. The larger fridge is more useful when off the vehicle and requires less planning when packing.

 

[Onefin]

ARB 50 has worked well for us, along with an additional cooler for drinks on ice.
Anything that could possibly leak (salsa, sauces, veggies, berries) is placed in a ziplock bag before it goes in the ARB.
Pre-prepping veggies could potentially save space in the fridge, but I get bored while camping and like the prepping and cooking process.

 

[MazeVX]

I'm going for a fridge slightly smaller than 40L, very similar to the Engel but a bit more basic. The dimensions fits the rest pretty good and were not going extremely remote for the first time and I don't expect it to live for 30 years... But it still has metal housing and all the stuff.
Thank you so much for your help!