Overland Rally + Fridge Conundrum... WWYD?

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Aaron Niemi

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So as some of you know my fridge recently busted... Lame and super lame timing since we're about to go to Overland Rally. The MFG is going to refund my $$ since it's only a few months old, so that's cool.

Here's my conundrum... two fold...

Currenlty Engel has their 40L on sale for $699 + an extra 2 year warranty (so 5 year warranty)
PRO: 5 year warranty and a quality fridge. CON: I'm losing 4L from the current fridge which is pretty small already

Camping world has their Fathers day sale going on for 20% off, so I can get a Dometic CoolFreeze CFX 50W Portable Compressor Cooler and Freezer, 46L for $719.99 + shipping
PROS: 2 more liters than current, fancy app for monitoring, on Sale. CONS: only MFG warranty unless I pay more.

I've reached out to one vendor that'll be at the rally, but have yet to hear back. I was just seeing if they're bringing/selling fridges there and if there are any specials...

What would you do? Which fridge?
AND Wait for Overland Rally and hope for a deal or buy now?

TIA
-Aaron

TIA, I'm eager to get it replaced.
 

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The rally is so close, I would just wait. Who knows, maybe you will win one in a raffle. Seriously though, sales come and go all the time. The discounts offered through shows are usually much better than any sale as they are for a targeted market.
 

Luinil Explorations

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If I had it to do over again I would buy a two compartment combination fridge freezer. My Norcold is either a fridge or a freezer. On week long or longer trips it is impossible to keep the meat frozen and the vegetables and drinks unfrozen. A unit with a separate freezer and fridge section would solve the problem. Of course if you mostly do weekend trips then the added expense of the combo unit may not be justified.
 
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Todd & Meg

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We have a Snomaster 56 liter Fridge/freezer and love it. Yes it was pricy but it makes my wife happy and that is a good thing. I called Snomaster and asked if there would be any specials for Overland West and I was planning on picking one up there. He gave me the show price with free shipping and we had it 3 weeks before Expo. That was a deal. And I got it in three days. I did have to pick it up at the fright terminal which wasn't a big deal. I know a guy that researches everything he buys and he went with the Snomaster so that was good for me.

Probably the con is it takes more power than I planned and will be adding solar because of it. But is sure beats having to buy ice.

Todd
 
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Aaron Niemi

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We have a Snomaster 56 liter Fridge/freezer and love it. Yes it was pricy but it makes my wife happy and that is a good thing. I called Snomaster and asked if there would be any specials for Overland West and I was planning on picking one up there. He gave me the show price with free shipping and we had it 3 weeks before Expo. That was a deal. And I got it in three days. I did have to pick it up at the fright terminal which wasn't a big deal. I know a guy that researches everything he buys and he went with the Snomaster so that was good for me.

Probably the con is it takes more power than I planned and will be adding solar because of it. But is sure beats having to buy ice.

Todd
I just got an extra battery and solar... Then my fridge died, so I've got plenty of power now lol.
Thats awesome they gave you the show price and no shipping!
I sent an email and called and left a message with a vendor and still haven't heard back, looks like I'll be shopping somewhere else.
I'll checkout the Snomaster.
Thanks!
 

bmwguru

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We have a Snomaster 56 liter Fridge/freezer and love it. Yes it was pricy but it makes my wife happy and that is a good thing. I called Snomaster and asked if there would be any specials for Overland West and I was planning on picking one up there. He gave me the show price with free shipping and we had it 3 weeks before Expo. That was a deal. And I got it in three days. I did have to pick it up at the fright terminal which wasn't a big deal. I know a guy that researches everything he buys and he went with the Snomaster so that was good for me.

Probably the con is it takes more power than I planned and will be adding solar because of it. But is sure beats having to buy ice.

Todd
Would you mind sharing the model you got and the "show price" compared to the retail price?
 
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Desert Runner

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So as some of you know my fridge recently busted... Lame and super lame timing since we're about to go to Overland Rally. The MFG is going to refund my $$ since it's only a few months old, so that's cool.

Here's my conundrum... two fold...

Currenlty Engel has their 40L on sale for $699 + an extra 2 year warranty (so 5 year warranty)
PRO: 5 year warranty and a quality fridge. CON: I'm losing 4L from the current fridge which is pretty small already

Camping world has their Fathers day sale going on for 20% off, so I can get a Dometic CoolFreeze CFX 50W Portable Compressor Cooler and Freezer, 46L for $719.99 + shipping
PROS: 2 more liters than current, fancy app for monitoring, on Sale. CONS: only MFG warranty unless I pay more.

I've reached out to one vendor that'll be at the rally, but have yet to hear back. I was just seeing if they're bringing/selling fridges there and if there are any specials...

What would you do? Which fridge?
AND Wait for Overland Rally and hope for a deal or buy now?

TIA
-Aaron

TIA, I'm eager to get it replaced.
If you have not bought thru Camping World yet, I would pass on an extended warranty thru them, as many have said that they are in financial straits. Just something to think about before investing in something extra (ad-on extended warranty) that might not be honored down the road.
 
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Aaron Niemi

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If you have not bought thru Camping World yet, I would pass on an extended warranty thru them, as many have said that they are in financial straits. Just something to think about before investing in something extra (ad-on extended warranty) that might not be honored down the road.
Good to know, I personally never buy the extended waranties, usually just a marketing gimmick. It's the Engel that has the additional factory warranty for free right now direct from their site. Not the Dometic at Camping world.
 

CascadeTraveler

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The rally is so close, I would just wait. Who knows, maybe you will win one in a raffle. Seriously though, sales come and go all the time. The discounts offered through shows are usually much better than any sale as they are for a targeted market.
^This go cooler for the weekend, there are plenty of places in the vicinity to buy ice, Plain is pretty close to civilization.
 

Aaron Niemi

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I think the deal at the rally is/was equivalent to buying online honestly. I ended up getting the Dometic CFX 50 for $850, drop shipped to my house in 7-10 days.
I could go on Amazon today and get it for $869.20 and have it in 2 days.

If they had the model I wanted there maybe I could have got a better deal? Who knows... If you're into haggling, you might do better than me, I'm not.
I'd rather give my money to a local place, so there's that.