I use the dometic CD30 refrigerator drawer. I find that 30 liters is plenty of space for a week long excursion. It's light weight, easy to access and extremely efficient and durable.
What size fridge do I need?
- Thread starter Bryan0302
- Start date
Enthusiast III
- 646
- First Name
- Will
- Last Name
- Beaver
- Member #
23460
you can adapt to the size you end up with. we did a 5 week trip with 2 adults and 1 teenager into some remote areas with a 30 litre fridge and did it easy. one of the things that helped was vac packing meat and vegetables in portions,making it compact and lasts up to 3 weeks.
Enthusiast III
the fan and compressor make a tiny bit of noise, but are overall very quiet, certainly no squeaking in my model. If it really is your fan squeaking that should be an easy fix. The fan if memory serves is a computer style cooling fan, and cpu guys have been oiling those for a long time with great success. You need to remove the sticker on the front, take out the little rubber dust cover, then put a drop of a light oil such as sewing oil or 3-1 oil on the tip of the shaft (just the tip) and then put everything back together.
Beverages would also factor in fridge size. If the wife enjoys white wine, husband likes beers and cold Gatorade, kids like orange juice and the baby drinks milk... these drink can easily consume 1/3 of the fridge. If the family drinks minimal refrigerated drinks, then a smaller fridge will do fine.
Some foods like bread, bagels and tomatoes which you could normally leave out at home would get annihilated in a parked, hot vehicle.... but you aren't going to fit it in your fridge. I've had good luck putting those in an insulated soft cooler or something sort of insulated and I'm using reflective window shades for the trunk area. Also helps with fridge power consumption.
Lastly, it is nice to have a little extra space... not only as a buffer but also the fridge performs better internally with some air space. We don't often pack food the for the entire trip but rather restock along the way. Sometimes the food product is not available in small quantities.
Some foods like bread, bagels and tomatoes which you could normally leave out at home would get annihilated in a parked, hot vehicle.... but you aren't going to fit it in your fridge. I've had good luck putting those in an insulated soft cooler or something sort of insulated and I'm using reflective window shades for the trunk area. Also helps with fridge power consumption.
Lastly, it is nice to have a little extra space... not only as a buffer but also the fridge performs better internally with some air space. We don't often pack food the for the entire trip but rather restock along the way. Sometimes the food product is not available in small quantities.
Enthusiast III
I went from a trusty Coleman steelbelt (51 lt) to a Dometic CFX 55. I used to freeze my own solid 2” thick block that fit the width and about 3/4 the length which left enough room for a half gallon of milk and 2lt bottle of soda or lemonade. I’d then pack all the food and mix cubed ice in between all the gaps.
The 55 is slightly larger so now all that space that was ice can fit more food or beverages. With a family of three we can go up to a week without stopping at a store, longer if we don’t pack beverages. It’s pretty quiet, a slight whir but no squeaking.
At first I thought I needed to upgrade the stock 4Runner battery just to run it more than an hour but after running dedicated full time power to the rear it's run for 24hrs without triggering the safety shutoff on the medium setting. Even overnight in southern Utah and 100 degrees during the day it ran just fine.
The best part is I still have ice for drinks, key for that desert heat.
The 55 is slightly larger so now all that space that was ice can fit more food or beverages. With a family of three we can go up to a week without stopping at a store, longer if we don’t pack beverages. It’s pretty quiet, a slight whir but no squeaking.
At first I thought I needed to upgrade the stock 4Runner battery just to run it more than an hour but after running dedicated full time power to the rear it's run for 24hrs without triggering the safety shutoff on the medium setting. Even overnight in southern Utah and 100 degrees during the day it ran just fine.
The best part is I still have ice for drinks, key for that desert heat.
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eharris2
Rank II
Enthusiast III
I have a National Luna 60 twin. It seems to be just the right size, we typically run out of gas, water, and fridge contents at about the same time. We plan resupplies accordingly.
My best friend has a Snowmaster 80 and it is a great fridge. He lives in a yurt so it is his main fridge as he lives off grid. When he wants to travel he loads it up in his Tacoma and off he goes. It is way to much for just him on a trip but it gets the job done. Either brand has been perfect performers so far.
As part of our meal prep a fridge freezer is a must so a dual zone was the only choice. Being able to make ice, have ice cream and keep frozen preprepped meal components is fantastic.
My best friend has a Snowmaster 80 and it is a great fridge. He lives in a yurt so it is his main fridge as he lives off grid. When he wants to travel he loads it up in his Tacoma and off he goes. It is way to much for just him on a trip but it gets the job done. Either brand has been perfect performers so far.
As part of our meal prep a fridge freezer is a must so a dual zone was the only choice. Being able to make ice, have ice cream and keep frozen preprepped meal components is fantastic.
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