Fridge/Freezer - Convince Me

[4runnin4mylife]

I can’t remember how well that worked when I got my CFX3-35 because I immediately put it on a DFG Offroad slide (which works great BTW).

Thats awesome to hear about the slide. I just ordered a CFX3-45 and also a DFG Offroad Tilt Slide. Just going to attach it to my Goose Gear Plate System that is on order, so hoping it will work out well. I have been perusing this thread for a while and although I don't go to the middle of nowhere to camp too often, it seems like an awesome idea to have cold beverages and food on hand whenever.

 

[Chilow]

Anybody with an ARB that makes like a “springy” sound when opening and closing the lid? Sounds like a spring is being wound/unwound. Best way I could describe it. Just got it so not sure if normal.

 

[Michael-Dallas]

I'm late in the game with my data point(s), but I just got back from a week-long camping trip in Colorado.

My setup: Dometic CFX-50W fridge, Goal Zero Yeti 400 Lithium power station, Rockpals 100w folding solar panel. I've had this setup (sans solar panels) for about 4 years now. I got the folding solar panel last month, specifically for this Colorado trip. I also recently got the Goal Zero 12v DC charger for lithium Yetis. In short summary - Colorado would be the first time I would be using the Rockpals folding solar panel and Goal Zero 12v DC charger.

The Dometic and Yeti pair lasts 36 hours before the fridge powers off, and I knew this ahead of time. The Yeti will still have 40% charge remaining - just not enough voltage to keep the Dometic powered, even with voltage cutoff set to LOW. Seems like a waste - I understand that the new Goal Zero 500x has a regulated 12v so fridges should last longer. Or spend $$$$ for the Dometic PLB40 power station, which is specifically designed to power [Dometic] fridges.

Observations during my trip in Colorado:

1. the Goal Zero 12v DC charger produced about 12w at the 10a setting, and the Goal Zero AC charger produced about 55w. The Dometic consumes <= 1w off-cycle, and 54w <= 55w on-cycle. Despite all of the driving between campsites and mountain passes, the DC charger could not charge the Yeti as fast as the Dometic was consuming power, so I ended up switching to the AC charger mid-week. It also didn't help that I used the Yeti to charge my GMRS radio and my Surface tablet overnight.

2. the Rockpals solar panels produced about 55w (as indicated on the Yeti) while on the roof of my 4R. I only had one day where the weather was sunny and we were at our campsite early in the afternoon for me to whip out the solar panels and use them.

3. The Taco in our group had a small Costway fridge (I think the 32-quart?) and 200w Jackery battery. That combo died overnight in similar fashion to my situation - fridge was draining the Jackery faster than the 12v charger could charge it. They ended up getting a motel for a night to relocate the food from Costway fridge to motel fridge while their 200w Jackery was charging overnight. Me- I just idled my 4R for a couple of hours at dusk and let the AC charger charge my Yeti.

My take-away from this trip: I need a bigger power station - I'm probably going to either get a Yeti 500X or Yeti 1000.

 

[jgatliff]

I have an ARB 50qt in the back of my 5th gen and I absolutely love it. I would have gone with a bigger fridge if I felt like it would have fit but the ARB seemed to be the best fit for my situation. One benefit to the ARB is that you don’t need a slide since you can pull the lid completely off to access the inside.

I had an auxiliary power outlet from Offgrid Engineering installed and the fridge worked great for our recent 9 day outing. Granted we drove around for at least an hour every day during the outing.

Although we have had a fridge in our camper for years, this is the first time we’ve had one in the 4Runner and I absolutely would not go back.


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[keph13]

I ordered an Iceco after a bunch of research - seems to be somewhere in the middle of the price range, with a name brand compressor (5 year warranty). It hasn't arrived yet, I can update the thread when it does. This guy on Youtube: ICECO iCooler 3 In 1 Review! The $299 45qt 12v Compressor Refrigerator Freezer Cooler On Indiegogo - YouTube is reviewing a pre-release model, but his promo code works across the store, so I got 15% off the VL45.

 

[bring_it_on]

I have an ARB 50qt in the back of my 5th gen and I absolutely love it. I would have gone with a bigger fridge if I felt like it would have fit but the ARB seemed to be the best fit for my situation. One benefit to the ARB is that you don’t need a slide since you can pull the lid completely off to access the inside.

I had an auxiliary power outlet from Offgrid Engineering installed and the fridge worked great for our recent 9 day outing. Granted we drove around for at least an hour every day during the outing.

Although we have had a fridge in our camper for years, this is the first time we’ve had one in the 4Runner and I absolutely would not go back.


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Love the setup. What height are those drawers? I placed my order last month and went in for the 8" in setup and was torn between 8" and 10" and how all that will look and fit with a fridge and other gear on top. I'll probably be going for an Alu Cab tilt slide to save weight and will probably have an 40 Liter Engel or similar there.

 

[Bumbo]

The Yeti will still have 40% charge remaining - just not enough voltage to keep the Dometic powered, even with voltage cutoff set to LOW. Seems like a waste

Yeti 1000.

My friend had a Yeti 1000 and a Dometic... and he was experiencing the exact same thing you mentioned. The combination leaves a lot of unused power on the table.

I feel like regulated 12v output was a major oversight... you can use the AC output or buy an external DC-DC buck/boost voltage stabilizer, but you end up wasting about 10-12% of the battery just trying to convert power into something usable.

Really unfortunate given the cost of the setup.

 

[jgatliff]

Love the setup. What height are those drawers? I placed my order last month and went in for the 8" in setup and was torn between 8" and 10" and how all that will look and fit with a fridge and other gear on top. I'll probably be going for an Alu Cab tilt slide to save weight and will probably have an 40 Liter Engel or similar there.

These are the 8”. I would rather have the 10” or 12” but I got these used from a semi local acquaintance and I couldn’t beat the price. Eventually I am going to build some drawers similar to the ones from Drifta.

I’m a big Alucab fan, I’ve had two of their shadow awnings in other trailers and I used to have a Tacoma with their camper shell. I’m tempted to get one of their slides for my 90L National Luna fridge/freezer to put in my tundra. That being said, I really like the ARB because of the lid design, you don’t need a slide with it which saves both money and weight.

 

[ElectroBoy]

I have an ARB 50qt in the back of my 5th gen and I absolutely love it. I would have gone with a bigger fridge if I felt like it would have fit but the ARB seemed to be the best fit for my situation. One benefit to the ARB is that you don’t need a slide since you can pull the lid completely off to access the inside.

I had an auxiliary power outlet from Offgrid Engineering installed and the fridge worked great for our recent 9 day outing. Granted we drove around for at least an hour every day during the outing.

Although we have had a fridge in our camper for years, this is the first time we’ve had one in the 4Runner and I absolutely would not go back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice setup. So what is this auxiliary power outlet from Offgrid Engineering? Do you have a house battery to power the fridge? Thx.

 

[jgatliff]

Nice setup. So what is this auxiliary power outlet from Offgrid Engineering? Do you have a house battery to power the fridge? Thx.

It’s a dual outlet (12 volt cigarette type and USB) from Off Grid Engineering: Blue Sea/ OGE Auxiliary Power Outlet System with Voltmeter – Off-Grid Engineering

It connects directly to the starting battery, I do not have a house battery as yet. But I do have a jump starter if I need it and I can connect one of my Zamp 230 watt solar panels to the truck if need be. We drove at least an hour a day during the 9 day camping trip so I was never worried about my battery.

I don’t leave my fridge on all of the time at home, but I will turn it on when needed for groceries or trips or whatever. I don’t expect this setup to last forever with the stock battery, I will either have to replace it with an AGM at some point or more than likely I will add a dual battery system, probably from Off Grid Engineering.

 

[choochoo]

DFG Fridge/Freezer

Relating to this thread... does anyone have any experience/review of DFG Offroad's dual fridge/freezers? Thinking of picking one up as a combo set - can't beat the price...

 

[bring_it_on]

My take-away from this trip: I need a bigger power station - I'm probably going to either get a Yeti 500X or Yeti 1000.

As long as they've taken care of some of the initial niggles with the 500X (which they appear to have with the units that shipped out starting July) then it looks like a good piece of equipment despite its higher price compared t something like a Jackery 500. The regulated 12V, USB-C and an optional 10 Amp car charger are probably why someone should consider it though the biggest plus I see is its size and weight compared to the Jackery 500 or some of the other 2019 competition. The size makes it really easy to take it away from the vehicle and use it in a tent for example. I intend to use it (unless Jackery updates its models in the same class with some of the same features) along with a Group 27 Battery and plan to have one single 100 or 160 Watt solar panel that would be capable of topping off both my starter and the Goal Zero 500X. For my use case, I consider the portability as a great feature compared to a hard wired dual battery setup which on the T4R only gets about 30-35 Ah of usable capacity.

Having said that, if you are only looking to power the fridge (and not the portability factor) then possibly also consider just a pure lithium battery box paired to a decent dc to dc charger. For around the same cost, or slightly more, you could probably build yourself a nice 50 Ah set up using a reputable LIFEPO4 battery and a Victron DC to DC. The advantage there is that a dedicated DC to DC would be able to charge at 30 Amps which means you can use a much smaller batter compared to one that only charges at 10 Amps max (Goal Zero 500X).

 

[Harlock]

Here's a video that just got posted by a YouTuber named Jasonoid that discusses 11 portable refridgerators and issues to be aware of when using them:

12v Compressor Fridge Comparison - ICECO, Alpicool, Engel, Ausranvik, and more! - YouTube

 

[bring_it_on]

, I really like the ARB because of the lid design, you don’t need a slide with it which saves both money and weight.

If the lid opened sideways (hinge) instead of straight out, do you think there would be enough room in this set up to access the fridge without tilting it out? Both of my shortlisted fridges are 20” tall though the Luna has the option of orienting the lid to open either straight up or hinged on either side. Just wondering if I can save money on buying my a tilt slide even if they means we won’t be able to completely open the lid and remove the trays out completely once tied down without moving the fridge.

 

[jgatliff]

If the lid opened sideways (hinge) instead of straight out, do you think there would be enough room in this set up to access the fridge without tilting it out? Both of my shortlisted fridges are 20” tall though the Luna has the option of orienting the lid to open either straight up or hinged on either side. Just wondering if I can save money on buying my a tilt slide even if they means we won’t be able to completely open the lid and remove the trays out completely once tied down without moving the fridge.

With drawers I don’t think there is enough height to open a side hinged lid. You would need a fridge slide or a tilting fridge slide. The National Luna that opens longways would work but you probably won’t be able to utilize the top basket (I think it has 2 layers of baskets - I know my National Luna 90L Twin does).

I’m a huge NL fan, and I would have gotten one of the. If they would have had an option that works. That being said NL fridges are super back ordered right now, it might be January or February before you could get one.

Another option is the low profile fridges from SnoMaster, I likely would have went with one of them if it had of been in stock, though I would have mocked it up first with cardboard to verify that I can open it. All in all, I really do feel that the ARB is the best option if you want to forego a slide. It is very convenient to get into and out of just by popping the lid off.

That all being said, I have a send or Decked drawers in my tundra and a camper shell on it. I just ordered a tilting fridge slide for it, I’m going to mount my National Luna 90L in the Tundra.

 

[bring_it_on]

With drawers I don’t think there is enough height to open a side hinged lid. You would need a fridge slide or a tilting fridge slide. The National Luna that opens longways would work but you probably won’t be able to utilize the top basket (I think it has 2 layers of baskets - I know my National Luna 90L Twin does).

I’m a huge NL fan, and I would have gotten one of the. If they would have had an option that works. That being said NL fridges are super back ordered right now, it might be January or February before you could get one.

Another option is the low profile fridges from SnoMaster, I likely would have went with one of them if it had of been in stock, though I would have mocked it up first with cardboard to verify that I can open it. All in all, I really do feel that the ARB is the best option if you want to forego a slide. It is very convenient to get into and out of just by popping the lid off.

That all being said, I have a send or Decked drawers in my tundra and a camper shell on it. I just ordered a tilting fridge slide for it, I’m going to mount my National Luna 90L in the Tundra.

Thanks for the help. Both of the fridges I want are on back-order. Engel has a new MTV line that they've launched in Australia but is probably not coming to the US till late fall or even early next year. I guess Covid has thrown all the plans off for both them and NL. I'm willing to wait a few months if that is what it takes to either get my hands on an Engel MTV (or a MT45 Combi) or NL Legacy 50 with their in-house compressor. I guess I'll have to buy the slide and it'll have to sit idle for a while as I sort out the fridge situation. It looks like it'll be running an ice box this summer

 

[Ras_Thavas]

We've taken a lot of long trips with the 4runner. VA to TX twice, VA to Maine, VA to OH, and VA to FL twice. For all those trips I would freeze water bottles and put them in one of those styrofoam collapsible coolers. For tripa where we did not have an overnight stay it worked ok, drinks we wanted for the trip stayed cold, the frozen water bottles thawed during the trip so we had cold water at our destination. One problem was that on the trip back we could not do the same unless we had access to a freezer and lots of water bottles. One trip I brought an actual cooler filled with ice and re-filled it when we left the hotel for home.

Last June we planned a trip from VA to SD. We knew the way up would have one stop, and the way back two stops. I knew that we would be doing a lot of driving once at SD, so I wanted to get a fridge.

I did not have a lot of time once I made the decision, so Amazon was my go to place. I would up buying this:

Amazon.com: Kalamera 26 Quarts Portable Refrigerator Freezer Compact Compressor Electric Cooler DC Mini Fridge for Car, Office and Camping: Automotive

I was really happy with the decision to buy a fridge. Way more convenient than a cooler. We had ice cold drinks everywhere we went. I did not have to deal with buying ice or draining water. I wish I had more time to research the fridges before I bought mine, but I'll just have to see how it holds up in the long run.

If you take a lot of road trips I would say it is well worth the investment.

 

[DallasTRDPro]

Looks like Dometic’s are back in stock.

 

[Chilow]

Just thought of something. I run a voltage booster so my AGM battery gets around 13.5 - 13.8v while running. Would this harm the fridge? I believe without the voltage booster, it’s around 12.6v

 

[Bumbo]

Sigh... my 2 year old LG home fridge just died... freezer and fridge compartments are sitting at 67F right now.

Guess where I ended up putting everything I wanted to save. Didn't fit everything, but the ARB saved a bunch of good food from the trash can.