Yeti Cooler / ARB Fridge Experience

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firepilot

New member
Hey Everyone,

So Summer is coming and I am looking at options for traveling. I drive one full day and then do relief for one of our fire contracts. I'll be there typically for two days then on the road for another day and then relief again for two days. On the two days I am relieving I will drive from town out to the base. about 20 min, then the car sits all day and then back in town for the night.

Last year I had a cheaper Coleman 5 day cooler and was fighting a loosing battle with ice. I will be in either my 4runner or the GTI and have room for a 75 qt cooler or a 50 qt fridge.

With the cycle of driving and sitting would a fridge keep things cold? I know what to expect I think with a cooler and hope if I get a Yeti I might be able use dry ice to keep it cold. I would be pretty happy to not have to deal with the water and wet stuff. The Yeti does have a nice rack to keep stuff up and out somewhat.

Hoping to keep good food to eat, and not have to be hitting the restaurants/fast food. I also have a nice little Weber grill for cooking food. My Jetboil keeps the coffee flowing.

Any thoughts or experiences are appreciated.

Thanks

Phil

ps At least here in podunk Idaho Costco has Yeti coolers about $50.00 off
 
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I wouldn't limit yourself to just the Yetis.

The Pelican Elite coolers are just as good and don't cost as much. I have both a Pelican and Yeti and both work great, but if I had to buy another one it would be the Pelican.
 
We just got a Tundra 50 qt. We also have a Coleman Max Cold 70qt. The Coleman does ok but the Yeti was far superior in every way, from fit and finish to holding ice. Pelican, yeti, or Igloo cold lockers are all pretty much the same concept of extra thick insulation, great seals, and bomb proofness. They very in price but my understanding is their all pretty good at doing their job. We got a deal on our yeti so that's what we went with. The other option to save more money is to check the used market on craigslist. Could be worth a shot and save a few more bucks that way. I wouldn't bother with a fridge if you're letting it sit all day, though I know those with fridges would say otherwise, the biggest issue I have with the fridge is that's it's not the easiest thing to move and transfer between vehicles and you'd have to make sure both vehicles are wired for it.
 
funny that i was just browsing engel refrigerators a few minutes ago...but that was for a specific thing--keeping medication cold...and we really have that solved already for the most part with our yeti 45 cooler...works far better than i expected...if you aren't opening it up several times a day, it will work really well for you, and do what you ask no problem with regular ice

i haven't yet tried dry ice, but very pleased with our yeti 45 purchase...family of 4, we do several days between ice refreshes in desert sw heat...
 
I have had a Yeti Tundra 65 for a few years now and I think it's well worth the investment. The thing is bomb proof and pretty much bear proof. I use it on all camping trips and have numerous week longs trip in the Utah desert where a block of ice, along with a small bag of cubes for margaritas, the ice will last me the whole trip.

As noted above there are other good coolers out there but you cannot go wrong with a good Yeti. The thing will never wear out or break, you can replace the rubber gasket or drain plug if those somehow wore out. If this thing got lost or somehow stolen I'd certainly buy another. Certainly best to try and pick them up on sale, or at your local podunk Costco.

Edit: A good thing to do in preparation for long trips is to pre-cool the cooler before the final load up. It really seems to make a big difference. I also have the small Yeti Roadie for overnights or day trips. It works well, but I think the medium to larger Yeti's are hard to beat for ice retention.

Speaking of ice retentions, tips here: http://yeticoolers.com/pages/maximizing-ice-retention/
 
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I am so done with conventional coolers after borrowing a friend's electric freezer (an 80qt. Edgestar), I can't do a long road trip without one now! I've used all of the popular thermoelectric coolers over the past 20 years (still have my original coleman sittin' here, it still works well, aside from having the handles broken off years ago!), but they suck up too much juice and don't keep things cool when its hot out.

The Edgestar was borrowed to take along a ton of stuff my brother in law couldn't get in Iowa, so we loaded up on lots of hawaiian food stuff and it all stayed frozen on our 3 day road trip and no dead batteries either!

I'm looking at a smaller unit for myself now, but haven't had the need for one just yet. If you're looking at electric freezers/fridges, I'd look at Engels, ARB's, or Edgestars if you wanna save a few bucks, they all have about the same specs, approx. 2.5A load max. As a comparison, you're looking at over 6A for the thermoelectric coolers, and they stay on constantly once it gets over 75ºF.

I still use my smaller thermoelectric in my truck for offroad events, but its just there to keep my drinks/sandwiches cool. For anything longer than a day trip, I'll just break down and get me an edgestar or similar.
 
I freeze milk and bottled water, it's not just taking space and it works very well also everything that can be frozen is frozen.
I also keep two coolers one freezer and one fridge to safely bring everything to eating temperature, this works for my on few week to month long trips everywhere, the Dead Sea to Tetons.
 
Love my ARB fridge. Cooler is better if you are transporting it places without 12 or 120 volt supply, but otherwise a fridge is mostly better. The fridge is more expensive, obviously, and on very rough roads, the rubber mounted compressor can get a bit noisy as it bangs around, but as long as you air down appropriately it is pretty quiet.

For coolers, I usually get a few pounds of dry ice, some regular ice on top of that, and then contents on top.
 
firepilot said:
Hey Everyone,


With the cycle of driving and sitting would a fridge keep things cold? I know what to expect I think with a cooler and hope if I get a Yeti I might be able use dry ice to keep it cold. I would be pretty happy to not have to deal with the water and wet stuff.
Click to expand...


Can you clarify what you mean by this, such as are you intending to only power the fridge when you drive? I know the arb fridge is regulated so you're supposed to be able to just leave it on and it shuts itself off if your battery gets too low. My bigger concern would be if 20 minutes a day is enough to keep your battery juiced up (hence others' dual battery reference).

Side not, I've got an Engel cooler. It's like a Yeti but cheaper, however it's also made in China whereas Yeti's are American made if it's important to you.. I didn't know that when I ordered it.
 
I have both a Pelican and Yeti and both work great
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most folks once they get a fridge realize they should have gotten one sooner :)

but do plan on dual battery install to optimize it but as mentioned they can cut themselves off not to drain your battery !!!!

I still use coolers but the fridge is the main thing ! the cooler are for the kids to get in and out of on overnight trips basically

the fridge has insulation etc... so is about like a basic cooler in some sense if left alone
but of course ones like the ARB etc... are so good you can make ice in them even when parked in AZ sun in the summer !!!

national luna are super cool but pricey and can do both fridge and freezer at the same time (two parts inside) if that could be handy but again not cheap

I have a older arb for about 9-10 years now and would like a new one but the old one keeps going so no reason to update yet

once you have one in your rig even daily life is awesome you can stop at the store for milk and eggs and not worry about where you go later on and never need to get ice etc... just lives in your rig all the time :)


pull the trigger never look back :)
but again I love having nice coolers to both are great but if I could only have one would be the fridge first quality cooler later !

also costco sells pelican good price and sams club had some good price and ditto others dont limit yourself to yeti only
engel coolers are my fav :)
 
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Pelican for the Win

Yeti and Pelican's are basically the same when it comes to keeping things cold. I chose the Pelican over the Yeti for two reasons. 1) it was less expensive. I got the 65q for $280 and the comparable Yeti was going to be almost $400. 2) the latches and handles. The Pelican has actual latches and handles not just rubber dongles and rope for handles. They are both great coolers so if you can get a better deal on a Yeti then I say go for it.
 
I don't have a dual battery system yet, it's at the very bottom of a very long list of to do things. But I was running an ARB off a goal zero setup I had a few years ago, it wasn't cutting it. Picked up an Engel 35 last year and it's a great alternative. Kept my beers cold in Texas for 4 days (could've gone longer if it wasn't sitting in direct sunlight all day in 85 degree weather.
 
JSparky said:
Can you clarify what you mean by this, such as are you intending to only power the fridge when you drive? I know the arb fridge is regulated so you're supposed to be able to just leave it on and it shuts itself off if your battery gets too low. My bigger concern would be if 20 minutes a day is enough to keep your battery juiced up (hence others' dual battery reference).

Side not, I've got an Engel cooler. It's like a Yeti but cheaper, however it's also made in China whereas Yeti's are American made if it's important to you.. I didn't know that when I ordered it.
Click to expand...

My drive cycle is drive one day 200-450 miles, then for two days about 10-20 miles in the am sit all day, then 10-20 in the evening. The two days I am at the base its to and from lodging. Then I have a travel day and it repeats. I do this for three bases have a few days off and repeat. I guess it would only be powered while driving or until it cuts off to low voltage. I could carry a jump pack to back up the battery until I see how it works out. Dual Battery in a GTI sounds like a project. There may be places to plug the fridge in at base but in and out all the time sounds like a pain.

If I get a fridge it looks like I would have to do a dual Battery for both rigs. In the early season I would typically drive my FJ and now the 4Runner. I can fish and explore between bases, because fire activity is typically slow. Later in the season I drive the GTI because its just about getting to the job and sometimes chasing the ship down if it gets dispatched somewhere else. Also 30-32 mpg is hard to beat and the GTI in the mountains is a blast to drive!

I do hate to be at the mercy of eating out all the time. I try to always have sandwich stuff, some meat/chicken cooked up for eating. Cold drinks are nice as well. I don't like the water and constantly buying ice. Granted at the bases I do go to they have Ice machines that work most of the time.

Still have a month to get it together just trying to plan early.

Thanks

Phil
 
Alternative to a hardwired dual battery system:

Amazon.com: Renogy® 100W Monocrystalline Bendable Solar Panel: Patio, Lawn & Garden

and one of these:

Amazon.com : XCSOURCE® Intelligent 30A PWM Solar Panel Charge Controller 12V24V Battery Regulator LD296 : Patio, Lawn & Garden


Yeah, couple hundred bucks for a solar panel, but its flexible, you won't be worried about breaking it while on the road! Use this to keep the whole vehicle charged while it sits in the sun.

I have 2 renogy solid 100w panels, they produce literally 11A in full sunlight, and about 7-8A on cloudy days. That's more than enough to keep the battery topped off AND keep the fridge running. Throw the panel on the roof or just throw it on the dash, wire in a cig lighter to the vehicle to be constant power instead of on ACC and plug the panel right in. You'll only get about 4-5A out from just one panel, but that's plenty enough to keep the whole system charged, and with the controller, it will make sure to not overcharge the battery.

Nice part about doing it this way, everything's removable and you can throw it in your RV or boat if you like, or use it in your garage/shop as a no-power-required fridge! Everything's totally portable and easy to use/store!
 
Thanks Chris,

That looks like one heck of a good idea. Now we are getting into some money so I'll have to think on it some. It does sound like an ideal system.

Sitting around today waiting to go lite 340 acres for the USFS today. Will be doing some research.

Phil
 
Another vote for stretching to get the ARB. I have a dual battery with the ARB harness wired directly to the auxiliary battery, so I can't comment on the performance with the single battery setup, but as I understand it they can go a long time, I have not seen much draining of the auxiliary battery even after leaving the ARB in there for a few days without starting the car. The fridge freezer is a life changing mod though, just did a road trip from Northern Cal to Seattle with the family, cold drinks, plenty of fresh groceries, and no salsa containers floating around in ice water. As someone already said once you get one of these things you will never go back!
 
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