how did we ever live without our 12 volt freezer?

[jeep-N-montero]

So last fall I bought this http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-fridge-freezer-anyone-owned-a-Tundra-freezer and have been using it on every trip this year. It's so nice to keep meat frozen in case we don't use it and can simply throw it back in the freezer when we get home, plus it's nice being able to keep our reusable ice packs frozen for the fishing cooler. We still bring our trusty Coleman Extreme Marine cooler along for veggies and milk, but it's so nice having the freezer.

I don't think I could ever go back to camping without it after having one.

 

[andrewh]

Now you are just rubbing it in Grats on the buy! Keeping an eye out for steals....

 

[Corey]

Have had my ARB one for several years, it is a necessity item for me for camping, and even for work.
A few weeks back we had a big barbecue at work, and the night before I fired up my fridge in the FJ and put it on deep freeze for overnight.
Put in several packs of Klondike ice cream bars for dessert for everyone who attended the barbecue.

Nothing like rock hard ice cream to follow up a great barbecue, and everyone was appreciative that they had ice cream on a hot sunny day.
We do get those kind of days here in WA. state

 

[madmax718]

I found a dometic cf25 for 329 shipped.. itching... itching...

 

[luk4mud]

An alternate view from the non-freezer/ fridge owners. I own Yetis, 2 to be exact. We take, typically two long range trips annually, meaning food and ice are bougth at home and must last often for up to a week. I buy a 10lb block of ice for the big one, use cubes and a couple frozen water bottles in the small one.

The small one gets a few drinks and Day1/ Day 2 fresh food. The big one gets Day 3+ food and frozen meat. It takes me less than 5 minutes to drain what little water is in them each day. I usually come home with 1/2 to 1/3 of my 10lb block in the big one.

So ... I cant see a need for a fridge/ freezer to be honest. Besides the cost, I dont need a dual battery, a controller, dont have to worry about draining a sole battery, my coolers take up less room, have alot more capacity and weigh less (I think).

The OP indicates he brings along a conventional cooler as well ... so he has all the supposed "downsides" of a cooler (not much in my mind) anyway and has to worry all the "downsides" of a fridge/ freezer as well.

I will continue to oggle the fridge/ freezers at the shows, on websites and on the trail, but probably never will take the plunge. But I will enjoy that ice cream sandwhich from y'all.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

An alternate view from the non-freezer/ fridge owners. I own Yetis, 2 to be exact. We take, typically two long range trips annually, meaning food and ice are bougth at home and must last often for up to a week. I buy a 10lb block of ice for the big one, use cubes and a couple frozen water bottles in the small one.

The small one gets a few drinks and Day1/ Day 2 fresh food. The big one gets Day 3+ food and frozen meat. It takes me less than 5 minutes to drain what little water is in them each day. I usually come home with 1/2 to 1/3 of my 10lb block in the big one.

So ... I cant see a need for a fridge/ freezer to be honest. Besides the cost, I dont need a dual battery, a controller, dont have to worry about draining a sole battery, my coolers take up less room, have alot more capacity and weigh less (I think).

The OP indicates he brings along a conventional cooler as well ... so he has all the supposed "downsides" of a cooler (not much in my mind) anyway and has to worry all the "downsides" of a fridge/ freezer as well.

I will continue to oggle the fridge/ freezers at the shows, on websites and on the trail, but probably never will take the plunge. But I will enjoy that ice cream sandwhich from y'all.

We will eventually splurge for a dual temp fridge/freezer, but the way I have it now works perfectly. My truck came stock with dual batteries.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Welcome to the 21st century.

 

[K2ZJ]

I own Yetis, 2 to be exact.

Two Yeti coolers? So depending on size, two small ones ~$600+?

 

[4x4junkie]

I made the splurge back in 2010 with an Edgestar FP430. I will never use a cooler for anything but maybe a one-day trip for my perishables again, it's just so much easier with a fridge, not having to chase down ice, as well as not having everything always getting waterlogged.
It has a low-voltage cutoff also, means there's no need to worry about a dead battery with fridges too (most fridges have this function). I can't remember the last time that feature has ever kicked in (I do have dual batteries though).

Something you can't do with coolers no matter how well-insulated they are is chill warm drinks with it (well, I guess you could on a limited basis, but not for very long). With a fridge, you just put one in for every one you take out. This way you don't need to haul your entire beer stash in your cooler (you could even bring along less drinks too if your planned travels include possible places you can restock... less weight to be hauling around).

 

[Corey]

And....since there is no ice, you have more interior room inside for a given size ice cooler.
I have tested my ARB before, I got close to five days of it running before my rig was a little sluggish to start, and that was with the stock factory battery many years ago.

Having solar now to recharge the battery up during the day gives me more piece of mind for an extended trip.
No need to start the rig to keep the battery topped off.

 

[ZMagic97]

I was always told, "once you get a fridge you can never go back."

Everyone that said so was right.

I got my 43qt Edgestar off Craigslist foir ~$350 and at the time thought I was nuts. Now, everytime I take the Jeep out for camping, a day run, or a grocery store trip in the hot summer, I wonder how I got by without it.

 

[K2ZJ]

And....since there is no ice, you have more interior room inside for a given size ice cooler.

You have space from the compressor and associated hardware to consider.

 

[Corey]

You have space from the compressor and associated hardware to consider.

That is not inside of the box area though like a block of ice would be in a normal cooler.

 

[K2ZJ]

That is not inside of the box area though like a block of ice would be in a normal cooler.

I under stand, however, when you are talking about saving space, you are moving the block of ice from the inside of the cooler to the inside the wall.

Get the outside volume of the cooler you would bring. Now subtract the volume of ice you would use from its interior volume. Now get a fridge with comparable interior volume to the usable volume you calculated from the cooler. What is the exterior volume of that fridge? How much difference is there in exterior volumes vs usable interior volume? Does that make sense? Yes, you are not taking up space in side the fridge with ice, you just walled off a compressor, taking up interior space.

EDIT: I just did the math. An ARB 47 (50quarts) loses to a Yeti 65 (57.2quarts). I won't do all the math for you, but a 10lb block of ice is 10x6x6in (6.23quarts), removing that space from the inside of the Yeti gives you more room inside than the ARB and it is smaller outside (very close but smaller).

 

[madmax718]

Except the following:
Its only more efficient at space/size if you are considering that all the items you have in the cooler is pre chilled/frozen. If you buy fresh items, or supermarket items, and deposit it into your cooler, the ice will deplete quickly.
items that are better kept frozen for longer storage, cannot be done- ice and frozen produce will absorb equal amounts of heat.

Of course, if your a good packer/planner this is a moot point; good packer and planers can make an off the shelf walmart coleman last a week- they just know what gets eaten first, and have discipline that they are not constantly opening the cooler for a snack.

I should say I've been looking for one, but wasn't happen with the amount of space they take up- I am still a truck sleeper, so space is always at a premium.