ARB 50qt or Dometic 50qt?

prerunner221

prerunner221

Adventurer
So I'm in the market for a fridge. I used a Canyon Cooler 55qt and it served me very well on my two week cross-country trip from Florida to Colorado last summer, but I think a fridge would have made like a lot easier. The way I see it, this is a buy once, cry once kind of purchase, so I want to make sure I spend my money correctly because these things aren't cheap.

Amazon sells the Dometic 50qt for $640.00 and I can pick up an ARB 50qt for $820.00.

Unfortunately I don't see any cool "buy a fridge and get _____" free deals going right now, but having a fridge in Florida during the spring/summer months would be really nice. Of the two refrigerators, I'm leaning towards the ARB. They have a reputation for building, or at least putting their name, on very quality parts that will last. Is there any reason I should go with something different like the Dometic, or should I just stick with the ARB?

Just in case any FJ owners pop into this thread, I'm planning to mount this sideways in the passenger side of the back seat. Anyone have one mounted there and have pictures? The plan is to remove the seat bottom and make a simple wood platform for it.
 
T

TwinStick

Explorer
We have 2 ARB's. 82qt & 50qt. I got lucky & got a real good deal. Check out OK4WD. I bought them there. Got a free transit bag with each one, free shipping with each one, & sent in my proof of purchase & got a free digital dual fridge remote thermometer. So, you can have it on your dash & monitor the inside temp of 2 of em. We have no regrets at all. So far they have been run on AC for 95% of the time & plugged into 12v for one trip only. No issues. I will have to get a couple 12v batteries for each fridge fairly soon. Wife is also retiring & only has 24 working days left !!! We will then start traveling the country. Using 1 as a fridge/overflow from camper fridge & 1 as a dedicated freezer. We should be able to stay gone a good long while if all are full.

You are absolutely correct when you say buy once & cry once. It is what it is. Once you have one, you will wonder why you waited so long. They are truly liberating. We camp a lot at state parks. First time we took the ARB's with us, it was a holiday weekend & the store ran out of ice on Friday around noon. Some people i talked to said they had to spend a whole day driving & looking for ice & had to go about 50 miles one way to find some. What a royal pita that would be. It was 95*F & the 82qt was at 34*F inside & the 50qt was at 1*F inside. I put them in the back of our Power Wagon, on a home made bed slide. The ARB tiedowns are bolted to the slide. They have stayed rock solid so far. On road only as of yet but a few 70-0 fast panic stops & nothing moved.

OK4WD is a sponsor I think on this site.
 
mep1811

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Dometic has been around longer than other brands and has been the standard in the RV trade for years.
 
prerunner221

prerunner221

Adventurer
Three great, but very different responses. I've been on OK4WD's site, but forgot they had some specials. I'll have to look into them, because if they can get a good price on the ARB and throw in a transit bag and it all qualifies for a free thermostat, that sounds like a pretty good deal. Maybe they'll chime in.
 
e60ral

e60ral

2016 4Runner Trail w/KDSS
I have no idea how much ARB bags are, but I bought a transit bag for my Dometic for $40 on Amazon, and the wireless remote thermometer is $50

I have been very happy with my Dometic fridge, I understand the buy once cry once philsophy, but Dometic makes good fridges and have a long history doing so, you aren't sacrificing quality.

here is a good comparison, note that dometic is waeco
https://www.4x4australia.com.au/gear/electronics-gadgets/1608/eight-way-fridge-comparison
graph.jpg


The ARB and Dometic (Waeco) have similar performance with the Dometic having a slight edge. You will also find plenty of reviews that slightly prefer the ARB. Basically the Dometic is a quality product with a proven record, you aren't sacrificing quality going with Dometic
 
Christophe Noel

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
I spent several weeks testing the ARB and Dometic units for an upcoming Overland Journal review. It is at the printer as we speak if you want to hold out for the full results of a six fridge review. I will give a slight sneak peek as some information is already available above. Those two units did perform well enough against each other that I would not give on the advantage over the other. There are some user-experience differences to consider. I think the ARB is overall a more refined design, particularly the lid and sturdy integrated handles. I've used both extensively and don't know that I walked away from my field and lab testing with a bias towards one or the other.
 
1Louder

1Louder

Explorer
I recently did some testing on a bunch of different models. One was a Dometc CFX-65DZ and it performed very well. I think for an FJ having a lid that opens from the side would be an advantage. I have an Indel B, same lid style as the ARB, and if you mount it on the drivers side back you will have problems with the door getting in the way. It sounds like you want to mount yours where one of the actual seats goes so that may not make a difference for you. I put mine on the drives side so that the 60 section of the 60/40 seating would remain open. I built a simple L shaped platform with the slide as far back as possible on the drivers side.

26699261715_1f642d249d_b.jpg
 
Trikebubble

Trikebubble

Adventurer
I have the Dometic CF50, and it has been fantastic. If it got up and walked away tomorrow I'd buy another. We used it on a 2 week 6000km road trip last summer and I honestly can't think of one bad thing to say about it. It was either running off the vehicle power or shore power for the 2 week duration. I don't have the wrap for it, and even in the heat of the summer it still felt very efficient (and very quiet when operating) to me. One more than one occasion once we've returned home, I've noticed that it holds it temperature for a good 24 hours after unplugging it. It is probably the single best investment I've made into making our lives and journeys better.
I don't purposely go out and look for the "cheapest deal" and I'm not also averse to spending top dollar on the proper item, but the value for dollar the Dometic fridge has provided has been simply amazing.
 
D

Ducky's Dad

Explorer
I have an Indel B in the back seat of my Dodge and it has been a great fridge. I have two Whynters and they are a good value, work fine, but are bulky and loud. From what I have read of the new Dometic, it seems to be a very good value and a great alternative to the Indel B. ARBs are great, but expensive. There used to be a Waeco transit bag that fits the Indel B (I have the bag, too), but that bag seems to be unavailable now. Rumor has it that ARB is bringing a new fridge to market soon, so there may be deals coming on the old model. Only a rumor at this point.
 
prerunner221

prerunner221

Adventurer
Dometic 50Qt US just got ordered. We'll see how I like it when it gets here. I was looking on Dometic's site and saw they now have a 50W which seems to have a Wifi where you can control the fridge via a mobile application. I couldn't find abywhere to purchase it however, so I got last years model off Amazon. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!:camping:
 
Outside somewhere

Outside somewhere

Overland certified public figure brand ambassador
Ducky's Dad said:
I have an Indel B in the back seat of my Dodge and it has been a great fridge. I have two Whynters and they are a good value, work fine, but are bulky and loud. From what I have read of the new Dometic, it seems to be a very good value and a great alternative to the Indel B. ARBs are great, but expensive. There used to be a Waeco transit bag that fits the Indel B (I have the bag, too), but that bag seems to be unavailable now. Rumor has it that ARB is bringing a new fridge to market soon, so there may be deals coming on the old model. Only a rumor at this point.
Click to expand...

Ok4wd has started their pre-orders for the new elements 63QT, their site says "product available spring 2017" Haven't seen anything regarding other sizes yet but I assume they are on the way.
 
Y

Yorkdiver

New member
Outside somewhere said:
Ok4wd has started their pre-orders for the new elements 63QT, their site says "product available spring 2017" Haven't seen anything regarding other sizes yet but I assume they are on the way.
Click to expand...

Weight 70lbs (31.8kg)
External dimensions H17.1in x W19.3in x D32.3in (H435mm x W490mm x D820mm)
Internal dimensions Main Compartment H13.1in x W14.0in x D18.8in (H332mm x W355mm x D477mm)
Secondary compartment H5.7in x W14.0in x D6.1in (H144mm x W355mm x D156mm)


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