12v portable fridge

[cr500taco]

I've been looking into fridges. I use two coolers now, one for drinks and the other for food and milk. The fridge will replace the food cooler. I'm not completely sold yet on a dual zone, since I'm use to using coolers. But since you can use both sections as fridges, I'm contemplating the idea. I've narrowed my choices down to Setpower, BougeRV, Bodega and Alpicool in around 60qt capacity and with wheels. The idea is to pull it out of the truck bed to place it in the shade at camp, just as I do with my coolers, so it's not sitting in the sun in the truck bed. It will only be used a couple up to a few trips a year. Which of the four do you recommend?

 

[chet6.7]

I have an ARB that has been plugged in in the house for 5 years. I also have an Alpicool that is a couple of years old that has been used less than 10 times. I tried to use it the other day, not working, it appears to be the module. FWIW

 

[plh]

I have an Alpicool G22 and it is excellent. I also have an Edgestar 45L - its good as well, but large for most of my uses these days. It sits in the basement plugged in as a beverage cooler.

 

[alanymarce]

I didn't vote because I haven't tried all of them. The only brand of the four for which I do have experience is Alpicool - we have an Alpicool 20L in Canada, used on our 6 month trip last year and it's a good unit.

We have a Dometic 35L which we've had for 5 years and used mainly on our ten month trip in Australia - it's excellent, and better than our previous ARB 35L unit in Africa.

 

[RDinNHand AZ]

I’ve got 5 years of experience with Alpicool. One rides in the back seat of my Tacoma all the time and serves several purposes. It goes below freezing for ice cream, then at 38º it transports refrigerated food home on hot days, It delivers cold beer to camp, and at a bit higher temperature settings, chills wine. Both have been reliable.

 

[86scotty]

Alpicool

 

[rruff]

I picked Bodegacooler because I think it's a cool name... and I like to reward Chinese companies that at least spend 2 minutes thinking about their name.

I also figure that the name is about the only difference...
🤪

 

[TwinStick]

We have 2 ARB fridge/freezers. 50 & 82.
Once you get one, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one. Truly liberating not being tied to ice or stores or when they close. We have had ours since 2014.

Tips: DO NOT use wire less than 10 awg. & stay away from the box store 12v accessorie plugs.

The first trip after purchase, it was a Holiday weekend and the power in the Campgrounds we were staying at for a week, went out on Thursday & was out the entire time. By Saturday afternoon, people were saying there was no ice anywhere within a 50 mile radius. Many people just left. We pretty much had the place to ourselves because generators were prohibited.

At the time, I had 2 aux battery/s & a 2000/4000 watt inverter that was powered by the truck & was able to run truck 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening and it was enough to keep batteries charged enough to run fridge for the entire week.

Now, we have a new 23' ZR2 Colorado. Still have all the electronics but am thinking about a Bluetti system to not void the warranty. Time will tell. But we can say with confidence that there is no going back to ice for our food. A good cooler for drinks only is still a good option but only if cooler will hold ice for entire trip when off grid.

 

[MiamiC70]

ICECO

 

[Josie'slandcruiser]

Never heard of any of those brands. My vote is to save up and buy an Engel brand 12V frig.

If ca$h is tight keep your eyes open on Craigslist, etc. for a "Norcold" brand 12V frig. Norcold models from 20 - 30 years ago are very similar to Engel models of that era (may have come from the same factory?) All I know is my 30 (?) year old Norcold 12v frig will run while laying on its side while bouncing down a dirt track in the SE Oregon desert.

 

[rgallant]

I bought an FC40 it seems to work well, it has only been on a couple of trips so far but has been trouble-free. Ran for a week in the house when we replaced a fridge, same no issues. Not long term data but all I can contribute

 

[Roger M.]

Theres lots of nice DC fridges around, but when it comes to fast, dependable service, I’d go with a large, widely available brand like Dometic (in North America). Solid product and support, excellent software and apps, and a Dometic dealer in pretty much every mid-size town in North America.

 

[Vinman]

21 year old Engel here, many, many, many miles on it in all kinds of conditions, open top Jeep in the heat of Moab Summers a handful of times and many, many wheeling trips, across the country a couple of times and it’s still going strong.
It’s probably been plugged in and running for 90% of the time since purchased.
If it ever dies another Engel will replace it.

 

[bas157]

Bodegacooler and Alpicool are the same thing, with different colors and names on the outside. We started out with an Alpicool, was defective when received (compressor was extra loud). Returned to Amazon and bought the Bodega version since it went on sale. Same thing but blue. No issues with the replacement yet.