ARB 50 QT -- Buyer's Remorse?

[moabian]

I have a 63-qt ARB mounted on a custom deck that covers the area where the back seat used to be in my '13 JKU. There is storage under the deck and in/on a Tuffy Security deck in the rear. The 63-qt fits like a glove lengthwise between the back seat and the Tuffy deck. I can open it almost all the way and it is held open, when necessary, by a Velcro strip attached to the speaker bar. It's wired through a switch on the dash and lives in the Jeep 365 days a year. I don't worry about leaving it on for extended periods since I have dual Odyssey batteries. Yes, the JL Audio sub takes up some room, but I have priorities.

I've run different fridges (Waeco, FridgeFreeze, ARB) in my vehicles for more than 12 years, and could NEVER go back to using ice.

 

[jeepovich]

Not knowing the size of your ice chest, have you tried putting your ice into a bucket or other container that's sized to fit within the ice chest?

In the photo, two bags of ice will fill the plastic bucket. I drain the water off prior to topping off with a fresh bag. I might drop in a couple of drinks into the bucket as well.

View attachment 267002

That is a great idea!!! However it takes up a lot of space. Half of the cooler is occupied by the bucket. The general rule of thumb is that you'll need 2x the cooler size for the given space of food storage; a 100 QT cooler is needed for 50QT of food storage. A 100QT cooler is considerable larger then 50 QT ARB.
If to use a bucket in the cooler, I would recommend having a tight lid on it. Depending of what kind of trails you go to it still may spill over:smiley_drive:

 

[jeepovich]

NatersXJ6 since you have a family of 4, you can designate one box for each family member. All you'll have to do is to figure out storage for tools/recovery gear (if you need those) and kitchen stuff. Front runner has few good solutions for water storage ideas like rear seats foot well tank.

 

[Expedition Essentials]

50 QT here as well and mine is even higher up; honestly doesn't even bother me, I'm so used to not seeing out of the back window anyway. Really don't know how we ever did without it; gone are the days of melted ice and water getting in food; keep a bag of ice in the bottom. I have slowly gotten my storage under control and everything fits nicely in place. Family of 5 though and we do bring a trailer.

 

[HRPINDC]

I have a Coleman Xtreme cooler and I use block ice instead of ice cubes. I have kept food plenty cold for three days using two ten pound blocks. It could likely go longer, as when I dump it out there's still a good portion of the block left. For short trips like this, I can't see the need for a fridge. But that's just my opinion for what it's worth.

 

[unkamonkey]

I have a motor home now but I have dealt with ice chests for years.
I all depends on the length of the trip. If you are out for a few days ice chests work fine. If you are out for months to years you need something else.
Ice chests, use block ice, it lasts longer. Or freeze 1 gallon milk containers, at least you have drinking water later. You might need to throw some cubes in there for the cocktails. Pre freeze anything you can, don't put the champagne on the dry ice.
We would spend a week at Lake Powell, built a temporary shelter from 2X2s and tarps, figure out where the shade would be the longest and pile all of the coolers there. Surround them with sleeping bags, it would extend the ice for twice the days.
Riding a motorcycle with a couple 20lb bags of ice in your lap, when it's 110 out is sort of nice.
On the other side, coolers are good to keep your beers from freezing overnight.

 

[jeepovich]

I have a motor home now but I have dealt with ice chests for years.
I all depends on the length of the trip. If you are out for a few days ice chests work fine. If you are out for months to years you need something else.
Ice chests, use block ice, it lasts longer. Or freeze 1 gallon milk containers, at least you have drinking water later. You might need to throw some cubes in there for the cocktails. Pre freeze anything you can, don't put the champagne on the dry ice.
We would spend a week at Lake Powell, built a temporary shelter from 2X2s and tarps, figure out where the shade would be the longest and pile all of the coolers there. Surround them with sleeping bags, it would extend the ice for twice the days.
Riding a motorcycle with a couple 20lb bags of ice in your lap, when it's 110 out is sort of nice.
On the other side, coolers are good to keep your beers from freezing overnight.

I long time ago I came across an article on how to make a cooler last for a week. It involved dry ice, wet then frozen news paper and an intricate layering process. In my personal opinion that is too much work for no apparent reason. Why not take advantage of technology? You can pack your vehicle and the fridge a day or two before living and when it is time to go just jump in and go vs taking 24 hours of just preparing a cooler for a mediocre job. In couple of years the fridge will pay for it self since you won't be buying ice bags.

I think NatersXJ6 started this thread because of shortage of storage area in his jeep with his 4 person family. Coolers surrounded in sleeping bags may not be a valuable solution:beer:

 

[mph]

Love my fridge! How many days u get out in a year? That was the deciding factor for me...I'm out about 50 days a year, so the fridge is perfect! If I was out for a few weekends, etc...I would have stuck with the cooler!

Hey all...

Thank you for the responses! It will probably be several weeks before I make the call on what direction to go. I'm thinking I might actually invest in a sheet of foam to do mockups before I commit the cash to a fridge.

I like the input about the table and chairs. Right now, I have a Gobi Rack and two Tepui Ayer tents. I'm (somewhat) patiently waiting on a couple of sets of 500 lb drawer slides that I will use on a subframe to mount the tents and slide them back and forth to store bulky stuff under them. The current plan is that the roof gets the canvas camp chairs, folding plastic table, and my Bass-Pro outdoor kitchen unit. I might also put the stove up there, just to separate fuel from the inside of the Jeep... still back and forth on that one too.

Inside, I've gotten a lot of the little "everyday" wheelin' and travel stuff stashed under the rear seats in "Really Useful" boxes. I might recommend that they rename those "really brittle" and "quite expensive to replace"... that system might change in the future. I have 2 car seats, so the rears never get folded down, until I need to accidentally break one of those plastic boxes...

In the back, I'm planning for the fridge on a slide, a kitchen stuff box, and personal gear for 4 people. I'm hoping to come up with some sort of water storage system as well.

Keep the feedback coming, I'm trying to pile up as any ideas as possible.

BTW: My trim panel doesn't seem to require anything else to go around the seatbelt. Maybe I'm mistaken, I haven't installed it yet.

Thanks!

Nate

 

[HAFICON]

No to thread jack or anything. Anyone know of a good vendor to buy one of these from? Looks like something that I would like to have down the road. For the $$$ these things seem to cost I would like the best deal I can find.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Where to buy...

No to thread jack or anything. Anyone know of a good vendor to buy one of these from? Looks like something that I would like to have down the road. For the $$$ these things seem to cost I would like the best deal I can find.

I'm not exactly a price shopper, more concerned with service and a reputable business. When I decide which one to INVEST in, I'll be getting mine from EAD Offroad. They went above and beyond to take care of me when I ran into hidden shipping damage on another order and have earned my loyalty. I believe their price is pretty much down the middle of the pack, certainly not bargain basement, but reasonable and fair.

I think the best part for me (I have to brag a little) was when my wife saw what I was looking at and immediately thought it was a good idea! I may have married her in anticipation of that moment. She was sold just on having cold drinks, food that wasn't waterlogged, and not listening to ice slosh on every bump...

I'm leaning toward the 50 after this discussion, it seems easily resellable if I decide to downsize later.

 

[Weeds]

My fridge never leaves the jeep. Costco is 25 miles away so the fridge is used to bring frozen and refrigerated items home allowing us to not to have to hurry home. I bought my fridge from Toyota of dallas a few years ago. $700 and free shipping.

Since there is only two of us, my back seat is removed and the fridge is mounted where it is accessed from the back passenger door.

 

[flyingwil]

We sell about 10 ARB fridges to every 1 of other brands. I switched from Engel to the ARB when the new style came around.

The new ARB's have the capability of adding the fridge monitor through a RF port on the rear (new styles only, with new plugs [not red tip plugs]) and its a nice feature along with the battery monitor disconnect with the Danfoss compressor. My only complaint is that some of my plastic has faded in the sun, other than that I have no complaints about the ARB fridge.

If your torn between one brand or another, feel free to give us a call at the shop 866-507-4254 and we talk about the differences of one brand over another.

 

[BenHedrick]

I too love my ARB 50QT. I have one in my JKU and I just bought another one for my Expedition trailer that we are building right now. I couldn't be happier with having a fridge in my Jeep or at my camp site. Really comes in handing.

 

[FastGlass]

Not to thread jack, but anyone using a National Luna weekender 50 or equivalent? I've got my eye on the fridge/freezer one possibly...

 

[Septu]

Any one have two fridges? I'm contemplating of dedicating one for food and the other for drinks. I have one on my Range Rover (not a Jeep ducking stones from Jeep enthusiasts) and contemplating the idea of a second one for my trailer.

I have a little fridge (25L), that I bought a few years ago. At some point I'll buy a larger one (will likely end up in the trailer). Little one will become the drink fridge.