ARB 50qt or Dometic 50qt?

[e60ral]

I don't think it would, but the tie downs at gander mountain for coolers would or just use a ratchet or cam lock strap. There are also threaded holes in the bottom you can use to bolt it down if you are mounting on something

Sent from my P00A using Tapatalk

 

[rino]

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.

Thank you for the support and glad your loving your fridges!

Engel has their fridges on sale right now, get the tried and true 45 qt for $660:

http://www.engelcoolers.com/fridge-freezers/shop-by-fridge-freezer/portable-top-loading/mt45f-u1

With that deal on I'd be hard pressed to drop an extra $200 on the ARB, though the free transit bag from OK4WD is a nice addition... That said I've been super happy with my ARB 50 qt. 5 years so far, not a hiccup.

After owning an Engel MT45 and now an ARB 50qt, I can't be happier with the ability to set temperature digitally and protect my battery with a built in LVC. Also after selling ARB fridges since the beginning of time we have had two issues, both being easily replaceable front displays with ARB stellar customer support.

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.

Sorry for being so late to the party Also expo members are always welcome to PM myself and I will be happy to match pricing or work a deal for them.

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.

We are told that only the 63's will be built for quite some time, but we are hopeful!

 

[SoDakSooner]

I don't have any skin in the game and have been looking for a fridge. Always thought the ARB 50 would be the one, but Talked to the snomaster guys at the Great American Outdoors show(right after I was in the OK4WD booth) and thought they looked interesting. They are a bit pricier, but come with the cover and a remote monitor. Several different configurations too.

Like I said, I am still undecided, but they at least piqued my interest.

 

[Mgyver1]

Engel has their fridges on sale right now, get the tried and true 45 qt for $660:

http://www.engelcoolers.com/fridge-freezers/shop-by-fridge-freezer/portable-top-loading/mt45f-u1

With that deal on I'd be hard pressed to drop an extra $200 on the ARB, though the free transit bag from OK4WD is a nice addition... That said I've been super happy with my ARB 50 qt. 5 years so far, not a hiccup.

Plus Engel's US headquarters is in Jupiter, FL, only about 2-1/2 hours away from the OP. So if you really wanted to get to know more about one of the few fridges not made in China you can go check them out.

 

[e60ral]

After owning an Engel MT45 and now an ARB 50qt, I can't be happier with the ability to set temperature digitally and protect my battery with a built in LVC. Also after selling ARB fridges since the beginning of time we have had two issues, both being easily replaceable front displays with ARB stellar customer support.

Dometic also has setting the temperature digitally and also has a built-in low voltage protection that you can set to different levels, I have mine set to 11.8V since I just have 1 battery

 

[ChadHahn]

I have two and truckfridge and a Dometic. Both have digital thermostats and are cosmetically about the same. I believe both have the same compressor as well. The Truckfridge can be had a lot cheaper than the Dometic when they are having a sale. I picked my Dometic up from pplmotorhomes.com

Chad

 

[jktowhere]

It's hard to pass up the deal on Dometic when the 50 is 611 on amazon and the 65 ends up at 650ish.

 

[prerunner221]

Dometic has the same option as the ARB, but was a couple hundred less expensive, and from what I understand, the same internals. Mounting it in the truck was fun. I travel with a husky sometimes so I couldn't put the fridge in the rear like most do and it had to go in the back seat area. I use a Springtail Solution pet barrier for the dog, so the seat backs have to stay in place, and I could only remove the seat bottoms. I made a platform and bolted some anchors to it so I could tie down the fridge and my food bin when traveling and wheeling. The platform installs to the original seat mounts, and can be taken out and swapped for the seats in a couple of minutes should the need arise.

 

[RiDE]

The Dometic CFX 50W is awesome! I received mine a couple weeks ago from Dometic. Had a CFX-65DZ for a couple years and was very happy with it. I sold it because the 65 was just a bit too big. This new 50 is a perfect size for my needs and fits better in my 4runner than the larger 65. The wifi function of the new 50w is incredible. The domestic app is also very easy to use and is accurate as hell. No complaints so far and don't expect to have any. Love their new branding and the color of the new CFX line. I'll get some pics up of the new CFX 50W.

 

[jktowhere]

How many days / people for the 50 vs 65. I keep going back and forth on what size to get because of the freezer option

 

[Mr_Miyagisan]

^^Same question here. I also read that the 65DZ's coil is only on the freezer side and relies on cooling overflow to cool the fridge side. The 50 is not like that.

 

[RiDE]

^^Same question here. I also read that the 65DZ's coil is only on the freezer side and relies on cooling overflow to cool the fridge side. The 50 is not like that.

Yes that is true. You set the temp you want for the freezer and the fridge side will be 20 degrees warmer than the freezer side. It really is just a insulated plastic wall with a cover that separates the freezer zone and the fridge zone in the 65dz.

If you have the space for a 65, go for it!

 

[TwinStick]

I could not find any data one way or another on the Dometic's as far as operating at an angle, when I was looking. The ARB's will continue to operate at up to a 30* angle, if that makes a difference for you. They say they are "made for the outback". I hope that means more rugged.

We have not had a very good track record with the Dometic fridge's in our 3 campers that we had/have. All have needed work & 2 failed outright & had to be replaced. Not impressive for something that was used 6-12x per year. Maybe they are made to a different standard than the portable ones, IDK ? Obviously, many here have had nothing but great experience with the Dometic's. Sounds like you will be happy with either.

 

[prerunner221]

I would have liked the W series, but couldn't find one for sale. Where did you order yours? I even like the grey color over the blue I have.

 

[prerunner221]

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.

Looking forward to reading it, do you know when the article will be released?

I ended up purchasing the Dometic and so far I'm very satisfied with it. Time will tell, and this year I will keep it in the Cruiser year round so we'll get to see how it really performs under pressure. Living of Florida, we get nice and hot for 8 months or so of the year. I have plans to go to Overland Expo East, on top of the normal trips to the beaches and wheeling, so by the end of the year I think I can give a good review of the fridge.