Camping Fridges - Pros and Cons

[Crom]

...I still use a cooler for trips of only 2 or 3 days. I fill 2l soda bottles with water and freeze them instead of using ice. Nothing gets soggy and I always have ice cold water, I drain the melted water out of the bottles as I need it...
Darrell

I know this thread is almost a year old... I don't care. I just wanted to say that your idea of using the 2L bottles and freezing them is genius! Thanks.

 

[Hopeless Diamond]

We always keep ~4-5 1-quart size bottles in the freezer. They're great for day trips for a softside drink cooler we keep in the cab of the truck, don't have to worry about wet gunk sloshing around inside the cab. When you get home, they just go back into the freezer. Longer trips they supplement the ice in the cooler for drinks.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Funny but once again an "Expo" issue was determined by a real world work issue for me. I live in the Greater L.A. area. We had a project that was set to run about 6 weeks up at Lake Berryessa (an hour N.E. of Napa California and 8 hours from my home). My co workers would stay in a hotel in the nearest town and drive an hour plus each way up the hill to the lake each day. I found a "vacation" cabin (a couple's built out basement) with a lake view and 1.5 miles from the job site for the same rate. But the nearest grocery store was still an hour plus drive down the mountain and an hour plus back. So I used this as an excuse to get a 50 quart ARB fridge. I'd pack 3 weeks of food bought at home at stores I was familiar with, pack the fridge the night before (plugged in at home), load the truck in the morning and drive 8 hours to work. No worries! This was before I even bought my expo vehicle! LOL!

 

[ab1985]

A vehicle fridge is one of the best mods ever IMO. It's hands down so much easier to travel without having to worry about ice. They are much more efficient than folks give them credit for. I bought a dual battery setup shortly after buying mine but I've yet to install and have never had problems running it 2-3 days at a time.

 

[DaveNay]

For our annual fishing trip to Canada, we need a deep freezer to bring our catch back home (6 guys can bring back A LOT of fish!). There was no way that the fish would survive the 24 hour (straight through) drive from Manitoba to Chicago. Our solution was to load up a regular household chest freezer in the back of one of the trucks. The freezer is run from a small 1500W Harbor Freight generator mounted right next to it. Every six hours or so at a bathroom break, we top off the generator. You should see the look on the customs officers when we pull up and they realize there is a running generator in the back of the truck keeping our supply food (on the way up) and our fish (on the way home) frozen.

 

[762X39]

Our solution was to load up a regular household chest freezer in the back of one of the trucks.

Great idea. I have been tempted a few times to purchase a small chest freezer (sometimes called apt size) and just run it off the inverter. It would make hunting trips a lot easier especially on the way back with a freshly butchered and wrapped deer.

 

[keoni004]

As an expedition newbie, this is a great discussion post. Thanks everyone!

 

[Xterabl]

Con: When camping at campgrounds requiring use of bear lockers, not always very easy to run a power line into the locker.

 

[toymaster]

^^^^^^ Well, the fridge is still a cooler when not plugged in. Not very much of a con IMO.

 

[Crom]

Con: When camping at campgrounds requiring use of bear lockers, not always very easy to run a power line into the locker.

Good point. The weight of the fridge is also a con. Fridge weighs over 50 lbs. empty. A cooler is probably 1/5th the weight.

 

[4x4x4doors]

PRO: Works as an emergency backup for the house when electricity goes out in storms. We transferred the kitchen refrig contents to the camping fridge and moved it to the basement where the backup battery was sitting.

 

[DGarman]

Cooler Shelf

I just got one of these for my ice chest.....a Cooler Shelf. I thought it was a pretty good idea, and for only $20 total I figured it's worth a try. It velcros to the sides of the ice chest, and it's made of mesh so it doesn't hold any water that gets splashed in when off-roading. It may even work inside of some frigs too.
http://www.christarsnet.com/ice-chests.html



We'll see.....
Dennis

 

[Ghost65]

I bought an ARB 50 qt. refrigerator last month, and have had it packed on three trips, one overnighter to Big Bear, and two day trips to the Anza Borrego Desert.

The convenience of pre-chilling the night before (although, like others I have "learned" to store beer in my garage now) and then just switching plugs the next morning, is fantastic.

It has been a bit of a transition though, as I used to gauge the level of the obstacles by the level of "slosh-noise" coming from my cargo area.

Other than that, the iceless travel companion has fit right in.

I calculated my trips last year, and figured that on an annual basis, I was spending at least $350 a year in ice costs alone. After two years of use, this will have paid for my ARB. Well worth it in my mind.

 

[MANUCHAO]

We have had the chance to be out on the road for a month.. and not having to buy ice any more is a HUGE plus... When in bear country where food lockers are to be used you can alway be proactive and get yourself an extension cord... I carry one with me always.. it has saved be a few times and not for just the fridge. Weight, yeah its heavy but worth is weight in gold....

 

[Cee-Jay]

I still use a cooler for trips of only 2 or 3 days. I fill 2l soda bottles with water and freeze them instead of using ice. Nothing gets soggy and I always have ice cold water, I drain the melted water out of the bottles as I need it.

Good idea... sounds cheap and flexible. I've been using rectangular shaped medical/science style Nalgene bottles in the same manner. Also, depending on how long I'll be camping, I will freeze the food that I'm planning to eat towards the end of the trip. I took both of these ideas from a camping tips section in Sunset Magazine a couple of years ago. Ziplocs do a great job of keeping food dry and, sometimes, I'll put quantities of ice in ziplocks too to keep things from getting too messy.

I've used some of the cold pack products... they are okay but they do not cool as well as ice.

Seems most everybody loves their fridge. If I start taking more trips and longer trips then I might break down and get one.