Well I guess I should share my experience so far. I was one of the people who bought one of these back when they first got noticed on ExPo. We bought the extended 5 year warranty. For the last two years we had been very happy with it. A number of multiday trips and getting bounced around in the Cherokee. Heck I even got it airborne once by not seeing the whoops in front of me.
The last trip in March this year, everything seemed to be working fine and we headed out. We got out to camp and was setting everything up. I noticed the temp was a little higher than I had it set for. I checked and could not hear the compressor or fan running. Hummm... interesting. I pulled the panel off to check for any loose wires but nothing was found. If I unplugged it from the 12 volt side and plugged it back in, it would kick on for about 5 seconds and then shut off. Tried with the Jeep running to make sure it wasn't a low battery issue (I have a 10 gauge wire from the battery to the plug). Still same thing. Not good. Cut the trip one night short (due to this and issues with our dog). Got home and unloaded the fridge. Plugged it into the AC outlet and the compressor kicks on and works fine. It's been running non stop since March that way (and outside of trips, runs non stop on AC at home).
Since I figured it must be an issue with the 12 volt side, I called in for a warranty repair. Compact Appliance (CA) isn't the servicer for the warranty but a third party company Warrantech (IIRC). Called them and they were to have someone come out. I get a call back and there is no servicer in the San Diego area. They wanted me to bring it to Sacromento which I informed them was an 8-10 one way drive from San Diego. They started to give me the run around.
I contacted CA and told them what was going on. They said they would get things squared away and the owner of the company contacted Warrantech about my claim. After that I got contacted by Warrantech that I would get a new replacement fridge shipped out to me. I contacted CA to let them know this but also to find out about my remainder warranty (3 years) as Warrantech said they fulfilled the claim and no more warranty is implied. CA had no issues with sending me out a new 3 year warranty package to cover the remainder time.
I have to say a very big thanks and great customer service from Compact Appliance. They stepped up to the plate and made sure I was 100% happy. Even got calls and email follow ups.
I got the replacement fridge but sold it to a fellow ExPo member without even opening the box. Even forwarded the new warranty package. Since we changed rigs and a top load was not going to work for us anymore, it made more sense to pass it on to someone who could use it.
Would I buy one again? Well that depends. For the price (and extended warranty) it worked very well and I could never go back to a cooler again. At the same time I need something that is as reliable as possible since most of our camping is very remote, there is no store I can go to, to buy ice/cooler to extend the trip. A fridge failure will typically result in a cancelled trip. With as much time and money a trip consumes, is it worth the few hundred dollars less than a "name brand"? The difference in price is soon forgotten when you cut a trip short because of a failure like this. I think next time I need a top load/portable fridge, it will be one of the name brand versions.
As it is with our new Four Wheel Camper, I replaced the 3-way fridge with a compressor style. I went with a Nova Kool front load and will see how well they work. Time will tell.
Happy camping!
