A small genset is another option. Not having to find ice every other day and deal with the melt, man it's pretty nice. I found an Engel 45 on craigslist. Not the cheapest thing on earth but honestly ... neither are Yeti's. You do have to think through your power strategy though. And that can add more cost (Solar, Dual Battery, etc.). In the end i'm really happy I did it.
Fridge vs. cooler for basecamp-style travel
- Thread starter jk6661
- Start date
dstock
Explorer
Good points all! I've got an ARB 50qt, dual batteries and solar, is it simple? No, but is it all that complicated, not really, although I thought so when I first started out. Being able to pull a cold beer out of the fridge on day 4 in the desert without ever having to start my Jeep, now that's priceless!
Kevin108
Explorer
I'm shopping 12v refrigerators but I've been using a 20-year-old Coleman Xtreme 5-day cooler. It does what it says. The outer dimensions are the same as one of my larger coolers, but this one has insulation that is ~1½" thick. The secret for long ice life is using ice cubes from your freezer instead of the air-filled stuff from everywhere else. Since I've made that switch, I have been amazed. I use a large stainless mixing bowl to hold my meat, cheese, and eggs separate from the rest of the contents. The stainless transmits the cold excellently. I threw a thermometer in with everything else in the bowl on a recent trip. With the cooler closed overnight, it registered 34° when I opened it up to make breakfast. We did have a night of freezing temps, but it kept things ice cold for a week or better.
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Honu
lost on the mainland
I know it was mentioned before 
but for ice freeze things like water in a jug no melt and can drink it off if you want ? freeze milk freeze juice etc....
for food I do the same cooler or fridge
pre pack some dinners in heat seal bags and lay flat on a sheet pan and freeze and they stack upright nice and thin
but for ice freeze things like water in a jug no melt and can drink it off if you want ? freeze milk freeze juice etc.... for food I do the same cooler or fridge
pre pack some dinners in heat seal bags and lay flat on a sheet pan and freeze and they stack upright nice and thin
CSG
Explorer
I know it was mentioned before
for food I do the same cooler or fridge
pre pack some dinners in heat seal bags and lay flat on a sheet pan and freeze and they stack upright nice and thin
Costco 500ml water bottles work great.
dman93
Adventurer
Good discussion here ... I'd been thinking about a fridge but on a recent 10 day trip to Baja with our trusty old Coleman cooler, found that it worked surprisingly well and ice was easy to find. We left home with two frozen gallon jugs plus a few frozen quart bottles, and was surprised how long they stayed frozen. Then converted to drinking water. Only had to buy ice 3 or 4 times, all in the last 5 days. I liked the tip on keeping food in a stainless bowl to keep it out of the melt. I'll try that next time. One downside to the cooler is the space taken by the ice (and weight). But in terms of overall volume and pounds, that's less than an extra battery, and the compressor and fan aren't tiny either. It may be a good tradeoff to have two coolers ... one for perishables, one for drinks, as others have mentioned. I think I'll stick with the cooler for now ...
ducktapeguy
Adventurer
I just went back to using one of my smaller coolers last weekend because of space constraints. I use frozen water bottles in coolers, they last longer but the down side is the contents don't seem to get as cold as with normal ice. Probably because there's less conduction between that and the contents than with water. So soda's are never "ice cold", but mostly just somewhat cool. But not having to worry about killing your battery in the desert was a nice tradeoff too.
I don't know if this was mentioned this before, but one other advantage of the fridge is you don't need as much capacity as you would with a normal cooler. It's not the space you gain that is normally taken by ice, but on longer trips you can add room temperature items as the trip progresses. That's something you don't want to do with a regular cooler. Normally you'd start out by loading packing the cooler full of all the drinks and food you need for the trip, and as the trip goes on the cooler starts emptying out until at the end you're left with mostly empty space. With the fridge, you load in whatever needs to be kept cold and whatever drinks you want for the next day, and as you use it up you just replenish it for the next day. This method uses more battery power because you need to cool items down to temp, but if your'e driving everyday it's not a big issue.
I don't know if this was mentioned this before, but one other advantage of the fridge is you don't need as much capacity as you would with a normal cooler. It's not the space you gain that is normally taken by ice, but on longer trips you can add room temperature items as the trip progresses. That's something you don't want to do with a regular cooler. Normally you'd start out by loading packing the cooler full of all the drinks and food you need for the trip, and as the trip goes on the cooler starts emptying out until at the end you're left with mostly empty space. With the fridge, you load in whatever needs to be kept cold and whatever drinks you want for the next day, and as you use it up you just replenish it for the next day. This method uses more battery power because you need to cool items down to temp, but if your'e driving everyday it's not a big issue.
K2ZJ
Explorer
In the past I did a size comparison between an ARB and a YETI. Assuming you use a block of ice, the ARB has a negligible difference in overall volume to interior volume. The weight is definitely a disadvantage, but I only run one battery since we typically drive everyday.
These threads pop up a lot on here, most responses are for the fridge and never going back. 1 out of 10 say it wasn't for them. Odds are you will love your fridge.
e60ral
2016 4Runner Trail w/KDSS
K2ZJ
Explorer
OK.
gwittman
Adventurer
During the late 70s and early 80s I used a Coleman cooler and learned very quickly to use frozen water in containers. My wife and I were happy with that but did have to replenish with ice after 4 days or so. Around 1990, I found out about the ARB refrigerator. It was more than I wanted to spend but decided it was the best way to go. Once I had it there was no turning back. I still have the Coleman cooler but it sits on a shelf in my garage all the time. Maybe I will need it someday.
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I didn't like the weight of ARB but I only had to move it twice during a trip, once in and once out of the vehicle. I always used the cigar lighter for power but did eventually have to upgrade the power cord and connector to make it reliable.
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I am still using that same refrigerator today and still use a power port to run it. I use the starting battery but do upgrade to a Red Top Optima. I have drained the battery a little too much a few times when staying in one place too long. I either get a jump or get out my little generator (if I have it) to charge the battery enough to start the engine. I now have a NOCO GB40 booster battery for such occasions. I have not needed it yet for my truck but has been used several times for other vehicles.
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I also bought a 100W foldable solar panel to take with me when I know I will be parked for a while. I too have found that if I drive at least 30-40 minutes each day, it is enough to keep the battery charged. BTW, my old ARB doesn't have the battery saver.
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One thing that made my purchase more affordable was I got two for the price of one. The first one arrived with a small dent in it. I called ARB and they sent a new one right away. I asked what to do with the old one and they said ; it is no longer ours, it now belongs to UPS and they will pick it up. UPS never came to pick it up. They both still work as well as they did when new but one shows some wear due to the years of use off-road.
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I didn't like the weight of ARB but I only had to move it twice during a trip, once in and once out of the vehicle. I always used the cigar lighter for power but did eventually have to upgrade the power cord and connector to make it reliable.
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I am still using that same refrigerator today and still use a power port to run it. I use the starting battery but do upgrade to a Red Top Optima. I have drained the battery a little too much a few times when staying in one place too long. I either get a jump or get out my little generator (if I have it) to charge the battery enough to start the engine. I now have a NOCO GB40 booster battery for such occasions. I have not needed it yet for my truck but has been used several times for other vehicles.
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I also bought a 100W foldable solar panel to take with me when I know I will be parked for a while. I too have found that if I drive at least 30-40 minutes each day, it is enough to keep the battery charged. BTW, my old ARB doesn't have the battery saver.
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One thing that made my purchase more affordable was I got two for the price of one. The first one arrived with a small dent in it. I called ARB and they sent a new one right away. I asked what to do with the old one and they said ; it is no longer ours, it now belongs to UPS and they will pick it up. UPS never came to pick it up. They both still work as well as they did when new but one shows some wear due to the years of use off-road.
perterra
Adventurer
Way!
Peneumbra2
Badger Wrangler
I haven't needed a fridge or a cooler since I started drinking cleaning products and went to an all Rye-Krisp diet...
CSG
Explorer
As my camping is, generally, solo, unless I take my van (which has a 2-way Norelco fridge), I think a cooler works best for my travels (but 1-2 nights is as much as I do in my Lexus Land Cruiser). I picked up the RTIC 25 for $101 on their current sale and it will more than suit my needs vs. the old Igloo I had. Frozen Costco water bottles for ice. Mostly, I wanted to bring things like eggs, cheese, butter, bacon, deli meat and similar vs. just non-fridge foods. Not concerned too much about beer when I can have a nice Cabernet or scotch.
However, if I were a base camper, in one location in a remote area for a few days, I'd have a fridge, second battery, and solar. I looked at a fridge and the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 ($1000 at Costco) and a fridge for $500-600 but it simply made no sense for my shorter trips in the LLC when a small roto cooler using frozen water bottles ran about $100 shipped.
However, if I were a base camper, in one location in a remote area for a few days, I'd have a fridge, second battery, and solar. I looked at a fridge and the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 ($1000 at Costco) and a fridge for $500-600 but it simply made no sense for my shorter trips in the LLC when a small roto cooler using frozen water bottles ran about $100 shipped.
Interesting comparison on both options
https://www.outsideonline.com/2262211/why-you-need-fridge-your-subaru
https://www.outsideonline.com/2262211/why-you-need-fridge-your-subaru