National Luna (90L) vs Snomaster (85L)

[rlynch356]

At the price point of either of the fridges, I'd go NL. It's proven here...
That said I have an ARB 50 which works just fine for me. I couldn't afford the equivalent NL. If I buy another it'll be NL. The ARB lives in the trailer and is quite happy with solar and dual g31's pretty much no voltage drop as long as I have reasonable sun.

 

[No1up]

New to the forum, been doing a lot of research on portable fridges. After about a week of reading and comparing I bought a snomaster 60 dual fridge freezer. I didn't want to spend more than $500 but after a lot of reading I decided I didn't want to spend $500 and end up with a paperweight in a year. So I jumped to 900 and began looking at arb. Again though, they are made by dometic and I don't trust dometic. The snomaster caught my eye and I began doing research.

They seem to be the onlyones that build everything I'm house. Even though the factory is in China (pretty much everyone builds there). If something goes wrong they can just send you that component. Much like Apple, everything is in house. When I came across the fact that they had a dealer in Austin TX, I canceled my ARB and snatched a snomaster up! It looks to be a very solid machine. The seller tod was awsome and even gave me a little discount. I'm happy with my purchase however I just got it today so only time will tell.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

First of all I want to say I did get my fridge for free from snomaster USA, but since nobody else has chimed in with personal experience I'll offer mine.
I got one of the first units shipped to the USA because the distributer is a YouTube fan and I happened to reach out with lucky timing. I was given the fridge with no contract to do anything in return. He was just happy with the idea that it would be seen on my vlog being used as I travel Mexico and Central America.

I own the expedition series 66L fridge freezer. I have been using it full time in my truck for the past year and it has held up well to a poorly ventilated, dusty environment. I have it mounted on a slider in the truck bed without any dampening and have driven 1000s of miles of dirt road and a few trails that were technical in a stock pickup. My average consumption is higher than other people I've talked to, but I run mine on "auto" so that it maintains freezing temps better when I am getting in and out of it. I also haven't met anyone with a unit as large as mine or that has a freezer in the tropics, so I don't know how accurate the comparison is.

If you have any questions I could help with even though I did get the thing for free, I will check the thread next time I get to wifi.

I made a video review if your interested: YouTube

 

[QQQ]

All the fridges with "home brand" compressors worry me. I like the Engel however the dated design, high price, and (despite their claims) high amp draw have kept me away. The ARB is nice and gets good reviews, I want metal construction though and if Dometic is making them then we are likely back to the home brand compressor.

Snomaster offers a 5 year warranty on their compressor so that at least shows they have faith in it. Also considering the Bushman, this brand isn't discussed much here however it does use the Secop/Danfoss compressor and did very good in a comparison test. It also comes with different sized lids so can be a 35 up 56 liter.

I am torn between the Snomaster and Bushman, just trying to wrap my head around the prices, lol. OP, the NL is proven, the snomaster has a better warranty is a few hundred less. If those were my choices I'd probably go with the snomaster.

 

[grogie]

The seller tod was awsome and even gave me a little discount. I'm happy with my purchase however I just got it today so only time will tell.

I have a new Traveller 42. Yes, Todd was great. I first talked to him at Expo East last October. I was pretty much sold then, but I had to think over the install in my Jeep, as I also installed a slide for it.

I made a video review if your interested: YouTube

Thanks for the link, as that's the best review yet on YouTube. Your 60 liter would be nice with the dual compartment. I drive a Jeep TJ, so space and weight for everything is my number one concern, plus that I want to run it while on battery power on just a Group 34 (at least for now) for again weight.

I did buy the National Luna split charge kit to hook the Auxiliary battery to the main, and with having a winch on the main, I also had to order 1/0 AWG 0 gauge battery cable over what the kit came with. I'll install that soon and I'll reivew it all along with the fridge. But regarding the fridge, I can't believe I've been dealing with a traditional cooler and its ice and water for as long as I have?! What an improvement! I think I could become an alcoholic due to driving around with ice cold adult beverages at my fingertips (don't judge me). So far, very pleased with the Snomaster as it's very solid, and I'm looking forward to a lot of use while camping.

 

[Traveling 2gether Journal]

Thanks for the link, as that's the best review yet on YouTube.

Thanks and no judgment, I have the same beer "problem"

 

[STREGA]

I currently have a ARB 50qt. that is about 8 years old and was from the first container load of the new style ARB's to come to the USofA. It has run almost 24/7 since the day it came out of the box and has proven to be very reliable. I'm needing a larger fridge with a dual zone feature and since ARB doesn't make one I'm looking for another brand that will fill that need. After looking at all the fridges I could find at Overland Expo in Flag last May I came away really liking the quality of the National Luna the most and will most likely purchase one even though they are almost twice as much $$ as the others. For a lot of potential fridge buyers the Sno-master, ARB, Dometic, etc. will work just fine and will fit into a budget better, but if money is not as much of a concern why not get the best?

My next fridge will also be running 24/7 and until it dies or I die most likely so spending extra $$ up front is not a problem for me. I also just ordered a Bundutec flatbed popup camper that will have a 12v Dometic stand up style fridge in it. I would have rather have had a Sitting/laydown style fridge but there just was not enough room to put one in without having to give something else up. Hoping the Dometic proves to be worthy, since they make the ARB fridge there is a good chance it will.