Official outdoor rated refrigerators?

[moose545]

Looking for a unit with dual zones that will live semi covered and outside in the elements. To my knowledge, there are only a handful of companies making such units in a ruggedized form: ARB, SnoMaster, Engel, and National Luna. Did I miss any? Looking for real owner experiences here and how they held up, or if they didn't, etc. I'm shopping for a 60-80L unit and want to narrow some things down based on what can fit on my slide and the quality of what folks have seen with units living outdoors in the elements. Thanks for reading

 

[smbisig]

I can personally say from 20+ years of experience that the ARB Fridge line can handle the elements if semi covered. I personally have had severa over the years and most get exposed to the elements. I also know a few people who have them living in the back of their uncovered truck beds. The worse thing that has happened over the years is color fading do to UV, but they are still performing well. Although not a dual zone, the ARB Elements (stainless model) is advertised to be mounted in the back of a flatbed, boat or other open mount if you really want a weather proof fridge.

 

[Ozarker]

Have a 3.2 cubic ft. Westinghouse mini fridge/freezer setting outside under a metal awning for the bar, it's been running continuously for 7 years, before that it was outside under a canvas tarp on the back of my boat, just ran with an inverter for 3 years. For a fridge/freezer intended for indoor use this has been abused in all kinds of weather.

I think saying something like "made for the outdoors" is marketing hype. Most of these small fridges will have an aluminum condenser, they won't rust. Newer ones are very efficient, while the cheap ones are 110V, an inverter is a simple thing to use.

I'm thinking of getting a 6 to 10 Cu.Ft. fridge/freezer for my cargo trailer, after all, it would hold enough beer for any of my outings.

If you really must have a Tactical Fridge, you could get a case for a cheaper unit. like this:

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

I have a 25 year old Kenmore on my back deck in the desert, been on since I bought it 10 years ago, I m not sure any refrigerator is worth the price of "tactical " .

 

[moose545]

I have a 25 year old Kenmore on my back deck in the desert, been on since I bought it 10 years ago, I m not sure any refrigerator is worth the price of "tactical " .

Or in the RTT, on that beetle

 

[TwinStick]

Still loving our ARB fridge/freezers. Absolutely worth their weight in gold when you need them. We have 2 of the classics, 82 qt and the 50 qt. I have not exposed them directly to the weather. Always been inside the truck, or the truck bed with an ARE overland cap, or in the house or garage. They sure were one of those things that hurts when you buy them though. Just keep them locked up good when in your vehicle. I also throw something over it too, out of sight out of mind. I also bought a motion alarm for $10 that I put in the bed of truck before bedtime. Just incase someone decides they really want them.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

We have a regular fridge that's in our unheated, not insulated detached garage as a beverage fridge.
In the winter we unplug it, plug it back in in the spring and away it goes. Haven't had an issue so far even during our -40 cold spells.

We were thinking of picking up something like this for camping:

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Given how inexpensive and comparative far better efficiency refrigerators are nowdays, I am surprised these things are still available.
But in fairness, this thing advantage over a fridge, it can be switched to warming mode.

It's basically for an outdoor beer fridge to plug into the trailer.
We already have a full size built in fridge / freezer in the trailer for everything else, lol

 

[BritKLR]

FWIW.

Before Overlanding adopted 12v fridges for keeping craft beers cold they were primarily designed and used for transporting medical supplies in far away places in the back of utility vehicles. Engel MT45 was the standard and could withstand dry, hot, dusty, wet, exposed conditions. I've had my MT45 for 17 years now and its lived in the back of trucks, open top jeeps/Samurai, trailers, ozark cabin, Land Cruiser, Tiger Camper and my shop. It's pretty much run none stop for 17 years and it's now being prepped for several trips this year. The older gray metal ones can be found used for a reasonable price compared to the newer ones, so used is an option. Goodluck!