mortonm
Expedition Leader
That's for the 41. The 51 is taller. With the 41 I figure you could squeeze in 12 bottles. Don't leave much room for food but with that much wine who needs food
Who uses an Indel-B refrigerator?
- Thread starter Martinjmpr
- Start date
That's for the 41. The 51 is taller. With the 41 I figure you could squeeze in 12 bottles. Don't leave much room for food but with that much wine who needs food
JGBB04
Observer
I used the med setting(10.7v cut off) when I first got mine, had no issues the first trip in cool weather. Next trip in warmer weather I needed a jump on 2 mornings, between the warmer temps & my battery being 5-6yrs old. Since then I switched to the high setting(11.7v cut off) & w/ a new battery I've had the fridge cut off a couple of times on our last trip but the truck started fine.
mjmcdowell
Explorer
Indel-B fridge......
Martin, I have a new Indel-B 31 fridge........ the Edgestar 43 I had bit the dust...... said the heck with it and got the Indel.... was on a 2 week camping trip and ran it non-stop (was not parked all the time, some side trips were taken) and it worked flawlessly did not drain the battery down at all, I ran it on the "eco" mode, it did shut off twice so as not to drain the battery down where I could not start my truck tho. Set it at 37 deg. and it stayed between 35 and 39 deg. what with all the opening and closing (was with my Son and his girlfriend) It held all we needed for this particular outing. For me solo it will be fine (never did have the Edgestar filled up with my food even on the DE trips) I will show it to you if you are on DE IV part 2 this fall. Michael
Martin, I have a new Indel-B 31 fridge........ the Edgestar 43 I had bit the dust...... said the heck with it and got the Indel.... was on a 2 week camping trip and ran it non-stop (was not parked all the time, some side trips were taken) and it worked flawlessly did not drain the battery down at all, I ran it on the "eco" mode, it did shut off twice so as not to drain the battery down where I could not start my truck tho. Set it at 37 deg. and it stayed between 35 and 39 deg. what with all the opening and closing (was with my Son and his girlfriend) It held all we needed for this particular outing. For me solo it will be fine (never did have the Edgestar filled up with my food even on the DE trips) I will show it to you if you are on DE IV part 2 this fall. Michael
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
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This is what I like to see - a review from somebody I know and trust!
OK, I have to admit I kind of forgot about this thread after I posted it. .
Not that it matters - about the time you were writing your reply I was buying an Indel-B (A/K/A Truckfridge TF-41) anyway.
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We took the Indel-B on a total of 8 trips this year with our Teardrop and it has worked flawlessly.
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I did have one "incident" where my truck wouldn't start the next morning. But then looking at the truck (2007 4runner) I realized that the battery in it was the factory original. IOW it was 7 years old with 120,000 miles on it, so I figured this wasn't a "fridge" issue it was a "you need a new battery" issue. Immediately went to the auto parts store and said "what's the biggest, most powerful battery you can sell me to put in my 4runner?" Haven't had a lick of trouble since then and that includes our "big trip" this Summer which included traveling through Glen Canyon Rec Area (Lake Powell), Grand Canyon (North Rim), Death Valley (in the middle of July!), up over Tioga Pass to Yosemite, down to King's Canyon/Sequoia, and then back.
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I didn't really do any "off roading" with the Indel-B but I have no reason to think it won't perform just fine.
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About the only "quibble" I have with it is the way the lid is hinged. Because it is hinged on the "short" end, that means you need a lot of clearance to open it up, which is a bit of a PITA sometimes. My old Dometic was hinged on the "long" side and required less clearance. But that's a minor consideration!
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We even went to a couple of teardrop and tiny trailer gatherings where people had never seen a 12v fridge like that and were asking to see it, how much it cost, etc. One couple was looking at it after they made a month-long cross country trip last year with only an ice cooler, and when I said "well, the fridge is kind of expensive, it cost $500" they said "hell, we spent more on that just buying ice last year!"
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So on balance I'd have to say the Indel-B/Truckfridge seems to be a good piece of kit.
Hey, just subscribed to this thread, I'm looking at getting an Indel B, but I'm really torn on whether I want the 40L or the 50L. The $30 price difference seems to be a small price to add 10L, but I wanted to see what you guys think. Why would you choose one over the other?
If it matters, It'll be living in either the backseat or bed of my 2011 F-150 for the foreseeable future. May eventually find it's way into my 93LC once it's adventure ready (but that's a few years out).
If it matters, It'll be living in either the backseat or bed of my 2011 F-150 for the foreseeable future. May eventually find it's way into my 93LC once it's adventure ready (but that's a few years out).
mortonm
Expedition Leader
I have the 40L
I would get the 50L, for the $30 it is quite worth it, unless you absolutely have no space.
They all have the same footprint, so I think the 50L is just a few inches taller than the 40L.
Otherwise, love mine!
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
When I ordered my Truckfridge I decided to go with the 40l (TF41/TB41) for two reasons: First of all, the TF51 was backordered, but more significantly, the 'extra' 10l in the 51 is all achieved by raising the height of the fridge, and it's already really tall. Combine the tall fridge with the IMO dumb decision to hinge the lid on the "short" end and the result is a fridge that needs a lot of vertical clearance in order to be able to open it up inside a vehicle.
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If I had gotten the 51 then two things would have happened: First, it would have been difficult to get anything out of the fridge when I was in my truck, because I have a sleeping platform and the clearance from the platform to the inside ceiling is only about 3', and second, I guarantee that just about anything I was looking for would be on the bottom of the fridge, which would necessitate a lot of digging!
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Honestly the 41 is so much bigger than the 19qt Dometic unit I had before that it's hard to imagine using all of it. When we camp with our Teardrop we have no problem keeping all the "Has to stay cold" stuff in there (fresh meat, cheese, milk, etc.) Then once that stuff is in there, we fill the rest with soft drinks so we always have something cold to drink, and generally if we take a soft drink out, we put a warm one in so it will get cold. It's worked fine for us.
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I agree that $30 more for 10l additional is pretty small but the issue is going to be whether the bigger fridge will fit in the space you're going to use for it. Also consider that a bigger fridge is going to take more energy to cool down and is going to take more time to get cold.
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If I had gotten the 51 then two things would have happened: First, it would have been difficult to get anything out of the fridge when I was in my truck, because I have a sleeping platform and the clearance from the platform to the inside ceiling is only about 3', and second, I guarantee that just about anything I was looking for would be on the bottom of the fridge, which would necessitate a lot of digging!
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Honestly the 41 is so much bigger than the 19qt Dometic unit I had before that it's hard to imagine using all of it. When we camp with our Teardrop we have no problem keeping all the "Has to stay cold" stuff in there (fresh meat, cheese, milk, etc.) Then once that stuff is in there, we fill the rest with soft drinks so we always have something cold to drink, and generally if we take a soft drink out, we put a warm one in so it will get cold. It's worked fine for us.
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I agree that $30 more for 10l additional is pretty small but the issue is going to be whether the bigger fridge will fit in the space you're going to use for it. Also consider that a bigger fridge is going to take more energy to cool down and is going to take more time to get cold.
Martinjmpr, you bring up some really important points. I feel like the TB-41 might be the best choice. Usually when I go out, I try to minimize the amount of perishable items we need to bring anyway. Especially with the basket and divider, you could compartmentalize easily.
I like the idea of the TB41 being able to (likely) fit in the trunk of a car...we live pretty far from the warehouse stores like costco, so something that could keep food and perishables cold longer would be really clutch.
I'm definately thinking the TB-41 is going to be the way to go. That TB-51 is pretty tall.
I like the idea of the TB41 being able to (likely) fit in the trunk of a car...we live pretty far from the warehouse stores like costco, so something that could keep food and perishables cold longer would be really clutch.
I'm definately thinking the TB-41 is going to be the way to go. That TB-51 is pretty tall.