Camping Fridge/Freezer Setups

One thing that's slightly different than my setup now that I re read your post is I never camp in one place more than one night. I'm always driving on the trail. If you plan on staying , you need bigger than a 240 and panel for sure. On 12v the 290 takes 5 hours or to charge panel is like 10.

 

I had a Euhomy once. Brand new and it didn’t survive its maiden voyage on an all highway drive to Sedona Ended up putting ice in there then threw it away when I got home.

 

Ouch. My setpower was cheap and has survived alot so far . Even froze blue bell ice cream when used in the bed as a freezer on our return trip from Texas to Utah in the summer heat. It wasn't solid frozen but good enough to survive the trip a few half gallons lol

 

I remember that

 

Well that sucks. I've had it plugged in since last Thur? Because our kitchen fridge died, wife wanted something inside so we could have ice for drinks, and a few things, to keep from running in and out of the garage every time we wanted to prepare a meal. Been running it at zero and everything is pretty much staying frozen except for the bottles of juice/water in the fridge section.

Yesterday (8/21/22), I plugged it into my Jackery 240 with the Rockpals 100w panel. With the Euhomy still set at zero degrees, I ran it for about six hours w/o the panel, with it pulling about 10% off the Jackery every hour. Notably, the draw was about 35w when the compressor ran, which was a little less than half the time. It was at 0-2w when compressor was not running. With the panel in decent position, I had about 50-60w going into the Jackery. Not bad.

Here's my video of the experiment, which I'll be doing again over Labor Day weekend. Thurs night to Monday morning in the mountains.

https://youtu.be/fYzPDTjKLmo

 

Some great setups here. I am planning on buying an ARB Zero 47qt, removing the third of the rear seat and placing it there. Is it possible with these dimensions?
26.6 in x (W) 16.7 in x (H) 19.5 in. Does anyone have ARB setups inside the rig? TIA

 

That is slightly smaller than my Dometic CFX3 45QT and it fits no problem where you're talking about. The only issue I can see is that ARB is taller and as of right now my fridge barely clears the roof to open all the way up. The ARB may not but it should open most of the way.

 

Oh wow, that fits very nice in there. Is it a dual zone fridge? How do you like it? I am not set on ARB, but after watching numerous reviews I decided to go with that one.

 

It's a single zone. I love it, it's a good size for me. ARB seems like a solid option from what I've seen.

 

don't forget the Iceco VL 45... It is also a good option....15% off for the labor day holiday

 

The only reason I was leaning towards ARB is because it's made in Australia vs China, but Dometic seems to be getting excellent reviews and I like the shape.

 

I am not a huge fan of the inside bottom of Iceco when it comes to spills. Fluids leak to the bottom somehow.

 

Interesting I have not exprrienced that... have hadmine for about a year now

 

Good to know.

 

That darn gravity. Man, I hate it sometimes.

 

Here's my second vid testing my Euhomy fridge with the Jackery 240 and Rockpals 100w foldable panel. I'm apologizing for the quality of my videotaping skills. I'm a little new to posting vids on youtube, let alone filming myself. It's just info that hopefully helps others in making decisions about portable fridge/power set ups.

https://youtu.be/O8eFnaHr-7U

 

Lol it came out wrong.

 

I use a Bodega T-50 53qt 12v Frig/freezer with solar/bluetooth capabilities for off grid boondoggin and plug in for on the back patio /pool time (drinks & popsicles for the kids) in the summer. Have had it going on two summers....no issues, everything stays cold or frozen. Off-road, mainly use it for keeping meat fresh or frozen and cycling beverages in it on the frig side. It also has a USB charging port. The Dimensions : 28.5 x 14.1 x 18 inches.
https://www.bodegacooler.com/products/53-quart-50l-12v-portable-freezer-t50

 

I've upgraded to the Jackery 500. It'll power my euhomy 55 qt for almost an entire weekend. Plus I picked up a Rockpals 200w panel to keep it going. I'll have it on the roof of my truck at camp with a security cable holding it to my roof rack. I'll still use my 100w panel for my jackery 240, which will be for everything else and just in case I need it for the fridge.

 

I've run a 50L Ironman 4x4 unit and was great, then got the 70L/dual zone. 50L is small, I'd never run anything smaller. Dometic is ok, I've heard mixed reviews. ARBs seem to last a good while and are outdoor rated; not many are. You get into the National Luna/SnoMaster territory then and drop some cake, but for a solid product. You definitely will see the "get what you pay for" pop up in these pairings in time lol

 

Last wk end we had 3 adults live out of a cfx45l cooler for 3 nights/2 full days of camping, you just have to remember to keeps throwing drinks in as you consume.
Not ideal as everything was always buried, but doable for sure.

 

Going to put an Anderson style connector
(Deans connector for the RC nerds) on the Ol Bluetti
The 12v automotive connection is proving super unreliable and Have had many shut downs due to the spring loaded design of them. Almost sent the Dometic in for service as I though it was the fridge, but catching it in the act failing says connection.
Any way, Bluetti appears super well built, its a 4 yr old EB150 LiFe. Individual cells which I thought was interesting.