Chad de Alva, Author at American Adventurist : Page 12 of 26

October 29th, 2018May 27th, 2019

Dometic CFX 75 DZ W

I need to start off this review of an electric cooler by saying that I’ve been happy with the ice-powered “super coolers” that I have for keeping things cold. With a super cooler, as long as you take good care of your ice, it will last for an impressively long time. Super coolers are leaps and bounds ahead of your run of the mill plastic ice chest, but no matter how good your ice-powered cooler is, there is no beating the laws of thermodynamics and the fact that ice will eventually turn into water inside your cooler. Water in the liquid state means wet food if you don’t pack your cooler well, and accelerated melting of your remaining ice, which only accelerates the need to procure more ice. Meanwhile, with a 12V electric cooler, you don’t need to futz with ice, and Dometic has made the process of keeping an electric cooler powered up, and ice cold, so easy that switching to an electric cooler becomes one of easiest, most game-changing things you can do to support your off-grid adventures .

Saying goodbye to ice, and hello to perfectly-cooled food and beverages is a plug and play experience with Dometic’s CFX 75 DZW. And no, you don’t have to have a dual battery setup to run this electric cooler safely. Thanks to some modern technology and features, you can enjoy all of the benefits of a highly efficient dual compartment fridge and freezer without ever having to worry about killing your vehicle’s battery. When on DC power, the unit will monitor the voltage of the power source it’s plugged into, and should the voltage drop below one of three user-selectable thresholds, the unit will automatically power off to save the vehicle’s battery. The CFX 75 DZW also happens to be very efficient, so you can leave the unit plugged into your vehicle without tripping the low voltage cutoff for some time.

Dometic is well respected in the RV appliance industry, so as you would expect the unit is very thermal and power efficient. When the compressor isn’t running, the unit will sip power and the unit is so thermally efficient that you’ll wonder if you accidentally turned it off when the compressor doesn’t come back on for such a long time. Power consumption is modest – at 90 degrees Fahrenheit, Dometic states that the unit will pull 1.30 Amp Hours per hour, or 15.6 Watt Hours per hour at 12 V DC. Speaking of the compressor, it’s also very quiet, making all of 37 dB(A) when running. For comparison’s sake the CFX 75 DZW makes less noise than my modern refrigerator at home, and is so quiet that it has made no impact on my quality of sleep when I’m sleeping next to the unit in my truck bed.

The DZ in CFX 75 DZW stands for dual zone, and that makes this electric cooler a very dynamic unit whose storage volume is 70.001 L. You can set the temperature of each compartment individually, (from -7 to +50 F) so you can have two freezer compartments, two refrigerated compartments, or one of each, or only one compartment on, depending on what your needs are. Each compartment can be divided further with the included baskets, allowing you to protect your crushable items or make it easy to pull out your most-used items in one go. (Or to hide the ice cream or your favorite beverages.) Each compartment has its own user-reversable and independently openable lid. When it comes to finding items in the dark, each compartment also has a LED light that provides plenty of illumination and will start flashing should the lid get left open for too long.

Further utilizing modern technology and the computers that we all carry in our pockets, the CFX 75 DZW also has Wi Fi capability, allowing you to perform a number of functions remotely. With the CFX app, you can set the temperatures in each compartment, set battery protection levels, set temperature alarms, and see your supply voltage when on DC power, among other features. Having the CFX app is handy when you’re going to be parked for some time in camp, as you’ll know if and when you need to haul out your solar setup or provide some power to your battery system. More on power in a minute.

Dometic also makes an insulated cover for the CFX 75 DZW, which is a well-made jacket that fits over the unit to provide additional insulation, and therefore reduce energy consumption. To see just how much of a difference the insulated cover made, I performed the following test once with the insulated cover and once without: In a temperature-controlled environment, I started with a room temperature unit, and cooled one compartment to 38 degrees and the other to 20 degrees. I then loaded the unit with the same amount of food, and let the unit sit for a week – opening the lid of each compartment six times each day for 15 seconds each time I opened a lid. I had the unit powered through a power meter, and at the end of my test the insulated cover caused the unit to use 19.5% less energy.

Yet, the insulated cover highlights one CFX 75 DZW’s two shortcomings, one of which is that the latch side of the unit’s lid isn’t the most obvious. I watched folks who had never seen the unit open the insulated cover (opening a few Velcro flaps) to access the lid and several folks reached for hinge side of the lid by mistake. Obviously, if you know your gear this won’t be an issue, but don’t be surprised if it throws your buddy for a loop the first few times they try and get in your fridge or freezer. Maybe that’s a blessing in disguise as your IPA’s remain elusive.

The other issue is the USB port that Dometic had the forethought to put on the cooler. While it might seem like a great idea as the USB port is in a prime location, (you always make it easy to get to your fridge / freezer) it’s only able to output 500-milliamps. This low output current makes the USB port all but useless, as many devices won’t work, or will take forever and a day to charge as a result of the low current output. I hope that the next revision of CFX electric coolers will get a more powerful USB port or two, as it’s a great idea for a world that can never have enough USB power.

Even when you’re not out adventuring, the CFX 75 DZW is a great tool to have on hand. Heading out for errands on a hot day? No need to worry about food spoiling in your car with an electric cooler in the back to keep things cold. Hosting a social event where you need some extra fridge or freezer space? Simply setup your electric cooler wherever it’s most convenient. Having a highly-efficient fridge and / or freezer that can go just about anywhere is game changing for so many more activities than vehicle-based adventure travel.

Dometic has made the CFX 75 DZW so easy and idiot-proof to use that you’ll wonder why you didn’t get on the electric cooler train sooner. Ice-powered super coolers are definitely head and shoulders over el cheapo coolers that fall apart after a few trips, but super coolers still consume ice, and ice at the store costs money and still melts, and that water can still get in or on things you want to stay dry in your cooler. Not having to care for ice (unless you need it for putting in your adult beverages, and it turns out its really easy to keep ice with a freezer) is a profound upgrade to your adventuring experience: You can keep frozen stuff frozen for days on end, or keep your favorite items at just the right temperature. With a 12V fridge/freezer, you can break out the ice cream on day 10, and never have to worry if all that bouncing around off-road caused your cheese or other sensitive provision to go swimming in the bottom of your ice powered cooler.

The CFX 75 DZW is a great option for anyone looking to graduate from ice-powered coolers with a unit that is very dynamic and can work in almost any vehicle or off-grid abode. Having a low voltage cutoff and remote monitoring with the WiFi-enabled CFX app allows you to use this electric cooler literally anywhere that’s within reach of an AC or a cigarette-style power outlet. The unit can safely draw from a single battery vehicle and will take it’s self out of the game before it takes your starting battery out. The WiFi App provides a great way to make sure your fridge / freezer is doing what it needs to be, and you’ll never wonder if the lid was left open – as long as you’re able to see the flashing light, or in WiFi range. All of this is packed into a sturdy, well-made unit that has so far held up great to thousands of miles of remote travel over the last few months. If you’re ready to give your adventuring food supply a serious upgrade, take a look at a Dometic CFX series electric coolers.

A word on Power and Dual Batteries

Let’s talk power for a minute. Running a Dometic CFX series electric cooler in your vehicle can be done with no modification to your vehicle, assuming that you have a 12-volt cigarette-style outlet that is always energized, (not switched with your key) and is rated for handling the current of your particular fridge / freezer. If you’re like me, and only own Toyotas – adding a not-switched circuit isn’t hard, just do it correctly with properly rated wire and fusing. (or get such a circuit installed professionally).

Your stock battery (assuming that it is in good health) can power your fridge / freezer for a day or two without tripping the low voltage cutoff, but a good upgrade is a quality AGM battery to replace your vehicle’s stock battery. See what options are out there and if you can safely fit a larger battery in your vehicle’s stock battery location. Again, if you’re not comfortable working on your vehicle’s electrical system, please get professional help – electrical fires are no joke.

If you’re going to be parked for more than a couple of days, bring a solar charging system or a portable battery that has the capacity to go the duration of your stay, like a Goal Zero Yeti. Dometic is also going to be releasing a portable battery tailored to powering their electric coolers in early 2019. Regardless of what power setup you use, you should always take good care of your vehicles’ battery by keeping it charged (you do plug your vehicles into the grid when they’re going to be sitting for a while, right?), and you should always carry a way to jump start your vehicle like a jump battery.

For the record, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a properly configured, isolated, dual battery setup in your vehicle. Yet, don’t feel like you have to have one to be able to use an electric cooler. The name of the game here is to go prepared, and that means having the power generating and / or power storage capacity to see you through your trip with plenty of power to spare – because sometimes you will have to wait out that storm for a couple of days. Or better yet, you’ll just want to stay out longer.

Electric Cooler to Ice-Powered Super Cooler Size Comparison Photos:

CFX 75 DZW and Canyon Coolers Outfitter 75

Full Disclosure: This equipment was provided to the author at no cost for the purpose of this review on American Adventurist.

June 9th, 2018December 5th, 2018

Overland Expo West 2018

Packing All of the Things into the Internet’s Attention Span

Overland Expo West can’t be contained in a single article. Well, okay, yes, we could make a ten part article with hundreds of awesome photos, but it would be so heavy for your browser that it would take forever and a day to load on all but the fastest of internet connections, and you’d likely get tendonitis in your thumb from scrolling through it on mobile. So just know that from the thousands of shots we took over the course of Overland Expo, we’ve knocked it down to this more reasonable collection – and it’s still going to take a second to load.

While you’re waiting, use that time to mark your calendar for next year, because if you haven’t been to Overland Expo West, you need to make it happen in 2019. There is nothing else like it this side of Overland Expo East. Nowhere else will you find a bigger gathering of vendors, instructors, and this wildly diverse community of interest. If you need to get gear or outfit your rig, this is the place to see and buy the things you need, or learn what your options are before spending your money. If you want to learn X skill or how to do this “Overlanding” thing, there are classes taught on everything from the best bugs to eat in Africa to how to fly to Australia and buy a rare vehicle you can’t buy here in the states. And, if you want to meet like-minded people who run the spectrum from repeat round the world-ers to just getting started; Overland Expo is where you need to go.

Now, stretch out your scrolling fingers and get ready for a pic-splosion. Sorry not sorry if you’re on a slow connection.

Getting to Overland Expo West

We’ve been attending Expo since Amado in 2009, and this year our American Adventurist staff traveled to West from all points on the map. We had a guy fly in, other guys came in from the West, and I lead a group of folks in on dirt from the North. We got to enjoy trails, starry skies and some epic views.

By Thursday afternoon, our team was in Flagstaff, AZ and hard at work getting our booth setup. No, we don’t stay in some hotel in town, we actually camp and live on site during all our events.

For 2018, Overland Expo West had a record number of vendors in attendance selling all manner of adventure travel related gear. Event attendees had literally miles of aisles to walk to see it all.

Vehicle OEMs, like Jeep and Ram Trucks were on hand to show of their latest and greatest platforms.

KTM and BMW were also at Overland Expo, offering folks who brought their riding gear and motorcycles licenses the opportunity to try out their latest offerings.

Mosko Moto had their new Reckless 10 luggage system and Pico tank bag on display. I’ve been really enjoying all of their gear that I’ve been using, so if you’re in the market for moto bags, take a look at what what Mosko Moto has to offer.

Always on the lookout for interesting bikes, we spied the new Royal Enfield Himalayan as it made an appearance on Sunday…

Each year, more and more traditional Outdoor Industry brands are crossing over into the Overlanding market and making an appearance at the show. Nemo Equipment was one of the first companies to cross over and they were on hand again with a handful of their awesome Stargazer chairs. These were constantly occupied by weary visitors seeking a minute of rest.

Colorado-Based Voormi was also at Overland Expo with their 100% USA-made merino wool clothing. Voormi is a small company, but they’re bringing some great new features to market and setting the bar on what an awesome merino garment can be.

Big Rigs – From awesome American made Acela trucks, to Hallmark Campers, and the even bigger Earthroamer if you like to run your rigs in size XXL. There were an number of new and interesting platforms and complete turnkey solutions on display for the affluent consumer.

#VANLIFE. Vans were everywhere, in all levels of build from mild to wild. One thing is for sure, if you’re a new van owner, there are about five-kabillion awesome builds out there to provide inspiration.

The Tire Give-A-Way

American Adventurist has a great relationship with Falken Tire, which means that we’re fortunate enough to be able to give away sets of tires at our Rendezvous events and at Overland Expo. On Friday evening, we drew a pretty good crowd as we gave away five 35″ Falken A/T3Ws!

Learn Things – Overland Expo has a jam-packed schedule of classes – some of the best instuctors from all over the world come to share their experience and knowledge with attendees on a variety of subjects. Notable instructors from the International 4WD Trainers’ Association and 7P International are present every year and keep things interesting.

Altitude Rack Systems has come up with a really impressive way to mount your roof top tent on your truck. With the push of a button, you can raise or lower your tent to either keep the tent tucked behind your cab, or up and out of the way if you need to carry something larger in your truck bed. The guys at ARS even made the entire thing out of stainless steel, so this system has next level rust resistance.

Go Fast Campers had their awesome setups on a number of rigs at Overland Expo. One of our staff will be getting a GFC soon, so stay tuned for in depth coverage.

If you’re not familiar with Maltec, take a close look here. These rigs are built in Europe and the attention to detail is next level. Diesel 200 ‘cruiser? Yes. Please.

Equipt Expedition Outfitters had the new Eazi-Awn Dart fiberglass hard-shell roof tent at Overland Expo, and it looks great. Not only does Equipt offer great products, but they make the learning process on how things work quite easy with their great displays, like the example dual battery systems they had on hand that were built with National Luna components. And because Equipt knows what is important when you’re relaxing in camp, they’ve created a rather clever bar kit for one of their Alu-Boxes.

Black Series Campers was creating quite a buzz at the show with their “US made to Australian-spec” tent and travel trailers. After over a decade on the market in Australia, we can finally get our hands on these units here in the states.

The guys at AT Overland had their new Summit wedge-style camper on display. Wedge style campers seem to be becoming quite popular, and AT completely nailed it with their new design. Insulated walls, Euro spec insulated windows, and top-shelf fit and finish define the Summit.

Warn had their clean looking Semi-Hidden 5th gen. 4Runner / 3rd gen Tacoma bumper on display. This looks to be a solid option for anyone wanting to add protection and a solid winch mounting point to their Toyota.

You may have seen this 4Runner jumping it’s way through a race course in Texas recently. What some folks may call going full send, Pelfreybilt Offroad calls product testing. Pelfreybilt makes some great products for Toyotas, and they also use them. Hard.

Sunday Breakfast

Bacon. Eggs. Boerewors. If you’re scratching your head wondering what on earth boerewors is, it’s a South African sausage that guys from Tembo Tusk love to serve during Sunday breakfast. It’s darn good and goes quite well with bacon and eggs, which the American Adventurist staff brought to Sunday’s all-out skottle cooking session where we went through 28-dozen eggs and 20 pounds of bacon.

Garmin had their new inReach mini for sale at Overland Expo. This was the first time we’d seen it, and it’s a great weight and space saving addition to Garmin’s inReach line of satellite communicators.

Gone Overlanding Equipment has developed a fire ring that fits around your vehicle’s 29″ – 37.5″ spare tire. No rocks, no problem – with a spare tire fire ring you can have a contained campfire just about anywhere.

Flatpit had a very well thought out packable firepit on display. The attention to detail here is impressive. Individual pouches for each part in the carrying bag and parts that serve multiple roles are just two examples of the utility of this product.

The Poop-a-loop. The answer to having your bog roll rolling away from you while you’re answering nature’s calling.

ARB USA had a few new products on display, including a new soft shackle, TRED Pros in an ARB specific colorway (we prefer MAXTRAX) and their new ARB Jack which we’d like to do a detailed test and review on when they become available.

Step 22 Gear had a number of great products on display. All of their gear is American made using top shelf components, and I have to tip my hat to Adam at Step 22 for putting some much needed truth on their product labels. If you’ve ever noticed how the ratings that really matter on recovery equipment are missing from the products made by some manufactures, you can trust Step 22 Gear to tell you what a given product can really handle. They test ALL of their recovery gear to destruction with an independent test facility. Buy your recovery gear from a reputable company like Step 22 that independently tests and rates their gear with generous safety factors.

Other Awesome Rigs

One of my favorite things to do at Overland Expo is to talk to people – especially the folks who are holding the keys to some of the awesome, one of a kind rigs that show up at this event. These rigs are as unique as their owners, and most of them have seen some hard miles. Take for instance this awesome diesel Toyota Alpha-Cab camper that I first ran into on the Tuesday before Overland Expo at Jacob Lake, AZ. The couple who owns this rig shipped it over to the US from Europe, started in New York, and is on their way to Deadhorse, Alaska by way of Arizona. Once they run out of road to drive North on, they’ll point it South and start making their way to South America and Ushuaia. Cheers to these folks for making adventure happen.

Wrapping it All Up

There’s a lot of awesome at Overland Expo – more than a single person can see during the show, no matter how hard they try or how many miles they walk. With so many different people from all over the world, Overland Expo is so many different things on so many levels, but that’s exactly what makes it such a cool event. The staff at American Adventurist had a great show, and we want to say thank you to our partners for their support and our Members who make our Community what it is. You will find no greater group of people to spend a weekend with. We’ll see you at Overland Expo East in North Carolina this November!