Maxcustody
Adventurist
Nice set up Scott! I am in contact with the vendor you suggested and now have to sweet talk Ann into letting go of that kind of cash...
I am sure he will take care of you!
Fridge Size?
- Thread starter jscusmcvet
- Start date
I am sure he will take care of you!
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
I have some good quotes on pricing for the ARB 50. I am also waiting for a quote on an Indel B as a lower priced, but seemingly quality option...
Scott
Adventurist
I too have heard good things about the indel B. In all actuality, I'm not sure I've heard any negatives on these types of fridges, regardless of the brand, they all seem to work well.
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
It seems the edgestar/whytner has some quality control and durability issues. I am waiting to hear back from Dave from Equipt on a final price for the Indel B and then I will make my decision. Goal is to have something in place for MAOF in August...
I have decided to forego a dual battery system for the jeep. Instead I will be building a home built version of the arkpak... deep cell battery, DC outlets and transfer over the inverter from our solar set up for any AC needs. In this way, it can serve as the house battery on the camper, but we can take it when we are tent camping, or for other needs as well. I am just trying to understand a bit more about battery selection before I get starated on that project.
What size is your main battery? I upgraded my main battery to a group 31 and if I had it to do all over again would forgo the expense and complication of a dual battery system. And unless you leave the rig parked for long periods of time without driving it I don't think you really need a dual battery system to run a fridge.
GeoYota
Adventurist
This is a great thread and testimonial for giving up "The Ice."
One downside to a portable fridge purchase - no more ice slosh to judge the difficulty of the trail.
We have owned an ARB 50 qt for four years, and as others have stated, it was a game changing purchase.
Packing has become a bit of a Jenga style, as we pre-cook some of our meals and store in Ziploc bags (since no threat of water intrusion) to maximize space. Also, placing a "layer" of frozen .5 liter water bottles on the lower portion of the fridge provides a nice "cool boost" and cold water to thaw and drink for later.
The 50 qt. has been to Moab four times, several Mojave Road trips, multiple Big Bear runs, the list goes on...without an unplanned defrost or over temping to speak of.
It just works...everytime.
Cleaning the ARB is a snap as well, with the removable baskets and drain plug, it is literally "unplug" and play.
Enjoy your purchase, you won't regret it.
One downside to a portable fridge purchase - no more ice slosh to judge the difficulty of the trail.
We have owned an ARB 50 qt for four years, and as others have stated, it was a game changing purchase.
Packing has become a bit of a Jenga style, as we pre-cook some of our meals and store in Ziploc bags (since no threat of water intrusion) to maximize space. Also, placing a "layer" of frozen .5 liter water bottles on the lower portion of the fridge provides a nice "cool boost" and cold water to thaw and drink for later.
The 50 qt. has been to Moab four times, several Mojave Road trips, multiple Big Bear runs, the list goes on...without an unplanned defrost or over temping to speak of.
It just works...everytime.
Cleaning the ARB is a snap as well, with the removable baskets and drain plug, it is literally "unplug" and play.
Enjoy your purchase, you won't regret it.
Scott
Adventurist
Interesting.. I know a few people with Edgestar's and Whynter fridges that haven't had an issue.. But, given that they are roughly half the cost of an ARB or Engel, it wouldn't surprise me if some of the components were not as solid as the more expensive versions. Glad we could help you spend your money
Ask anyone that owns a fridge, they will all tell you it was a game changer for them, I can almost guarantee it!One other thing I like about our ARB63 is the removable basket and divider. Someone above mentioned Jenga and it's true...my wife went out and bought Tupperware sized specifically for the fridge so that she can pre-make 3 or 4 meals at home that we can package and then warmup on the trail. The basket and divider and top shelf are really nice to help keep everything organized. You'll also figure out that different areas of the fridge are different temps and figure out where to store what.
The 63qt is plenty big for our family of 4. We would probably be happy with a 50 qt but the 63 is lower/shorter which makes access while sitting on top of the drawer system a plus.
If it's just you and the wife and a small Jeep I might even consider the 37qt if I were you. Unless you want to load it up and not have to go to the store for 4+ days at a time that might be sufficient and take up a bit less cargo space.
The 63qt is plenty big for our family of 4. We would probably be happy with a 50 qt but the 63 is lower/shorter which makes access while sitting on top of the drawer system a plus.
If it's just you and the wife and a small Jeep I might even consider the 37qt if I were you. Unless you want to load it up and not have to go to the store for 4+ days at a time that might be sufficient and take up a bit less cargo space.
on the issue of reliability, I know a lot of people have great luck with them, but I have had 2 complete failures on my Edgestar in less than a year. When i bought it, it was a couple of years old but all the packaging was still sealed. So it is 2 failures on a brand new out of warranty fridge in 2 years. The waeco that it replaced had been passed around, I was the 5 or 6 owner of it, ran it in the truck for 2 years nonstop (never shut it off) and it is still running now with its new owner. I could not recommend an edgestar (unless you want to buy mine)
Scott
Adventurist
Oh yes, I do remember you having an issue with yours.. so I guess my above post isn't completely accurate.
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Welp... I spoke to Dave from Equipt today and wen ahead with a purchase of a Indel 50qt. Ships on Monday. I will report thoroughly.
I think you will be very happy with your choice
Phoenix
Adventurist
Very interested in your report on that fridge. You've been a bad influence on me.
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Glad to be of service. I started on this because on our last trip I saw how well a Yeti cooler did in comparison to our coleman extreme... slippery slope...
Phoenix
Adventurist
The camping part of me is saying, "you need this", the father of 3 with one headed off to college next year is saying, "if you buy the fridge you're going to need the slide, which almost doubles the cost", the silver lining is that when these two talk, they generally agree on a middle ground, which will most likely be a Yeti or Pelican cooler.
I only worry when the voices in my head start answering each other....
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Exactly. My middle ground turned out to be the Indel B... $575 shipped. And I get it... I have one already through college, no debt. One in college, no debt... and a 5 year old!!! So I am with you.
We have the Indel-B sold by TruckFridge.com as theirs and are very happy with it. It's a 41qt and has plenty of room for us. Remember the size cooler you use has to carry a lot of ice so you don't need nearly as big a fridge.
$499 for the 41
http://m.truckfridge.com/site/store/page6.html?imz_st
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
$499 for the 41
http://m.truckfridge.com/site/store/page6.html?imz_st
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Scott
Adventurist
Another awesome feature of fridges. My father in law wants to brine a brisket for a week in his garage fridge. In order to do that, he needed to borrow my arb to unload the milk and stuff out of his small garage fridge for a spot for his brisket brine. Un strapped the fridge feom the truck and brought it over. Plugged it in and it went from 80 degrees to 33 degrees in under an hour. It comes in handy a lot!!
Here is a really good video on the Indel B 50 L fridge by long time American Adventurist and Rendezvous sponsor Paul May at Equipt
[video=youtube;ubn0sHW4jOk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubn0sHW4jOk[/video]
Here's the National Luna Weekender
[video=youtube;4sjtP95urc8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sjtP95urc8[/video]
Another consideration for your fridge is your choice of slide (if needed). Trust me when I tell you that not all fridge slides are created equal especially if you have very limited space for a fridge.
Hers's a great video from Paul featuring long time American Adventurist member and sponsor Tembo Tusk - they make awesome slides!
[video=youtube;zKFJA5cWpVU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKFJA5cWpVU[/video]
Hers's a great video from Paul featuring long time American Adventurist member and sponsor Tembo Tusk - they make awesome slides!
[video=youtube;zKFJA5cWpVU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKFJA5cWpVU[/video]