Portable Refrigerator Suggestions

[Geronimo John]

Dear Santa:

I've been a good boy, can I get one of these?

GJ

[Ollie-Haus]

We are using the 69 liter Truma dual zone. We have an Ecoflow Delta Pro that rides next to the fridge that the Truma runs off of. The Ecoflow is charged with a high output DC/DC charger running off the truck alternator, and also a 200w solar panel on the top of the camper shell. System works very well while traveling and overnight dry camping. 

[Ronbrink]

20 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

we are looking for a small ac/dc truck bed freezer to supplement frozen food  storage 

If you can find a dual zone fridge/freezer within your budget and allotted space/carry capacity I would encourage you to do so. Having some overflow for both will prove very beneficial and more universal in usage. In these models either or both zones can be set to meet a current purpose. I like being able to have cold drinks when detached and away from camp, not one to mess with ice in a conventional cooler. 

[Steve Morris]

13 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

maybe they have a solid long term contract with a USAID NGO as an anchor for their business model….🤣🤣🤣

You're probably not too far off. They are/were used extensively across Africa and much of the third world by UN vehicles, Red Cross, medical facilities for transporting organs/blood, etc. That's where they earned their reputation.

They did develop their own proprietary compressor a few years ago that is even more efficient than the oft lauded Danfoss compressor that's in mine.

Equipt in Salt Lake City is the US importer and sales outlet, but as you've found, they sell out quickly when stock arrives. If you ever get to SLC, stop and see their shop and have a chat with the owner Paul May. He's quite a character.  https://www.equipt1.com/collections/fridges

Edited March 19 by Steve Morris

[Tideline77]

2 hours ago, Steve Morris said:

You're probably not too far off. They are/were used extensively across Africa and much of the third world by UN vehicles, Red Cross, medical facilities for transporting organs/blood, etc. That's where they earned their reputation.

They did develop their own proprietary compressor a few years ago that is even more efficient than the oft lauded Danfoss compressor that's in mine.

Equipt in Salt Lake City is the US importer and sales outlet, but as you've found, they sell out quickly when stock arrives. If you ever get to SLC, stop and see their shop and have a chat with the owner Paul May. He's quite a character.  https://www.equipt1.com/collections/fridges

I might have put my foot in my mouth while chastising them on prices as a little more in depth research shows that on dual zone units their price is not that extreme 

a search does show a dealer network 

Dealer network

 

As suggested above, a great idea to consider dual zone capability

we are eyeballing the dual zone offerings 

 

appreciate all the suggestions !

 

[Ollie-Haus]

2 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

I might have put my foot in my mouth while chastising them on prices as a little more in depth research shows that on dual zone units their price is not that extreme 

a search does show a dealer network 

Dealer network

 

As suggested above, a great idea to consider dual zone capability

we are eyeballing the dual zone offerings 

 

appreciate all the suggestions !

 

We like the duel zone especially because we definitely need extra freezer space while traveling, but it’s also nice to have fridge space while exploring away from the camp site. Drinks and cold foods like sandwiches, hard boiled eggs and such are kept cool in the fridge side. Set up properly the system operates 24/7 with little involvement. 

[Steve Morris]

We were just on a seven week trip. The freezer side was stuffed with soups, casseroles, and whole meals that  we had prepared and frozen at home. The fridge side had beverages, produce, and larger containers such as spare eggs or juice. This left the trailer‘a fridge free for day to day items, and ice cubes in the freezer. It worked out great!

 

[jd1923]

On 3/19/2025 at 8:25 AM, Steve Morris said:

Equipt in Salt Lake City is the US importer and sales outlet, but as you've found, they sell out quickly when stock arrives. If you ever get to SLC, stop and see their shop and have a chat with the owner Paul May. He's quite a character.  https://www.equipt1.com/collections/fridges

Reviving this thread since I'm in shopping mode. Steve provided this link and @Geronimo John copied a pick above the the 60L National Luna Model, which btw is not $1500 anymore, currently $1800 and SOLD OUT, as Steve wrote is often the case. It must be a great unit!

Most of these are too big for what I'm thinking. 60L MAX, 48L Dual-Zone would be perfect for our needs, but when the capacity is smaller they become single zone units from what I've seen. We want to keep a dozen water bottles in the truck bed, some other refrigerated items and freezer space for meats.

This 55L model is half the cost of the Luna brand with a very good 4.6 Amazon number with over 100 reviews. I have space for the 30x19" footprint in the TV, not much more. It has a removeable partition, wondering if that would become an issue? Likely not. Like the Bluetooth controls, so we can see temps while driving or in the Oliver.

Anybody hear of ICECO or have one? If same price, I would opt for silver, but the black one, otherwise identical is now 15% off (might be for Prime Days), priced now at $815. With tax the Luna becomes almost 2.5x more money and we cannot do that.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/646FA247-F0F2-4C6F-8D99-F440CC467332/ 

Let me know what you think. Thanks, JD

Edited July 2 by jd1923

[Tideline77]

We were looking earlier this spring at Iceco as we wanted more freezer space and we never made the leap

after our first trip we realized the Norcold actually worked out pretty good on freezer space but we needed more room for produce as we had the nor old fridge jam packed

 

Dometic does have a Fourth of July sale on certain models 

 

 

I did recently see some consumer complaints posted on FB  about Iceco for a defective design that were not covered by Iceco.

somehow the freezer and fridge operations are switched by the unit

the fridge section freezes and and the freezer thaws out

[jd1923]

5 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

somehow the freezer and fridge operations are switched by the unit

the fridge section freezes and and the freezer thaws out

TY Robert, they use a divider between the zones which can be in place or removed between zones. This did make me worry that it would not fully insulate the dual zones, with your comment it makes sense now.

So, this one is a strikeout. The Dometic brand, always something relabeled worries me and the only one I see is 75L. I need 60L max, a 30x18” footprint max which is more than enough!

My other criteria is cost. Can’t pay $2K +/- OTD for Luna. Need to be $1K OTD. Thanks again!

 

[Tom and Doreen]

We have a BougeRV CRD45, 48Qt portable refrigerator.  It's dual zone ( interchangeably), runs on 12VDC or 120VAC, and has an optional battery available.  We've used it continuously on our recent 10 week trip out west and it's worked perfectly. It also fits between the beds in our trailer when traveling. 

[jd1923]

So, I bit the bullet on a Dometic unit. Thinking through our needs of quality, size and efficiencies and other factors, I decided on a 45L single-zone unit, since most quality built dual-zone units are too big for us at 75L. I didn't want wheels and pull handles and light plastics, as it will be mounted in one position and I will create a 24x7 12VDC connection for it (an installation post will be coming).

I figured it would normally be set to fridge temps. The bottom of the entire deep section could be for drinking water and we'll get a half-height basket for produce or bulky fridge items to sit on top. But say we ran into a farm deal on the road and purchase a bulk of frozen meats. We could lower it to freezing temps and go back to just having less cold water in the Oliver fridge. It will be a learning curve.

We got the Dometic CFX2 45L model. The 28x18" footprint will nicely fit rear of our 8' truck bed next to our Napoleon dual-burner grill, for a tailgate party! 🤣

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DF7Z3MBQ?ref=fed_asin_title&th=1

Another deciding factor was saving $160 on Amazon Used - Like New condition, defined as "Looks and functions as if it were new. Minor packaging damage observed during inspection." I've purchased 40+ Amazon Used items and have only had to return 3-4 items (<10%) when instead of used, they came prior-purchaser abused! $719 a good price vs.  the $880 list!

Thanks to @Tideline77 and @Tom and Doreen for your feedback!

[Tideline77]

Fantastic, that look like a good choice with good size, not too big or little

 

Nice to know about the Amazon used/like new offerings. I never have looked at that option before.

We still plan to make this addition to our camping life in the future !

Keep us posted on how you like it 

[Ronbrink]

19 hours ago, jd1923 said:

We got the Dometic CFX2 45L model.

Good choice, I’ve been very pleased with my 75L DZ model. You may already be aware that Dometic offers a protective cover for some of their units; good way to protect an investment and potentially improve efficiency. Claim to be good for outdoor use, as in weather durable and waterproof; however not leakproof at the handles and other cutouts. Furthermore, I drape a neoprene mat over the top for added protection/insulation and even installed an inner lining of Reflectix for good measure.

[jd1923]

8 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

Good choice, I’ve been very pleased with my 75L DZ model. You may already be aware that Dometic offers a protective cover for some of their units; good way to protect an investment and potentially improve efficiency. Claim to be good for outdoor use, as in weather durable and waterproof; however not leakproof at the handles and other cutouts. Furthermore, I drape a neoprene mat over the top for added protection/insulation and even installed an inner lining of Reflectix for good measure.

Thank you for this reminder. I'm going to wait and as you said before, our "design as we go" principle. I have to get it, test it, and determine the best location for it in the truck bed. I want to secure it so that it does not move while towing and then see about cover or protection. Maybe the Dometic cover or something else, as mine will be out in the elements while yours sits in your van while towing. You move yours in and out of the van and I'm thinking of one position in the bed TBD.

[jd1923]

On 7/2/2025 at 10:35 AM, Tideline77 said:

Dometic does have a Fourth of July sale on certain models

Update: What Robert had written last week was in the back of my head, but forgotten when I made the Amazon Used purchase not first checking the Dometic website.

Yesterday, Amazon notified me that my order was being delay allowing for easy cancellation. This happens more often on their used items that could be located in some remote warehouse. I canceled quickly and thought to rethink this purchase decision.

I started to notice the different Dometic models, CFX2, CFX3 and CFX5 and found this paper: https://www.frigolab.eu/gb/blog/news/differences-between-the-dometic-cfx2-cfx3-and-cfx5-portable-fridges

It convinced me to purchase the CFX5 model. I tried ordering on Dometic.com and their checkout would not accept payment. Tried 2 credit cards and PayPal which all failed. Then I found the same sale for a new CFX5 45L on Amazon, same 20% off. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoor/coolers/electric-coolers/cfx5-45-electric-cooler--374706

The CFX5 55LIM comes with an Icemaker, interestingly, but at 1" longer and 2" wider it would not fit in the location I'm thinking of. The dual-zone 75L is priced very well while on sale! It's too big for our needs and where I need to mount it. I would make room if we made long trips often, had the need. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoor/coolers/electric-coolers/cfx5/07-0703-070328-070328006-369003?v=97000050757