Portable Refrigerator Suggestions

[MAX Burner]

I'll need to double-check when I get back from this extended travel I'm on, but I believe we could fit the 72L model Luna under the BackFlip truck bed cover on the Tundra...  We're using a Canyon cooler now, it would be nice to augment the freezer capacity of the OTT fridge.  The 90L Luna would be too tall for sure.

 

[ScubaRx]

On 4/21/2023 at 4:41 PM, Ollie-Haus said:

...Obviously there's no need to buy more capacity than you will ever need.... 

Steve's Theorem:

Stuff will always expand to fill the entire space that is available.

[BBL]

8 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Stuff will always expand to fill the entire space that is available.

That's like saying your expenditures will always rise to meet your income! 

BL

[ScubaRx]

5 minutes ago, Brian and Brandelyne said:

That's like saying your expenditures will always rise to meet your income! 

BL

An excellent analogy and in the majority of folks, very true. 

[Steph and Dud B]

1 hour ago, Brian and Brandelyne said:

10 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Stuff will always expand to fill the entire space that is available.

That's like saying your expenditures will always rise to meet your income! 

I think there's a direct correlation between those 2 theorems.

[Patriot]

While at the recent rally we spotted a Truma service van driving by our site and stopped the van and asked the tech a few questions. We were interested learning a little more about the remote control operation of our new Truma Aventa retro fit. The written instructions are translated from German to English and are not that good at all.
After answering our questions we then began talking about the Truma frig/freezers. The tech just happened to have a couple brand new C30’s and (2) new C36’s in his service van for sale. He mentioned to us that the Truma had a promotional sale price on the C36 which was 45% off and the cover was included at no extra charge. Long story short, we purchased a C36 at the sale price. When empty it weighs 50# which will be more manageable than a heavier unit. 

We understood from the Truma tech the sale price was also offered on line but you have to add it to the cart in order to receive the discount. And you either get free shipping or a free cover not both.
With a 10% Ala sales tax we paid $755.00 total for the C36 and under the Truma promotion no charge for the insulated cover. 45% off seems like a pretty good deal with the normal price approx $1300 plus tax. 

 

 

[MnM]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:49 AM, Patriot said:

While at the recent rally we spotted a Truma service van driving by our site and stopped the van and asked the tech a few questions. We were interested learning a little more about the remote control operation of our new Truma Aventa retro fit. The written instructions are translated from German to English and are not that good at all.
After answering our questions we then began talking about the Truma frig/freezers. The tech just happened to have a couple brand new C30’s and (2) new C36’s in his service van for sale. He mentioned to us that the Truma had a promotional sale price on the C36 which was 45% off and the cover was included at no extra charge. Long story short, we purchased a C36 at the sale price. When empty it weighs 50# which will be more manageable than a heavier unit. 

We understood from the Truma tech the sale price was also offered on line but you have to add it to the cart in order to receive the discount. And you either get free shipping or a free cover not both.
With a 10% Ala sales tax we paid $755.00 total for the C36 and under the Truma promotion no charge for the insulated cover. 45% off seems like a pretty good deal with the normal price approx $1300 plus tax. 

 

 

We got the same deal on the C44 at the Truma booth at Overland Expo West this past weekend.  Just a bit bigger than the C36 but still fits under the truck cover.  

[Patriot]

2 hours ago, MnM said:

We got the same deal on the C44 at the Truma booth at Overland Expo West this past weekend.  Just a bit bigger than the C36 but still fits under the truck cover.  

Awesome! We really like ours so far! 

 

Patriot🇺🇸

[Ronbrink]

On 5/26/2023 at 11:30 AM, Patriot said:

Awesome! We really like ours so far! 

 

Patriot🇺🇸

I have the BedRug bed liner and travel with a Dometic CFX 75DZ, really heavy when fully loaded. To ease moving it out to the tailgate for better access, when necessary, I installed large furniture slides for carpet at each corner and attached them with Velcro. 

[Patriot]

41 minutes ago, Ronbrink said:

I have the BedRug bed liner and travel with a Dometic CFX 75DZ, really heavy when fully loaded. To ease moving it out to the tailgate for better access, when necessary, I installed large furniture slides for carpet at each corner and attached them with Velcro. 

Ron,

Great idea, thanks for sharing. 👍🏻👍🏻

Patriot🇺🇸

[Patriot]

@Ronbrink I happen to be over at Lowe’s this afternoon and scooped up a (4) pack of these furniture sliders. My plan per your suggestion, is to install these on the 4 corners of my Truma C36 insulated cover length wise. This hopefully will make it slide easier on the bed rug then out onto the tailgate bed rug.  Thanks again for the mod idea.

Patriot🇺🇸

I installed the above furniture glides and they really work great. We can now slide the Truma out with out giving us immediate access without having to lift it off the bed rug. A keeper.
 

[John Dorrer]

We carry a 50L National Luna top loading fridge/freezer in the truck. If connected to shore power, plug in at pole or to Oliver. If Boondocking we use a combination of generator and Goal Zero 400 lithium power pack. We have a solar panel for the goal zero also. The fridge is strapped into the back seat and cable locked to the seat belt base.  We have a swim noodle cut to fit the window and it is slit down the side to fit over the window. It acts as a seal for the heavy duty extension cord.

[John E Davies]

If you don’t feel the need for an expedition grade cooler, or don’t have the cash, these Alpicools will work fine. They make a number of different models, all are very affordable. This one shows an extra $30 off applied at checkout, it might apply to others, you would need to look….. I imagine that they are clearing out excess summer inventory. I have this 19 quart size, I picked it expressly because the height closely matches a milk crate, so I can place milk crates with camping gear around the cooler and still have a flat ”floor” for other stuff on top of it. 
 

 

It rides in the back of my LC200 and is easily accessed by raising the upper hatch, leaving the tailgate closed. VERY handy. I use the following power pack/ inverter to keep it operating when parked, the truck supplies 6 amps to recharge the pack and also cool the fridge when the engine is running  (this is called pass through charging, many do NOT do this). Plus it is a LiFePO4 battery, just like in your Ollie’s lithium package, and it charges fully off shore power in just one hour! Woohoo, that is neat. I really like this combination. This item too has an extra discount over the already hefty price cut! The solar panel is compact and light, and very well made, the only downside is that it is a lot harder to prop at an angle than is a heavy harded side one.  At mid day you can just let it lie flat. 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Steph and Dud B]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

If you don’t feel the need for an expedition grade cooler, or don’t have the cash, these Alpicools will work fine.

At John's suggestion, we have a little Alpicool fridge/freezer to keep Steph's meds at the right temp while dry camping. We keep a Govee wifi thermometer in it to monitor the temps. It worked fine all summer.

[Ronbrink]

My auxiliary fridge/freezer setup may be of interest to some.

THE UNIT:  Dometic CFX 75DZW, acquired a month prior to delivery of our 2020 OLEll, #579, in January of that model year. It has not only served us well on all of our ‘Oliver Travels’, but also during extended home power outages due to ice storms and hurricane events. I generally stage it in the house on a cart to bring up to temp, then start loading a day or two prior to departure. The cart really makes it easy to transport outside to the TV. For added efficiency and protection, an insulated cover was installed, as well as a layer of Reflectix on the sides and top between the unit and outer cover. 

 

THE LIFT:  Fully loaded, the Dometic is way too heavy to carry out and lift into the truck bed. I mentioned usefulness of the cart, but also have a hoist staged on the trailer tongue for this heavy lift, as well as others such as the 30# propane tanks, generators and ebikes. The hoist conveniently folds and travels in the truck bed when not in use.
 

 

THE POWER:  The unit operates with household current as needed, but when underway a 100ah lithium portable power station I built keeps it running for the most part. Occasionally in camp it does require a NOCO charge, but a 200W solar array atop the TV’s cap helps to maintain adequate power. However, as backup I have run it on the move utilizing AC from the trailer’s inverter via a short extension cord to a front-mounted outlet. I can also power it from an Anderson plug installed at the bumper to power a DC/DC charger in the trailer. As a side note, I converted my Viair to utilize the Anderson, as well. 
 

THE HAUL:  The unit is transported at the tailgate for convenient access, next to the power station, and can easily be pulled out onto the tailgate with help of furniture carpet slides affixed to the bottom. I keep a dedicated neoprene mat across the top to further protect and insulate. The picture is a bit deceiving, I now position it with the freezer/compressor end facing rearward; there is about a four inch space for ventilation with the tailgate closed. 
 

 

THE STORAGE:  I’m fortunate to have a storage facility nearby, which is a good thing since the HOA will not allow! I have a large platform cart where most everything that goes in the TV under cap is staged in readiness, including the Dometic. However, the portable power station resides in the TV along with a couple of NATO gas cans and other miscellaneous items. The generators are similarly stored.

 

 

[MAX Burner]

That's a well thought-out loading, down-loading, storage and equipment handling process.  Impressive, brother!

[Ronbrink]

On 9/19/2023 at 8:09 PM, Ronbrink said:

As a side note, I converted my Viair to utilize the Anderson, as well. 

Snapped some pics yesterday while servicing the tires on my TV to illustrate the Anderson conversion and use. If unfamiliar with Viair, they come with alligator clips for a direct battery connection at either the TV’s under hood or RV’s house battery(ies). Prior to the installation of the Anderson at the rear bumper to power a DC-DC charger, I would pop the hood, connect the Viair and stage it on the ground at the front passenger side tire; which made for a long hose stretch to the Oliver’s rear, driver side tires. In using the Anderson, the Viair is now more strategically positioned when servicing both vehicles and much more convenient. However, there may be instances when the Viair is needed elsewhere, so the alligator clips were converted, as well.

 

[topgun2]

I remember seeing a YouTube video where the poster did much the same thing as you have done.

Nice job!  Makes a good product (but expensive product) much more useful and even easier to use.

Bill

[Tideline77]

Good Day Oliver Folks

 

I am bumping this portable fridge/freezer discussion to see if anyone would add any additional information or suggestions on makes/models/ cost…….sale prices or promotions 

 

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

I searched for other more recent threads but didn’t find anything 

 

thanks 

[Tom and Doreen]

5 hours ago, Tideline77 said:

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

We recently bought a BougeRV CRD45 48QT 12 Volt Dual Zone Car Refrigerator :  CRD45

We've used it recently for a trip from CT to FL and it worked great. It has two individually controlled compartments, each one can be either refrigerator or freezer ( you can make both sides the same if you want). The temperature control was good and it has a fast cooldown mode and an economy mode.  We've only used it for one trip so far but so far we're impressed.  

The unit runs on AC or DC and you can also purchase a battery for it as well ( so you can use it as a portable cooler ). 

 

 

[Steve Morris]

On 8/26/2022 at 5:01 PM, Steve Morris said:

When we bought our fridge/freezer in 2016, there were very few choices, and all of them expensive. The "in" fridge was the ARB50 at $850 plus $150 shipping. We were visiting the Conqueror trailer importer in our home town of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and he was swapping out the National Luna 90 Twin fridge that came in the trailer for another combination fridge/freezer.

At the time, the NL 90T retailed for $2700, and we got one from him for $1000. That's a lot today, but a steal six years ago. National Luna is what is in UN vehicles, and what the Red Cross uses to transport organs in Africa and other remote areas. They have since designed their own more efficient version of the previously used Danfoss compressor, and reduced the price by about $1000. If you want the best available, check them out at the sole US importer, Equipt1.com Their custom service is second to none, and owner Paul May goes out of his way to accommodate your needs, often at his own expense.

Mine has been running in the back of my black Toyota 4Runner and now black Toyota Land Cruiser for 24 hours a day, March through Christmas since early 2016. We've not had a single regret.

https://www.equipt1.com/collections/fridges

Now up over 50,000 hours on our National Luna without a single issue. I did swap the control panel for the newer Bluetooth panel late last fall, but other than blowing out the internals with my air compressor every year or so, all it has needed is cleaning. 

[Tideline77]

1 hour ago, Steve Morris said:

Now up over 50,000 hours on our National Luna without a single issue. I did swap the control panel for the newer Bluetooth panel late last fall, but other than blowing out the internals with my air compressor every year or so, all it has needed is cleaning. 

 

the longevity is impressive but the price on those bad boys isn’t in the range we are looking for 

 

thanks for the update 

[John Dorrer]

3 hours ago, Steve Morris said:

Now up over 50,000 hours on our National Luna without a single issue. I did swap the control panel for the newer Bluetooth panel late last fall, but other than blowing out the internals with my air compressor every year or so, all it has needed is cleaning. 

+2 on National Luna

[John Dorrer]

We have had a 50L National Luna dual Fridge/Freezer since 2018. Never had an issue. They are a quality product.

[Tideline77]

7 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

We have had a 50L National Luna dual Fridge/Freezer since 2018. Never had an issue. They are a quality product.

what exactly sets them apart from other lower cost manufacturers?
 

I could not determine at a glance what sets them apart from other manufacturers to command double or triple market prices ? 
their  website does show very low power consumption on some models but it doesn’t mention the insulation, shell construction or compressor as the core reasons for efficiency ……….if there is a solid reason I would like to know what it is

the brand has not come down in price like other brands have as far as I can tell, so they must have steady demand for the product 

 

 

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

 

Edit

I am correcting myself

i did take the time to read the entire web page and they do mention stainless steel exterior, aluminum interior, high density foam and a Compressor made by NL in Africa

all models show sold out and also show all models are special order and shipped from Africa with extended wait times for delivery 

Edited March 19 by Tideline77