Portable Fridge/Cooler

04-17-2005, 08:11 PM

We would like to buy a small portable fridge/cooler to keep in the TV when travelling. Probably an AC DC one. I looked at the ones in Canadian Tire, Wal Mart, etc., but, need more info on what works best. We don't want anything too big, just one about the size of the TM fridge, but, portable. One that can keep things frozen and/or cool.
Perhaps some of you have some ideas/experience that you could share.
John
2003 Montana AWD - TV
2004 TM 3023

**Bill** · 04-17-2005, 08:47 PM

We have had a 40-quart Coleman thermoelectric cooler for as long as we've had a TM. See it (but don't buy it) at
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colem...ategoryid=8570
We got it from WalMart for a much lower price than on the Coleman web site - I think about $50 including an AC adapter. For us it has worked very well. We carry it in the tow vehicle as we travel, plugging it into the cigarette lighter, and then bring it into the TM when we reach the campground. It is a nice cooler just by itself - you could chill it with ice if you wanted to, but the plug-in feature is nice.

Advantages: Inexpensive. No need for ice. No water everywhere. Nice cooler all by itself, even if you don't have power. No moving parts except a small fan. No need for ice. No need for blue ice. No ice, no water, nowhere.
Disadvantages: It takes about 5 amps at 12 volts to run it, so it is not workable if you are dry camping. And, it cools the inside of the box to about 40 degrees below the temperature outside the box. If it is 100 degrees outside the box, it will be cool but not cold inside. If it is 50 degrees outside the box, things will (eventually) freeze inside it. We haven't found this to be a big problem - we store our "fussy" things in the TM refrig, which is temp-controlled, and use the cooler to augment it, choosing things that won't be hurt by the expected temperatures on that particular day.

Not everyone has had good luck with it. But I think the biggest problem has not been with the cooler itself, but with the kinda lightweight cigarette lighter outlet in the TM. If you search this board on the term "thermoelectric " you will learn more.

Aside from thermoelectrics, there are some small coolers that have an actual refrigerator/compressor mechanism just like your home refrig. I have had NO experience with these, but would like to hear from anyone who has. Kinda spendy, I think.

BTW, if you buy a thermoelectric cooler, BE SURE that it includes the AC adapter. You definitely will want one, and if sold separately, they are VERY expensive. On the Coleman website I linked above, the cooler itself is $78, and the AC adapter is an additional $32. Yikes! Go to WalMart!

Finally, some folks have had good luck with a small "dormitory refrigerator", about the same size as the main refrig in the TM.
Disadvantages: requires AC power to run it - no DC power option. Not really portable.

Bill

**fcatwo** · 04-17-2005, 11:51 PM

We have a large Igloo thermoelectric cooler and agree with everything bill said in his post. It isn't a fridge/freezer but still serves it's purpose. It allows us to grocery shop as opportunities permit while on the road and keep those things cool until we arrive at our destination for the night and open the TM. If we know we'll be stopping for groceries enroute we usually start the day with it plugged-in in our TV so it will be cool when we need it.

We've also found that the use of more canned foods (remember those?) helps solve the "small-fridge" problem.

04-18-2005, 08:40 AM

We used an Igloo thermoelectric cooler on our recent trip. It worked great. We usually premake a few things and freeze them before leaving (lasagna, all our meats....) so the TM fridge and the Igloo have something already cool in them. (we drove for two days before cooking)

My only concern was the AC adaptor got really warm, so, while we were camping, we put the cooler outside under the front bed on a grooming table. We needed two plug adaptors to be able to plug the AC adaptor in (left my power strip home) because it is a chunky transformer. The cooler worked great -- my friend only unplugged one adaptor so when the shells were raised my plug cover was torn off.

04-19-2005, 08:27 PM

I see that the March 2005 issue of Trailer Life has an ad from Camping World promoting an Evercool Thermoelectric Cooler/Warmer, 35 qt. I was looking at their web site and see another slightly bigger model 45 litres. Does anyone own one of these and how is it?
John
2004 TM 3023
2003 Montana AWD

**Bill** · 04-19-2005, 10:12 PM

No experience - but $117 + $16 shipping, and for that you don't get an AC adapter? Seems a bit high to me.

Bill

04-23-2005, 10:10 AM

Trailer Life has an ad for an Engel AC/DC 12 Volt Fridge - Freezer. An checking of the price. Anyone got one??
John
3023 TM 2004
Montana AWD 2003

**Bill** · 04-23-2005, 10:19 AM

Engel makes several models. You can see the lineup at

http://www.bigfrogmountain.com/engel_products.htm

Get a firm grip on your checkbook, make sure your heart pills are handy, then go to the Order Here page to see the prices.

There is no doubt that they work better than thermoelectrics and draw less than half the power from your battery. But anyone on a fixed income has gotta say WOW! at the price.

Bill

RockyMtnRay · 04-23-2005, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Engel makes several models. You can see the lineup at

http://www.bigfrogmountain.com/engel_products.htm

Get a firm grip on your checkbook, make sure your heart pills are handy, then go to the Order Here page to see the prices.

There is no doubt that they work better than thermoelectrics and draw less than half the power from your battery. But anyone on a fixed income has gotta say WOW! at the price.

Bill

Just put in an order for a 22 Qt Engel.

Yeah, a tad pricey but they have an excellent reputation for longevity. Did some Googling and found that AhoyCaptain.com was only slightly higher on price than Frogmountain and had more Engel accessories (including a digital thermometer that plugs right into the unit's internal circuit). Plus the ability to do order tracking (a biggie for me).

Thanks for the tip, Bill! Wasn't even aware these true refrigerator type portable units were even made...and that you could get a portable freezer capability. My biggest frustration with the refer in my TM is the teeny freezer compartment as I greatly prefer to use frozen foods (especially vegetables and frozen meats/entrees) when traveling. Usually can only cram in about a 3 day supply of frozen food and on my longer expeditions that means switching to canned veggies/preserved meats. Blech. Resupply during my trips is not easy as true grocery stores are often an hour or two long round trip from my campsites.

Plus I can now prepare the trailer for a trip far more quickly since I don't have to wait for the refer to cool down before I can finish loading my foodstuffs (especially the frozen items like ice cream that should never be allowed to thaw). I can now do a quick load of my clothing & gear, turn on the TM refer empty (or with chilled food...like soft drinks...that can stand being temporarily warmed up), hook-up and go! Frozen food will travel in the truck cab in the Engel; regular chilled food (e.g. milk) in another cooler (either thermoelectic or ice cooled). Upon arrival at the campsite, then I can load the TM refer which will have had time to become fully cooled down while running on DC enroute.

And with my solar panels and dual batteries, I probably could even keep this unit running on DC for a couple of days while boondocking since it uses so little current (.9 to 3.1 amps).

Apparently these Engels are very popular in the Australian outback and I can see why!

For me, the ability to carry a whole lot more frozen food and to cut hours off my pre-trip prep is well worth the price. This is gonna be a really good thing.

RockyMtnRay · 05-04-2005, 07:52 PM

Actually I should have said "Engel freezer arrived". Did a test immediately after I got it to make sure it worked properly. With the thermostat set to "5" (max cooling) and running on AC (though don't think that makes any difference)...it dropped the temperature in the center of the empty refrigeration chamber from ambient (~70 degrees) to 32 degrees in about 25 minutes. About 30 minutes later the interior temperature was about -7 degrees (yep, 7 degrees below zero (fahrenheit) ~80 degrees below ambient!) and holding with the compressor cycling on and off (40% on, 60% off) every couple of minutes. Sound is a quiet though typical rythmic refrigerator compressor hum...when I get it into the TM I think it'll be about the same loudness as the hum from the TM's 6300 series converter. Really quite tolerable though as there is no fan noise.

The interior has a seemingly non-removable basket device in the top half...it provides a foldaway shelf as well as protection for the cooling coils. Interior volume seems to be as advertised...I will be able to stuff a lot of frozen food in there!

As noted above, I got the mid size 22 qt model. Empty weight is as advertised...about 35 lbs...most of it on the compressor end. Only disappointment is this model doesn't have carrying handles so one must lift it using a circumferential ridge near the bottom. I personally don't expect to have much difficulty carrying it fully loaded...but I also do a lot of strength training (aka weight lifting) at my fitness center. I suspect that someone without quite well developed and well trained muscles might have some problems carrying it...especially if it's filled.

So, although a bit challenging to carry, I'm quite well pleased and feel I got good value for the admittedly high price. Cooling performance far exceeded my expectations and is so much better than a thermoelectric unit that there's really no comparison. This unit will definitely go with me on all my trips...no more having to pre-cool the TM's refer before departures...and no more tight limits on how much frozen food I can bring along.