Food storage - fridge

[davids240]

I'm planning a longer than normal trip soon and I know coolers and ice aren't going to do the trick so I'm looking for recommendations on a fridge/freezer to bring in the Raptor.

Perhaps I'm looking for two different things, but there's a chance I will look at an offroad trailer down the road so if it all possible it would be great if the same product would work now and later in the trailer. Maybe I'm nuts.

Thanks all in advance.

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[The Green Flash]

If you are a member... Costco has plenty o' food storage. And the food will be fresher. Seriously... every other week go into town and get a sit down dinner - it helps break up the monotony of crossing continents and time zones. Any decent igloo will hold food for a week. Make week #2's igloo the deep freeze with 10 lb. of dry ice and furniture blankets.


Are you really going to be hundreds of miles from the nearest grocery store - like in Siberia or outer Mongolia - and unable to resupply???

 

[Charley]

As revealed by the Green Flash post, you will definitely have the cooler/fridge debate. It gets down to your needs, and with your question you are willing to learn from others.
I bought a small Dometic CFX-28 a handful of years ago and strapped it into the backseat of my 2019 Ranger. I liked the convenience of not having to deal with ice whether I was on road or off road. So in my case I paid for convenience. It has worked great for 2 people all these years.

I did purchase a small jackery - plugged the Dometic into the Jackery and the Jackery into my truck. Always charged. Check all connections as some can work loose when bouncing around off road.

Depending on your needs, there are numerous models that can be both fridge and freezer.

Also think about where you will place the unit in your truck, and which way the lid opens.

 

[Phil B]

Especially if you want a fridge/freezer combo unit, pay close attention to the interior dimension. The marketing photo's are very deceiving and it's incredibly difficult to see how much a electric cooler will actually hold. You definitely have to pay to play if you want something reasonably sized. Make sure the cooler you choose will fit in your Bronco.

Also, be aware, ICECO is a Chinese company and their customer service is very frustrating to deal with. On the phone, they will only tell you that "they will have to forward this to the sales department," which really means, your issue has to go overseas for an answer and there is a time difference/24 hour lag. I tried to cancel a order five minutes after placing it, and the short version of the story is that I wound up paying shipping charges to return it.

I have the APL55, and really like it. It's very heavy and takes up a lot of room.

 

[Jmanly]

I have several sizes from BougeRV. My larger one has thousands of hours on it, as a refrig, freezer and combo. Works awesome

 

[RustysBronco]

I run a Wolfbox fridge paired with a Bluetti setup. If you’re using the Wolfbox rearview cam system, the fridge integrates right into their app, which is pretty slick. The Bluetti has its own app as well, so you can monitor power, draw, and battery status independently.

For longer trips, I keep both a small and large Bluetti on board. The big unit stays fully charged as a standby for camp, and the smaller Bluetti stays plugged into the truck’s 12V to power the fridge while driving. I also keep a DC inverter on hand to recharge if needed, and so far the setup has been rock solid. For quick runs around town, the small Bluetti plugged into the 12V is all I need.

Fridge: https://amzn.to/4aPvJiE
Small Bluetti: https://amzn.to/4jvJTaW
Large Bluetti: https://amzn.to/49HRHD4

 

[RC Bronco]

I love my IceCo VL35 Pro S!! Have had it for 2 years now and has been used a _LOT_. ~100 nights in the Bronco and several more months of usage at home

I leave my Bluetti in the Bronco year-round, only plug in the alternator charger when I’m traveling

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I'm planning a longer than normal trip soon and I know coolers and ice aren't going to do the trick so I'm looking for recommendations on a fridge/freezer to bring in the Raptor.

Perhaps I'm looking for two different things, but there's a chance I will look at an offroad trailer down the road so if it all possible it would be great if the same product would work now and later in the trailer. Maybe I'm nuts.

Thanks all in advance.

Go with the ARB Fridge/Freezers: https://www.4x4truckleds.com/other-truck-accessories/fridges-freezers/

I ran one in my Bronco they are fantastic. They operate on 12VDC or 120VAC. There is an included 120VAC plug so you can bring your fridge/freezer in with you if you stay at a hotel or want to pack it up the night before and power it inside overnight. Or you can power it with the included 12VDC plug that has a cig plug on the end, which plugs in right in the rear of the bronco.

I actually connected my 12V cig plug to a Bluetti portable battery bank. And then the Bluetti portable was plugged into the broncos cig plug. This way my bluetti powered the fridge 24/7 and when I was driving the bluetti was being charged. I also had a solar panel kit i'd use when I was parked to also charge the bluetti when I was not driving.

 

[RC Bronco]

Go with the ARB Fridge/Freezers: https://www.4x4truckleds.com/other-truck-accessories/fridges-freezers/

I ran one in my Bronco they are fantastic. They operate on 12VDC or 120VAC. There is an included 120VAC plug so you can bring your fridge/freezer in with you if you stay at a hotel or want to pack it up the night before and power it inside overnight. Or you can power it with the included 12VDC plug that has a cig plug on the end, which plugs in right in the rear of the bronco.

I actually connected my 12V cig plug to a Bluetti portable battery bank. And then the Bluetti portable was plugged into the broncos cig plug. This way my bluetti powered the fridge 24/7 and when I was driving the bluetti was being charged. I also had a solar panel kit i'd use when I was parked to also charge the bluetti when I was not driving.

I would not recommend charging a power station via the Bronco’s 12-volt ports

I have burnt out 5 of them, no fuses blown, hot wires, and even hotter 12-volt plug, by charging my power station through them

it’s a real PITA when you’re 4 states from home, with no service, and have no power to run your fridge

installed an alternator charger from Bluetti in a Target parking lot on that trip and no longer have to worry about burning my Bronco down + it charges _WILDLY_ faster than the 12-volt ports

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I would not recommend charging a power station via the Bronco’s 12-volt ports

I have burnt out 5 of them, no fuses blown, hot wires, and even hotter 12-volt plug, by charging my power station through them

it’s a real PITA when you’re 4 states from home, with no service, and have no power to run your fridge

installed an alternator charger from Bluetti in a Target parking lot on that trip and no longer have to worry about burning my Bronco down + it charges _WILDLY_ faster than the 12-volt ports

You can charge it via the cig plug. It just won't charge as fast. But that's what it's for. The charging port is designed to charge via the cig adapter (and they even provide you that charging adapter).

 

[RC Bronco]

You can charge it via the cig plug. It just won't charge as fast. But that's what it's for. The charging port is designed to charge via the cig adapter (and they even provide you that charging adapter).

I am aware of that, however, I would not recommend that method to anyone for the reasons I stated above. Perhaps your power station is small enough that it is fine, but I have experienced this with 3 different brands of power stations, across 3 different Broncos (2022, 2023, & 2024 model years) with 5 of them failing in my personal Bronco

those 12-volt ports can power a fridge just fine, for weeks at a time, but you will experience over-heating and failing 12-volt ports if you leave your power station plugged into them for any real length of time

my first was fine for a week, then it failed

the second was fine for 3 days, then it failed

the third was fine for 2 days, then it failed

The fourth worked for less than 1 day before it failed

the wiring of these 12-volt ports is a safety hazard if you’re running a power station through them

others on this forum have stated the same, and everyone ends up going the alternator charger route for safety first & speed second

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I ran one for about 2-3 years without issues... i ended up selling the truck which is why it's not in there anymore

What power station did you use? I'm running a Bluetti EB70 which utilizes the LiFePo4 batteries (went with that one at the time because not a lot of people had the LiFePo4 batteries, which can take a LOT more recharging then others can)

 

[RC Bronco]

I ran one for about 2-3 years without issues... i ended up selling the truck which is why it's not in there anymore

What power station did you use? I'm running a Bluetti EB70 which utilizes the LiFePo4 batteries (went with that one at the time because not a lot of people had the LiFePo4 batteries, which can take a LOT more recharging then others can)

I have experienced it with the old style power stations as well as the new LiFePO4 batteries, from Jackery, Bluetti, and Anker. Sizes ranging from 500W to 3000W (I don’t remember others exact specs)

Mine also lives in there full-time

Ford really skimped on the wiring for their 12-volt setup. Very disappointed in that

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

I have experienced it with the old style power stations as well as the new LiFePO4 batteries, from Jackery, Bluetti, and Anker. Sizes ranging from 500W to 3000W (I don’t remember others exact specs)

Mine also lives in there full-time

Ford really skimped on the wiring for their 12-volt setup. Very disappointed in that

I mean that's how all those cig plugs are. Mainly used to power small accessories like a light or a charger. I get people who come into our store and want to get an air compressor that's powered from the cig plug. Yeah that's going to have NO POWER at all. Or they want an inverter/converter to give them 120VAC from their cig plug. NOT going to get any juice at all.

 

[HighVelocity]

I bought a cheapo BougeRV one a couple years ago on a lark when they were on mega cheap sale just to see if I used it and to experiment with. It's a dual-zone that can be setup as a freezer and/or fridge in any way you like.

Last spring/summer I lived completly off grid for 7 months and used that as my primary freezer and ice storage. I set the large zone to 0 and the smaller zone to 10. The thing held temps really well and barely sucked any power. Hotter days it would obviously run more often, but I was also creating a lot more solar energy, so the power consumption was easily offset.

Anyway, the fridge ran perfectly fine and I am happy with it. I can't remember the model, but it's their cheap lineup with the black body and yellow lid. I think it's around 45 liters and ran me around $200. It's easily worth picking one up just to see if you use it and if it fits your needs. Build quality is on the soft side and there is little to no insulation, so if it's not running, it's not staying cold very long.

I figured I would upgrade to a better unit down the road when this one died. So far, it's refusing to play ball.

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