Home Improvement Product Reviews

We drive to and from a vacation house which we rent every year, a round trip of approximately 2000 miles. This involves travel where the temperatures can be over 90 degrees and which involves overnight motel stays on our way there and home. For the past few years we have packed our food (both for the trip and staples for our vacation) in our car, which is an added advantage of driving, which we much prefer, to flying. We have kept our refrigerated items in a 12 volt car refrigerator which we bought from the manufacturer of my wife’s car as an relatively inexpensive option, and supplemented that with a cooler with ice packs. While that system kept the food cool, it was less than ideal for several reasons. First, we could not bring frozen items, since they would not stay frozen given the air temperature, the cooling abilty of the unit, and the length of the trip.Second, the battery draw was great enough that we could not keep the refigerator running during our overnight stays, thus the interior temperature of the unit would gradually rise and it only gradually cooled the interior when restarted. Third, it took a long time to cool items if we did not refigerate them first. Fourth, the seal was not very tight and the exterior insulation relatively thin. Fifth, it was only on or off, there was no temperature control. We also used the unit for other shorter trips or for transporting frozen foods from the grocery store during the summer, but these deficiencies were not problems in those circumstances.
That unit failed last winter after five years of use, and I decided to research the available options before our vacation last month. I only now wish that i had done that years ago. The refrigerator which we had had a thermoelectric cooling unit, certainly better than a cooler using ice packs but not capable of acting as a true freezer and most importantly having the disadvantage that i mentioned of a considerable power draw. This unit (and a few other brands as well) has a compressor and is a true refrigerator freezer. In addition to the power buton it has easily accessible controls (and a visible thermometer) on the front of the unit to change the temperature setting and also set the maximum battery drawdown allowable before the unit will shut off if you are not running your automobile engine. It has a lid that is both easily removed and reattached, and a 50 quart storage area with a basket and divider that allows the compartment to be subdivided into two or three sections. This is epecially convenient for separting things such as produce, dairy and fruit from other refrigerated items. The unit is completely CFC free, and the cabinet is coated zinc steel. There is also a 120-240 volt cord, so the unit can also be used in a home, cabin, garage or anywhere with electrical power. It does not evenm have to be emptied or restocked or can be used as supplemental refrigerator freezer for overflow (or beer or soda storage during picnics and parties) at any time.
The exterior dimensions are H20″, W15″” and D27.8″.The interior dimensions of the main compartment with the basket not divided are are H15.8″, W11.2″ and D13.3”.The adjacent small area over the compressor is H8.1″, W11.2″ and D6″. Remember that you will also need to allow sufficient clearance around the unit for the air vents to have proper circulation, you cannot put it in a tight enclosed area or right next to a wall..
You can also purchase an optional transit bag to keep the exterior scratch free or a tie down system if you plan to use it in offroad travel or boating, but we did not consider these necessary so I cannot review them
After a lot of research and reading reviews on several different sites, I decided that it was worth the much higher expense of buying a true refigerator frezzer with a compressor rather than a thermoelectric cooler. A 50 quart unit seemed adequate for personal needs, and units approximately that size seem to be the most popular among casual users who use them for personal trips. I decided to buy the ARB unit, which was neither the cheapest or most expensive. ARB is the largest Australian manufactucter and distributor of 4X4 accessories, and this was originally designed for use in the rugged (and hot) Australian outback. It had gotten excellent reviews and I liked the design, the capabilties and the ease of use of the controls. Amazon had a very opmpetitive price and free shiiping with two day delivery, which guaranteed that it would arrive in sufficient time before our trip so that I could test it for a few days to make sure that it functioned properly.
We used it during our sixteen day trip which totaled over 2300 miles and it performed flawlessly. The unit cooled to the indicated temperature rapidly. It kept our food cold, it kept our drinks cold and even kept the remainder of our subs fresh when we stopped to eat on the road. The power draw was low enough so that the…
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This fridge/freezer is amazing. I live in hot east texas and drive a black truck with black interior. I keep this fridge set on 33 degrees farenhiet. I always have cold food and drinks. If I don’t start my truck for 3 days, the fridge will automatically shut off. I have the cut off voltage on the fridge set to the middle position (can’t remember the exact voltage). Even if the fridge has shut off, it leaves plenty of juice for my truck to start. This was in the dead of summer when my inside truck temps probably exceeded 140 degrees or more, so I’m sure the fridge was running a lot. I drive around 10,000 miles a month, so my truck doesn’t normally sit for 3 days without being started. I love being able to keep meat, leftovers, or whatever in this fridge without having to buy ice, or worry about everything being water logged. I think this fridge should pay for itself in no time. I buy cases of ozarka water to keep in the fridge and this saves me about a dollar every time I grab one ot of the fridge instead of stopping at a convenience store. Not to mention the money I save on power aid, gatorade, and food. I am absolutely impressed with this fridge!
Follow up: 12-5-11
This Fridge continues to perform flawlessly! Not cheap, but one of the best purchases I’ve ever made!

I drive a delivery truck in the Texas heat, and this fridge is the best investment I have ever made. I can’t tell you how much money I have saved by not stopping for food and drinks. Even if I wasn’t saving money, I would probably still buy one. It is so convenient to be able to reach behind the seat and grab a cold drink. I don’t have to worry about ice or loading it in the morning. I just refill the fridge once a week, and I am set.
As a test, I put the fridge in my car to see how long it would last before it shutoff due to low battery voltage. After five days, it was still going strong, but I had to end the test because I needed to drive my car. My point is that I have no worries about leaving it running for long periods of time.
When I bought the fridge, I was a little concerned about how well it would cool in a hot car. It does amazingly well. My car gets up to over 150 degrees when it is sitting in the hot sun, but the fridge stays at the preset 33 degrees all day long.
There are several manufacturers of these 12 volt fridges, and I did a lot of research before I purchased the ARB unit. It is a very well designed fridge, with the removable lid, easy to use controls, and low power usage. My only complaint is the price, but Amazon has the lowest price I’ve found.