Fridge Size - advice

[Jkblmm]

Hi All,

Looking like we will bite the bullet and look to buy a 240/12v fridge. Really keen on the CFX65.(Not the DZ version)

From a size point of view , what is your experience/recommendation for a family of 4.Typical trip long weekend to max 5 days.
Is the 65 size OK , fitting all your cold stuff in etc
Is bigger better? The 95 DMZ looks really nice as well :-)

For those with a 240/12 fridge set up , are you still taking an esky for drinks , or do you manage to get by with just the fridge.

Any other advice....


Cheers  ,

Jason

[J.R]

Get the biggest fridge that will fit in the intended space.

[SambOz]

Hows big's the fridge at home ? - re a family of four, 75l minimum I reckon, and judicious usage
to get "everyone" used to that volume of available space .

And talk about sacrifices a bloke has to make, maybe only six cans in and replace as you remove one. 

Vacuum packing perishables is absolutely the best thing going and will keep meat, fish & cheeses etc fresh for extended periods of time. Vacuum packing produces nice flat packs and our vacuum packer runs off the 300W  inverter so can be used anywhere.

[muzza01]

We have a 95 lt fridge. It was adequate when we were a family of 4 but perfect size for me and the Mrs. I know most people could get away with a smaller fridge but I would hate to downsize to a smaller one.

[Bird]

there is no right answer. some get away with a 40ltr.. others struggle with a 75+. also depends how much of what you have in it...
take a drink out, put one back in and you can get away with smaller

but some big capacity units are HUGE..

[chisel]

As said, some survive on 40L for family of 4.  So many variables.
65L is a good size though - and more 'manageable' than the 95L (obviously smaller but also a bit lighter for moving - and the 95 doesn't have a fridge slide for it yet).

That said, I have a 92L ... but we are a family of 5.  The 92 is probably 10L more than we ever really need.

[isportfish]

From our experiences (family of 4) it depends on where you go and for how long. Before we had campers we did car based camping in tents and coped with a 50l. Typically were shorter stays and topped up while moving between destinations. Now we do longer stays in one place with camper and mostly further from civilisation and require more cool space. Still have 50l but also have a 40l to cope. Having two fridges also works for us storing items with different cooling requirements.

[Hoyks]

I get by with a 40L Engel, it is usually myself and 2 kids. I mainly chose a 40L as I had a mid sized wagon and 40L took up a lot of the room. I borrowed a 65L Engel and that took up all the room.

Before this one it was the Mrs and I and we had a 35L in the back of a Suzuki Sierra with all our gear... and 2 dogs. I could fire up the old Engel, now I have the room, but don't really have the need.

You adapt.

Not everything has to be in the fridge all the time. We drink from a 2L cordial bottle that gets topped up and put back in the fridge. Long life milk in 2L cartons that goes in the fridge when opened, 2 cans of beer and 2 cans of soft drink go in the top and are replaced when used. Meat and butter down the bottom. Veggies go in a cooler bag wrapped in damp paper and generally end up in the back seat and survive OK.

But it gets us by, we can go 4 or 5 days comfortably before seeking civilization to restock.

[Coolblue80]

We are a family of 4 and we have an 80l fridge. We still use a small esky for drinks, although for the amount of ice I've bought, I could have got another fridge. Fridge is chockas at the start of any trip, but obviously empties throughout the trip. Smart packing and vacuum sealing helps.
Cheers, Mike.

[peanut2]

We run an 80L or a 50L.  Reason for these sizes over the 110 and 60L is that they have the same footprint, but the larger are taller fridges.  I figured I did not want a fridge where we have a 2L milk with a heap of food on top which we have to remove to get to the milk.  So I went with a wine bottle or milk bottle height to avoid having to unpack and repack everytime we wanted to get to the milk or wine.

Peanut

[Bird]

getting meat crovaced is  your saviour

[MDS69]

We have done a 2 week trip with 2 x adults and 2 X kids 8 and 5 with a 47L ARB fridge and fairly recently did a 2 week trip 2 X adults and 2 X kids now 13 and 10 with a 60L in the vehicle and a 150L in the van. The same as anything, the more room you have the more stuff you have.
If you go the smaller option take milk in 1L long life cartons. Keep two in the fridge and as you use the first one replace it and it will chill while you use the second etc etc.
As mentioned above using the same process as you take a cold drink out replace it with a warm drink.
Again as above vacuum seal meat into meal size portions. Consider tinned veggies instead of fresh and whilst I haven't tried it keep fresh veggies wrapped in newspaper in a foam broccoli box but be aware of fruit fly exclusion zones if travelling. You may again if travelling be able to replenish fresh meat and veg along the way.
We all want the luxuries of home but you dont need the packets of tim tams and yoghurts in the fridge consider other snacks that don't require refrigeration to save space.

[Rumpig]

Another thing to consider is battery usage...having owned both 40 and 80 litre Engle fridges, I can tell you the amount of power they use is vastly different....obviously the bigger fridge using much much more power, especially when it's a combi unit with the seperate freezer section.
We run a 75ltr in the camper and 40ltr in the vehicle...vehicle fridge is just for drinks and for putting lunch stuff in when away from the camper. We could do it with less size, but why compromise if you don't have to is my thinking.

[Brisbane Puff]

We have a 12 volt 50lt upright fitted in the camper.. Installed a fan under the evaporator (sealed computer fan). Fridge works well. Best when filled up. We also have a 50lt freezer. Just came back from seven weeks trip. Held enough meat and stuff for the two of us. (we topped up half way through our trip). At one stage we were way out of any town for over two weeks and didn't touch the can supply except for things like sliced beans, peas, baked beans to go with the bacon for breakfast. We ate well, steak, curries, rissoles, ect and came back with still half a freezer full.

So, I guess that equates to 100lt's...

[Straitened Out]

My advice is to consider the weight of the big ones - they are not easy to move. We have 2 X 45's. The newer one draws little power so it's used as a freezer. The old one uses a bit more juice so it's the fridge. Either one is easy to move even when full.
Cheers
S. O.

[Bill]

For less than a week swmbo and I just use our 40 litre.
Longer than a week and we have just started to use a 35 litre for a freezer as well as the 40L.
All our meat and pre cooked meals are split into meal sized bags and vacuum packed to save space.
Neither of us likes food shopping at the best of times and truly hate it if we're on holiday so we do everything possible to avoid it.
Bill

[Bullant4x4]

We have a 110l and thinking in getting another 89l.
Horses for courses but we love our food.
After chicken gyro, paellas, dips, octopus, sauces, ice cream, pizzas etc, the fridge sure can get full!

[pank]

I have the CFX50 and it has performed well for the past 3 years. We recently purchased a second fridge for the camper and went for the 82l evacool. Chose the evacool because it is not too high which means less food stacked on top of each other.
Problem is the CFX65 is same size as the CFX50 only taller which creates more stacking.

As previously here, choose the one that suits the space you have available.

[edz]

Waeco 50 ltr  has done our family of four  fine for 10 odd years, two week trips no dramas, cryo packed meat frozen to start, replace hot for cold cans etc as used .
Now we are down to three in the camping stakes and planning doing extended touring, so we are looking at getting a 25 ltr fridge /  freezer and use it as a stand alone Freezer, this will give us at a minimum 4 to 6 weeks between top ups if needed.

[Muckinhell]

i used to have a 60ltr trailblazer and it was awsome but very bulky and worse thing was as your time went on the fridge contents diminshed but the refrigerated area was still the same so sold it for 2 x 40ltr evakools. more space but when the contents got low we are able to consolidate into one fridge and shut the other off to save battery power and they are by far easier to handle weight wise.

[GeoffA]

Apart from the power consumption and flexibility thing, 2 smaller fridges, rather than 1 large fridge provides some backup in case of a failure.

[shakey55]

We run a 40 litre Engel as the main fridge and a 21 litre Engel as our freezer. I'm happy with this set up and worked well for us for a long time


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[Jkblmm]

Thanks all - fantastic feedback. Really appreciate all of the comments.
Learnt a lot , picked up some good pointers.

Pulled the trigger on the cfx-65 as it fits the space perfectly. First couple of trips will be powered so all good , then I can gear up for solar/battery etc

Used the Anavonda beat it by 10% so I think I got a bargain. LOL



Cheers Jason

[Jakster1]

Good choice, we have a 40 engel and a 60 ARB. The 40 is too small for our family of 4. It's layout is a small footprint and deeper design. Makes it hard to get stuff out as it requires to stack stuff on top of each other meaning digging to the bottom from time to time.
The 60 is a bigger footprint and shallower which allows you to spread stuff out and not stack as much on top of each other, much more family friendly and easier to use.
The 40 is better in the back of the car as it takes up less room.
We take both where we can,

[Next Chapter]

Some great tips here. Going through same thing atm myself. Absolutely love the CFX 95 but is it overkill for myself, missus and maltese dog 😃