How big is yours???... Fridge talk...

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

Folks - after my 45 litre fridge died early this year after years of service, I need to find a replacement. I am trying to decide between 60 and 80l. There's me, SWMBO and two teenage boys in the fam. 45l was good for food but no room for drinks. So, I think 60 is a pretty good size but then 80l is superb (power draw etc doesn't really bother me).

So my key questions are:
1 - what size fridge are you running + brand/model
2 - what size is your travelling group
3 - does it fit in rear of the 120s ok (particularly an 80l)
4 - do you find it adequate (ie can you fit enough beer + food + everything else and for how long)


I am getting a small 3-way for the camper, but I would like to be able to satisfy most with the car fridge for shorter trips.

Hoping to buy this week so thanks in advance for input!!

[Heath74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heath74]

50l waeco.
Me and two boys 8&9 yrold
Yep it fits.
A week easy ten days at a pinch.

Add a 27 l engel when travelling with the boss too.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

2 x 47litre Engels. One on freeze, one with Twozone top extension. Keeps me and the missus going for ages. Well, I do have to top up the beer on a daily basis. The freezer goes onto the fridge slide on the drawers and the other goes on the floor behind passenger seat where I remove the seats for the big trips.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

We always have the 47ltr ARB in the back which is great for shorter trips upto a week or so with 2 adults and teenage son. On longer trips we add the Autofridge 39ltr in the second row seat area running as a freezer. On our recent trip we took all our meat for the entire 6 weeks cryovaced and frozen from home. Between those 2 we have heaps of space.

Cheers Andrew

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

We're still eating steaks and other meat that I froze for our June/July extravaganza.

[kav Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close kav]

1x40ltr Waeco ,+ 1x18 ltr Waeco = 1 food , 1 booze or 1 freezer , 1 fridge , you can remove one or both it I also have the console fridge which holds a six pack . . Just me .or the missus as well

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

For big trips i use an ARB 47ltr for drinks etc on fridge mode and also a 40 ltr engel as a freezer for all the frozen foods. It works well for my misses and me.

Cheers Derek

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

We have a 52L NL Weekender and a 60 L three way that only is used on gas. This has looked after five adults for the last few years. The NL is fitted to the back of the 150 and fitted more easily in the 120. Pics somewhere in the 120 home made drawers thread. We now cryovac meat so both fridges just run at low temps and not one fridge and one freezer like we used to.

As the Rodeo is getting used independently these days by my sons I have just today bought a 60L ARB fridge for the Rodeo. No idea what it's like since 'in stock' wasn't the same as ARB or I thought so they are dropping it off at work tomorrow. I bought this after doing a fair amount of research which was supported by Craig and Robert.

Like Dave we generally bring meat back after the camp.



One of the pics to give you an idea.

[Brains Find all posts View Profile Close Brains]

I have a 47l ARB in the back of the 150 which we just used for our three weeks up the Cape. We took all our meat for the three weeks. There's 2 adults and two boys (11 & 8) in our family. I've also got a 30l Waeco which we will take in the Camper or we can run as s second fridge in the 150.
My mate with a GU Patrol runs a 110l waeco which has the same footprint as the 80l waeco.

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it. I like the idea of running two smaller fridges, but with the two boys who could kill each other at the best of times, I can't put one in the middle row because there's no room. In the back, I'm concerned that if I have two on top of the draws, then there's not much room for other things like clothes etc. A 60L coupled with a 3-way when needed is, I think, the best solution. The 80L is a big beast, though admittedly is only higher than a 60 in the engel range, for example. The footprint is the same, at 800+ in depth, so it will pretty much be up against the door, and up against the cargo barrier. My concern is that this is too big. Doesn't seem like many of you guys are running 60L units, so I'm guessing there's a reason for that??

Brains - how many drinks can you fit in something that size (47l) when you are packed with food? Did you just put a few cans in at a time? The boys are always drinking, but I like at least a 6-pack to be cold just in case I need more than one...

[Palmer Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Palmer]

Good topic. I'm trying to decide what size to go as well. After surviving with a borrowed 40L Engel for 3 weeks with 2 adults and 2 kids, I thought something with a bit more room would be nice. While it worked a treat, I got sick of the shuffle of water bottles / cans into the fridge to cool and constantly needing to remember to repace every drink that came out. I'm thinking of the 60 or 80L ARB at the moment (although those cheap evakools look interesting at half the price).

[Heath74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heath74]

There is a 60l waeco with the same footprint at the 40 & 50 l but I thought it was just too tall to really acces.

[Tazdevil Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close Tazdevil]

Hi iantz

I run an 80L Waeco in my 120, its great for space and carry's enough Drink and Food for the four of us and most of the time for the plus ones that like to come with us as well.
I do find that sometimes its to big for the short day or overnight trips but usually we just fill it up with more drink.

I have some pics in my For Sale (http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...120-Rear-Draws) thread if you want to have a look (Sorry its not meant to be a plug)

[iantz Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close iantz]

Hi iantz

I run an 80L Waeco in my 120, its great for space and carry's enough Drink and Food for the four of us and most of the time for the plus ones that like to come with us as well.
I do find that sometimes its to big for the short day or overnight trips but usually we just fill it up with more drink.

I have some pics in my For Sale (http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...120-Rear-Draws) thread if you want to have a look (Sorry its not meant to be a plug)

Mate - that's perfect info for me. Did you have to take the handle off the back side of the fridge to fit it in? Or are both handles on? Including handles, the fridge is 940mm so that's as long as I'd ever be thinking about going!

Heath74 - I was thinking the same. Those 'deep' 60L fridges look like they might be a pain in the arse. Always digging to the bottom to get what you want.

Palmer - you mean the evakool RV range? It's a 2 year warranty, and at that price, I am VERY tempted. With someone like BCF backing up the warranty/sale, it's not as dodgy as buying a no-name from an online seller (who'se also a no-name). My last fridge was a generic and it lasted me about 7 years. I think it cost 300 at the time and I pushed it hard in the summer. It died in the end, but I got my monies worth no problems...

[Tazdevil Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close Tazdevil]

Mate - that's perfect info for me. Did you have to take the handle off the back side of the fridge to fit it in? Or are both handles on? Including handles, the fridge is 940mm so that's as long as I'd ever be thinking about going!

Yes I took off the rear handle and have replaced it with a length of chain welded onto brackets that bolt into the original handle bolts, this means that I can still pull the fridge in and out with ease.