Car fridges: What to look for

The act of keeping your food and beverages cold while on road trips and/or camping out of your vehicle has come a long way from “the olden days” (i.e. the ’70s and ’80s) of relying on the melted soggy debris of an ice-packed esky.

That was pretty much the standard of portable camping-related refrigeration when I was a kid. (Ah, those were the days…)

Now, a car fridge, car fridge freezer, or portable camping fridge, is a sophisticated but user-friendly contraption with an internal thermometer, internal lighting, multiple programmable settings, and more.

They run off power from your car’s battery or, better yet, off your car’s dual-battery system. Car fridges come in a huge range of sizes (small, not so small, large, and huge), styles, and prices (from dirt cheap to bloody expensive).

A portable fridge for car is an invaluable addition to your car-camping set-up because it provides a comprehensive and flexible solution to the problem of maintaining fresh and refrigerated food and drinks while away from a household power source.

A portable fridge is an invaluable addition to your car-camping set-up.

The car fridge market in Australia is huge and full of every portable fridge, and portable fridge freezer for sale you could ever imagine, and at various price points and, as with all products, of varying degrees of quality. There's something for everyone, whether you’re keen for a mini car fridge that might sit between driver and front passenger, or some other kind of bigger 12V car fridge, perhaps mounted on a car fridge slide* in the rear cargo area of your SUV or in the tub of your ute. (*Scroll down to “What is a Car Fridge Slide?” for more details on those.)

Most popular portable fridge compressors run on electricity by way of a 12V supply (from your car battery or caravan set-up for your caravan fridge, or solar panels) or 230V mains power, and those 12V car fridges are the ones we’ll focus on in this yarn. 

The best car fridge or portable car fridge for you depends on several crucial factors (including what size of a portable fridge or fridge freezer you need, what power source you will mostly use etc) so, in an effort to take the confusion out of finding your own ultimate portable fridge, here’s our guide to car fridges.

What size of car fridge is right for you?

Small will suit some campers, while big, bigger and biggest will suit others.

Director of Melbourne-based Aussie company Bushman Fridges, Gary Kottmann, told CarsGuide: “We always recommend getting the smallest fridge you can get away with, rather than the biggest fridge you can fit in the car. 

“For most campers, something between a 40L and 60L fridge is a good size to start with. This makes the fridge big enough to hold plenty of goods, but not too heavy to carry, and it won’t take up too much precious space in the car or use a lot of power.”

According to Gary, anything in range of a 15L–25L small chest fridge “is considered small and is best suited for day-to-day use or up to a weekend for one person.”

A 40–60L (medium chest fridge) is the most popular size for camping for a young family or couple. 

“You can live out of a fridge this size for two or three days so it's perfect for a long weekend,” he said.

An 80L+ (large chest fridge) “is designed for longer term camping or larger families”.

“Anything over 80 litres is great for lots of storage, but keep in mind the extra weight when deciding where the fridge will be placed,” he said.

Fridge & Freezer vs Fridge

Now, what internal configuration will suit your lifestyle needs? Single zone (one section which can be used as a fridge or freezer only) or dual-zone (two sections which can be used as a fridge or freezer).

Single-zone fridges – which have one main compartment and can be used as a fridge or as a freezer – are the most popular type and are usually set at 4˚C as a large fridge. 

Single-zone fridges – which have one main compartment and can be used as a fridge or as a freezer.

“If you cryovac your meat - removing the oxygen from the packaging to extend the shelf life - you can keep this in the fridge section,” Gary said.

“However, if you decide that you want to have access to a fridge and a freezer at the same time - rather than one or the other - a dual-zone fridge is for you. A dual-zone fridge is usually divided into two separate sections. Each section can be used as a fridge or freezer."

How to power your camping fridge

If you run your fridge off your vehicle’s starter battery, you run the risk of draining that main battery. To avoid that – and for a better 12V fridge arrangement – you’ll need at least one auxiliary battery, which will run your fridge and any other 12v accessories, which is why many campers have a dual-battery set-up in their vehicle. Also, to keep everything charged and operating it’s a good idea to have a battery charger as well or battery pack, so read our battery-related yarns in Adventure for guidance on those subjects. 

So, what’s the best battery for a car fridge?

Gary, of Bushman Fridges, said campers need a deep-cycle battery. 

“These kinds of batteries are specifically designed to run appliances such as fridges."

“Batteries are rated in Amp hours (Ah). It is important for you to know that a deep cycle battery should only be drained up to a maximum of 60% of its rated output. 

“For this reason we generally recommend a 120Ah battery for a medium-size camping fridge that has a rated usage of 1Ah per hour. This will get you three days of running time without flattening the battery completely (1Ah per hour x three days = 72Ah).”

ARB offers a fridge freezer power pack which features a 15Ah lithium battery for up to a claimed 18 hours runtime.

When you’re out and about your camping fridge relies on 12-volt power, from a dual battery set-up in your vehicle (again, to avoid draining your vehicle’s starter battery), as well as power from a solar panel if you’re on a longer-distance and -duration trip, so you’ll effectively have a solar fridge or solar-powered fridge.

Your choice of solar panel is important if you’re looking to pursue a bit of solar powered fridge camping.

“For a 120Ah battery, we recommend around 200 to 250 Watts (W) of solar panels,” Gary said. “This will easily keep your battery charged even on partly cloudy days. The other option for charging your second battery is using a small petrol generator with a battery charger, although this is a more expensive option than solar. 

“That’s why many savvy campers who are looking to keep their costs down now choose to go down the solar power route.”

If you’re camping at a powered campsite, plug your fridge into a mains power outlet.

For more on the right solar panels for camping fridges, check out this guide. 

Gary said campers should seek out an efficiently designed fridge. 

“Look for a lot of air vents! The key to an efficient fridge is getting out the heat, so the more ventilation around the compressor area the better. 

“It’s also a good idea to check the manufacturer’s specifications for average power usage. This is measured in Amp Hours (Ah) and is usually averaged over a 24-hour period. 

“Ideally, a good 40L to 60L camping fridge will use less than 1.5 Ah per hour, averaged over 24 hours at 25˚ ambient temperature.”

A 12V fridge doesn’t need to run all day long, so switch it off during the cool of the night to conserve power and if you’re camping at a powered campsite, plug your fridge into a mains power outlet.

What is a Car Fridge Slide?

Take your car fridge game to the next level with a fridge slide. Systems may differ but the principle remains the same: the fridge slide is bolted into your vehicle and provides a secure and stable base on which the fridge can be slid backwards (towards the rear of the vehicle, so you can access food and drinks) and forwards (locked back into place for travel).

High-quality examples have a flat mounting base and roll fore and aft on sealed roller bearings, aimed at smooth operation and preventing dust ingress. They have locking mechanisms so the fridge can be locked into place.

Take your car fridge game to the next level with a fridge slide.

There are even examples, such as the MSA 4x4 fridge drop slide, which can be slid out from its secure locked position, and lowered 30cm in one motion, enabling full access to your food and beverages.

The good news is that there is also a stack of fridge-related accessories, including canvas transit bags, fridge barriers (strong steel mesh cages in which to house car fridges), full extension fridge slides (designed to carry 120kg of load – 80kg on the front tray and 40kg on the rear tray), and more.

How much does a portable camping fridge cost?

Car fridges range in price from $200 or so for a basic, no-frills 20-litre fridge freezer, to just under $900 for a 15-litre Bushman Roadie portable fridge freezer and through to a 60-litre stainless-steel weatherproof ARB Elements fridge/freezer, “the ultimate 4WDer’s fridge”, according to ARB, which has a $1600-plus price-tag, and upwards to $2500 for an 85-litre fibreglass Evakool Infinity fridge/freezer.

Portable fridge freezer brands include ARB, Bushman Fridges, Dometic/Waeco, Engel, Luna, XTM Kings, and more.

Where to buy

Beyond the usual suspects – Aldi, BCF, Bunnings and Anaconda – it’s well worth checking out mobs such as Bushman Fridges, ARB, Ironman 4x4 and others for top-quality products.

Maintenance/repairs

Your portable camping fridge will cop a real hiding during its ‘life’ but specific warranty and maintenance terms and conditions will depend on your fridge maker and supplier.

We recommend that car fridge repairs be undertaken by authorised and specialised personnel.

Gary said a long warranty is a clear sign of a manufacturer’s confidence in a product. 

“It also means you’ll have peace of mind should something go wrong on your trip. While no one wants that, it pays to be prepared for any possible situation when camping. We would recommend a three-year warranty as a minimum. Anything less than this could be a risk.”

Reputable businesses and brands have well-established processes and sales and service networks in place, so that should make your decision about which brand to buy a bit easier.

There are plenty of portable, camping or car fridges for sale online but remember cheap does not mean cheerful, so do your research, read a car fridge review (or 100 of them) from reputable sources, ask advice from those who know (i.e. mates who camp a lot) … and you should be right.

Note: Thanks to the staff at Bushman Fridges for their assistance with this yarn.