Car Freezer and Refrigerator

Submitted by themadgardener on Mon, 05/27/2024 - 00:00

For many years I traveled with a traditional cooler and was able to take week long trips without much of a problem. However, for longer trips or for when the weather was particularly hot, it became necessary to buy new ice and repack. When traveling I prefer to focus on seeing and enjoying the sights rather than spending time getting ice and repacking coolers!

After a bit of research I found the BougeRV 12V Portable Refrigerator 53 Quart Car Freezer Fridge on Amazon. I chose this unit for the following reasons:

  • Large size allows for a weeks worth of either frozen food or refrigerated food
  • Not too large where I can't move it when it is full
  • I specifically avoided dual zone units - wanted to keep it simple. Depending on what I have the temperatures set at its either a freezer or a refrigerator. Also, going with one dual zone unit would be a fairly large unit that would be difficult to move.
  • No Bluetooth. I work in Information Technology and enjoy using it but to this day I do not understand why a refrigerator/freezer needs to be connected to anything but a power source.
  • Works off of standard 12 V batteries (you can plug it into the car's DC outlet or separate 12 V battery) along with adapters to plug into a standard wall socket.

Having these units proved to be a game changer as it now allows me to pack just about anything I want, as long as there is room. On our standard two week trips I pack foods that likely would not fair well in a standard cooler: chicken nuggets, pot pies, chicken strips, fish sticks, and the list goes on. Food that does not take long to bake or cook with the Camping Stove/Oven I bring with but the kids enjoy. Also, for shorter trips I do not worry about over packing as the food will stay frozen!

For long trips, I purchased Large Tote that the units can sit on top of and I have the doors facing the front of the van. This way there is just enough room to access the contents! Also, I put food and clothes in the totes for the second half the trip. That way, when the trip is half over, I move the coolers and change things over (dirty clothes into one tote and often souvenirs in the other) as I do not want to move the coolers more than I have too!

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