Hi Darren, Engel is the only camping fridge I would consider. But I would shop around for pricing and dont rely on camping shops for the lowest prices. I see in your intro post you are from south east QLD. Ive bought several Engel fridges over the years from a truck dealership in Toowoomba. A lot cheaper than camping shops!!!! If you are near Toowoomba at least try Westco truck sales. You can haggle with them a bit more than a purely retail outlet like bcf. You could save a few pennies and buy a cheaper brand but what do you do when your fridge dies in the middle of nowhere?? Its all good to have a fantastic warranty, in the meantime you lose your food on your way back to a city to get a new one !! Regards Pete.

try tentworld i have found there prices on engel very good and if bcf is closer for you they price match tentworlds price and deals ie travel bag included no arguments at all .

Thanks for ya feed back, plan on traveling for many moons to come and as the old saying goes you get what you pay for...

-- Edited by aimless traveler on Wednesday 16th of October 2019 06:28:10 PM

I went down the same road a dozen years ago; and at a BBQ one night whilst still procrastinating, one of my mates said quite sharply: "For .... Sake Hetho, just get an engel.

I did, and it has never let me down.

Hottest we have been is 48 in Port Hedland, lowest 2 in Tassy. Stays in the car at all times when travelling, so the temps will be a lot hotter if we are out somewhere and the car is locked up.

I have a mate with another popular brand and an Engel, and he wishes now that he had of purchased 2 x Engels.

Regards.

Hetho

We've had an Evakool for ages and it seems bullet proof. Made on the Sunshine Coast not in some overseas factory.

Pete, dimensions, amount of control, type of feedback, lidded or drawer, daisy-chained power all affect usability. In my case, I couldn't open my fridge in it's original location unless it featured a lid that opened in different directions. The fixed lid most fridges offer would have been unusable. No offence to the OP but naming two brands without knowing models and their features is asking for a reinforcing of an existing thought process. Human nature to seek reinforcement. Also human nature to defend our choices.

Really touched a nerve didn't I ? And I haven't even mentioned the Engel that failed within 30km of pickup. Two questions to ponder, no need to reply. 1) if all you care about is a cold fridge, why insist on a Engel ? and 2) thoughts on a Toyota tax ?

About 4 months ago I bought a 40 ltr dometic at BCF for $600 with $100 gift card. ( club members) Seems to be working well.

Had a CF50 Waeco for the past 11 years, taken all around Australia in the back of the Cruiser and never let us down.

The original Engel was renowned for it longevity, but that is not a guarantee that the current models will last the same, especially the new plastic one. I would hope the metal (read expensive ones) are still made the same.

You just have to get what suits your space and budget, and hope.

just to make your thought process more difficult.
I've never had a 12v fridge die on met yet (touch wood) , have had a few waecos, a cheap Giant (not so cheap now), a dometic and a vitrifrigo.
Not had an issue with any of them (all purchased 2nd hand too) . In fact, with all my mates I go 4wding with, I've not once heard of anyone with issues with their fridges, from engels all the way down to the cheaper aldi fridges.

If one of em had a crap one, they'd be whining about it, that's for sure.

Haven't had a beer handed to me out of any of them yet,  warm enough to knock back


True, you do get what you pay for but I think there's a break even point and then you're just paying more than you have to.
If it makes people feel warm and fuzzy to have a specific name on the side, then so be it.  

I'd say, just pick one at least of a branch you've heard of before, that fits where you need it to go and something you like the look of. 

Depending on your set up though, I'd also be checking out the power ratings/specs on them. 

Some can be much more power hungry than others. Look for real world tests though, not just what's on the website. 

 

cheers Brett 

Well Im sorry I recommended Engel fridges. Judging by the replies Im just lucky none of my four Engels has ever failed. One of them(in my work ute) rarely ever gets turned off. Cant see myself ever commenting on this type of thing ever again. And cant help but wonder what this Toyota tax bull**** is about. This is a thread about camping fridges. Anyhow you live and learn. Regards Pete.

We all learn what we learn from the road traveled, for each of us that experience is diffrent i thank you all for your feed back advice and experience.

Cheers Darren...

One other thing, we have a Waeco 60ltr approx. 15 yrs old, one of the earlier ones before the 240vac was incorporated inside the unit. Hopeless without it outer jacket when in the heat, but fine with the jacket and will even freeze everything if the temp button accidently gets pushed so it selects a lower temp set point. We ended up taping a 50 cent piece over it after freezing the milk and tomatoes ... but the beer was excellent  It did have problems if the battery voltage got low, even with the silly cigarette lighter socket with internal fuse removed and replaced with a Merritt (Hella) plug (a must for any thing that has a cigarette lighter plug on it) but once we upgraded to the lithium battery the voltage drop was a thing of the past and it has worked faultlessly since.

 

T1 Terry 

denmonkey wrote:

---

just to make your thought process more difficult.
I've never had a 12v fridge die on met yet (touch wood) , have had a few waecos, a cheap Giant (not so cheap now), a dometic and a vitrifrigo.
Not had an issue with any of them (all purchased 2nd hand too) . In fact, with all my mates I go 4wding with, I've not once heard of anyone with issues with their fridges, from engels all the way down to the cheaper aldi fridges.

If one of em had a crap one, they'd be whining about it, that's for sure.

Haven't had a beer handed to me out of any of them yet,  warm enough to knock back


True, you do get what you pay for but I think there's a break even point and then you're just paying more than you have to.
If it makes people feel warm and fuzzy to have a specific name on the side, then so be it.  

I'd say, just pick one at least of a branch you've heard of before, that fits where you need it to go and something you like the look of. 

Depending on your set up though, I'd also be checking out the power ratings/specs on them. 

Some can be much more power hungry than others. Look for real world tests though, not just what's on the website. 

 

cheers Brett 

---

 Brilliant answer Brett! :)

We've had Waeco, Evakool, Companion & even a cheap Aldi 40L Waeco knock off; none have failed. We just took our cheapie from Aldi with us up the Oodnadatta Track, Mt. Dare, Old Andado,  Santa Teresa to Alice, then home. It came with us last year up to Wanaaring, the Hamilton Gate, Thargo, Quilpie, Windorah, Haddon Cnr, Betoota, Birdsville & Alice via the Plenty Hwy, then home. No dramas! Same goes for the other fridges we own, or have owned. They came with us on similar trips & we had zero fridge problems :)