Thread: Camping Fridges in D3/D4

Originally Posted by ADMIRAL

as the current level falls the amps will increase

Current is amps, but you probably meant voltage falls...

However the battery will just go flat - been there with my D2.

gday i have had 2 engels and been in Land rover clubs for about 16 years friges are like talking tyres. i have seen most brands fail on extended trips for 1 reason or another - generally something to do with the power connection - the lead chaffs or gets jammed -

my 1 st engel worked really well but i bought the anniversary model several years ago with the thermometer on top. its great - i also have fitted a jayco 11.5 volt cut out switch witch also works quite well.
i have a second thermometer mounted on the front of the frig so i can tell in the morning if the frig has had a good night or not - so far so good

my defender is well travelled with many corrugations under is fridge slide

currently my frig slide is in the back seat - we remanufactured the door hinges to open to 90 degress - works a treat

basically its about how long you want it to run without driving the car
if you drive the car every day even while on a trip - even just for 20 to 30 mins its unlikely you will have an issue - i am expecting that you will have a second battery installed.

defenderly

Peter

AGREE

I use both these fridges - depends on location in the vehicle - the Bushman is longer, the Engel is higher. I have triple batteries - 2 yellow tops and new Trakside kit , which allows me to use the 2 yellow tops and a proportion of the LR start battery to keep the orange juice cool

dj

Originally Posted by unseenone

I do not know why these are so expensive. Most off road gear is quite high, supply and demand I guess. I have heard the Bushman brand is as good or better than Engel. I do not know how their reputation is in Aus but, it seems like it would be a great place to start.


Here is the web site so you can look it over, these would be my two main choices if it was possible.

a. Engel Australia - Portable Fridge-Freezers
b. THE BUSHMAN 12 VOLT FRIDGE FREEZER FOR CAMPING & FOUR WHEEL DRIVE

c. reviews
Engel User Testimonials

Originally Posted by drivesafe

OK, correct me here if I have this wrong.

If you forget and leave your fridge running, will this not flatten the battery if the fridge does not have a low voltage cut out?

PLEASE NOTE, I am not posting a bit of scare mongering, I would like to know if there is or is not some form of low voltage protection when you remove the relay.

The reason I ask, I may have a small device that will add low voltage protection if there is none.

i can confirm engels do not have low voltage cutout..........

i have always thought about fitting something to my two engels, i would hate to think what voltage my batteries have been down to

would be interested to see what you have

Originally Posted by streaky

Here's a picture to illustrate the issue.

Hi - An older post of yours but please could you tell which Relay you have taken out and replaced with the jumper. What else did it affect?
Thanks
Chris ( UK 2011 D4 )

Can’t beat this fridge for the money... Secop compressor (which you want)


60L Camping Fridge/Freezer | 88 Can Capacity | Secop Compressor | 12v/240v | Adventure Kings - 4WD Supacentre

I've got a similar fridge, really cheap that I bought so I could see how much I used it before I bought an Engel. That was 6 years ago. Occasionally it won't turn off and will run the battery dead if I don't notice it. If I unplug it regularly it doesn't happen. I'm going to use the reverse light relay I installed in the rear to turn it's power off when reverse is selected. If you get a Kings. You can just buy spare parts for them if you get a silly problem

I have no doubt that I went overkill (my wife definitely thinks so!) but I can advise that it's just possible to fit a 75L WAECO CFX in the back of a 2014 D4 on a fridge slide within a set of drawers with a half height cargo barrier installed. I made the drawers myself with inspiration from others in this forum. It's such a tight fit that the carpet has a crush line from the tail gate trim along the top drawer and along the back of the box from the cargo barrier!! I make use of the sloped gap behind the second row seats and the box to fit a 50L water bladder (not shown in the pictures). Power comes from a second 12V sock installed on the drivers side as part of a traxide dual battery setup which has the new and existing rear 12V sockets connected to the auxiliary deep cycle battery.

20200121_205732.jpgScreenshot_20200606-195522_Gallery.jpg20200127_143952.jpg20200127_144050.jpg

Cheers,
Glenn