Best cooler / refrigerator system for Bronco camping?

[Leilani]

Happy (almost) Independence Day,

'm heading out for my first Bronco camping trip and wondering what you recommend for a cooler/refridgeration system. It's going to be in the 90s for several days so I'm thinking something that can hold dry ice + regular ice and/or a refridgeration system that is compatible with a 2023 Big Bend. In the absence of an electrical refridgeration system, I'm thinking a main cooler 52 qt or greater plus a drink cooler. Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated.

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[RagnarKon]

Two approaches:

1. Buy a good well insulated cooler and use ice (dry ice or otherwise). Cheaper up front, but you'll be buying ice until the end of time.
2. Buy a 12 Volt powered cooler, and power it with your Bronco and/or battery pack.

I went with the latter, got tired of buying ice. Various companies make 12 volt coolers... Dometic, ARB, Blizzard Box, ICECO, Anker, etc. The two most well-known are probably ICECO and Dometic.

And various companies make battery packs... Anker, Jackery, BLUETTI, Ecoflow, etc. Most battery packs allow you to charge from your vehicle using the power port in the back of the Bronco, and also with solar panels when your Bronco is not running. You can also go with a more advance setup that involves installing batteries permanently in your Bronco, but for most people that's probably overkill.

Personally I have a Dometic CFX3 55IM, and an Anker C1000. If I was buying again today I would probably buy a Dometic CFX3 45 and Anker C800—slightly smaller than what I bought to better fit in the Bronco. But I was shopping Black Friday sales and what not, and the larger units were on sale.

 

[hellahella]

Iceco JP50

 

[josh_]

Two approaches:

1. Buy a good well insulated cooler and use ice (dry ice or otherwise). Cheaper up front, but you'll be buying ice until the end of time.
2. Buy a 12 Volt powered cooler, and power it with your Bronco and/or battery pack.

I went with the latter, got tired of buying ice. Various companies make 12 volt coolers... Dometic, ARB, Blizzard Box, ICECO, Anker, etc. The two most well-known are probably ICECO and Dometic.

And various companies make battery packs... Anker, Jackery, BLUETTI, Ecoflow, etc. Most battery packs allow you to charge from your vehicle using the power port in the back of the Bronco, and also with solar panels when your Bronco is not running. You can also go with a more advance setup that involves installing batteries permanently in your Bronco, but for most people that's probably overkill.

Personally I have a Dometic CFX3 55IM, and an Anker C1000. If I was buying again today I would probably buy a Dometic CFX3 45 and Anker C800—slightly smaller than what I bought to better fit in the Bronco. But I was shopping Black Friday sales and what not, and the larger units were on sale.

How well does the 55IM fit in the back of the Bronco? I have my eyes on one but it has been hard to find details on the fitment.

 

[itwelder]

I have an ICECO JP40 and a big VL75, several years old. Both fantastic even in 100+ desert heat. With an Ecoflow 720Wh battery, they will run 16 - 24 hours. Plug the Ecoflow into the 12v outlet and it keeps it topped up on road trips.
Dry ice has it's dangers, be careful if you go that route.

 

[RagnarKon]

How well does the 55IM fit in the back of the Bronco? I have my eyes on one but it has been hard to find details on the fitment.

8 minute 40 second mark. (Or just look at the thumbnail)

Edit, quick explainer— The CFX3 45 is roughly the same size as the 55IM, only slightly smaller. The reason why I wish I would have gotten the CFX3 45 is because the hinge is on the short side rather than the long side of the cooler. Would have made it a lot easier to open the cooler while it was packed in the Bronco. (If you have a fridge slide, moot point.)

 

[brkdncr]

Iceco vl45 in a 2dr here. It’s a tad big but I make it work.

I paired it with the smallest ecoflow river 2 and some solar panels. Stays charged when driving and i use it almost every week in the summer to get groceries.

Ecoflow and others now make coolers with a built in battery/solar generator. I’d consider those if I were buying today.

 

[NORCALGXP]

Less expensive than all the rest. @Squatch Moving a friend's refrigerator in the back of the Bronco.

 

[contented]

I have a SetPower PT-45, about $350 these days. I keep the smaller compartment at 16 degrees, the larger at 32. Originally bought it to get away from ice while traveling. It soon began riding everywhere with us. The large compartment will hold a Costco vacuum pack of three full racks of rIbs. Adding a small Bluetti AC50B power station, around $275 on sale, fits our needs perfectly and will power the frig for almost 24 hours if need be. Power station supports pass through charging so on multi day cross county trips, frig stays in the car at night on battery power and battery recharges while driving the next day. Super convenient.

 

[Jmanly]

Happy (almost) Independence Day,

'm heading out for my first Bronco camping trip and wondering what you recommend for a cooler/refridgeration system. It's going to be in the 90s for several days so I'm thinking something that can hold dry ice + regular ice and/or a refridgeration system that is compatible with a 2023 Big Bend. In the absence of an electrical refridgeration system, I'm thinking a main cooler 52 qt or greater plus a drink cooler. Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Check out BougeRV refrigerators. I have 3 (different sizes) and have been very happy. Oldest is now 3+ years old with thousands of hours and still woks like new

 

[Gypsy]

Happy (almost) Independence Day,

'm heading out for my first Bronco camping trip and wondering what you recommend for a cooler/refridgeration system. It's going to be in the 90s for several days so I'm thinking something that can hold dry ice + regular ice and/or a refridgeration system that is compatible with a 2023 Big Bend. In the absence of an electrical refridgeration system, I'm thinking a main cooler 52 qt or greater plus a drink cooler. Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated.

We went on 10,000 mile, six week camping trip out west to see National Parks, state parks, Moab, side trips, and anything else I could find.

We took our, Jackery 1000, and a Bodega 34 qt refrigerator/freezer, 12 volt. It definitely was the best thing to have on our trip. It kept our food cold and the freezer worked great. We kept small ice packs in the freezer to use for our food we took on the trails.

Our trip was in September, 2024. We still use it all the time.

 

[Jamyers77]

I just recently went w/ a BougeRV 42qt fridge and have an Ecoflow Pro River 2. I charge the PPS, while running the fridge off of it. I attempted to run th fridge straight off the trunk 12v, but found it didn't work(even on eco). I previously had an issue trying to charge a different pps straight off that plug.

I ended up going into the Ecoflow app and
lowering the amps for dc charging and it worked like a charm. I looked into getting a Pecron/Bluetti car charger, but I think I can save the $$ now by using the smaller Eco Pro to charge the larger pps and fridge for longer w/ the camper when boondocking/etc.

 

[Mjasi3]

Running > back seat AC to > Anker Battery > DC output to > ICECO 40. AC charges the battery while running. ICECO draws from battery all the time. When stopped, the battery is fully charged and provides more than enough power for overnight usage, usually have 30-40% remaining.

 

[Jmanly]

I just recently went w/ a BougeRV 42qt fridge and have an Ecoflow Pro River 2. I charge the PPS, while running the fridge off of it. I attempted to run th fridge straight off the trunk 12v, but found it didn't work(even on eco). I previously had an issue trying to charge a different pps straight off that plug.

I ended up going into the Ecoflow app and
lowering the amps for dc charging and it worked like a charm. I looked into getting a Pecron/Bluetti car charger, but I think I can save the $$ now by using the smaller Eco Pro to charge the larger pps and fridge for longer w/ the camper when boondocking/etc.

Do you have BougeRV battery that goes into the fridge? I have it and set the battery protection on the fridge to medium and leave it plugged into the Bronco. When the car battery starts to go down, the BougeRV battery takes over. Just got back from a week long trip and never a problem

 

[murphtron]

Do you have BougeRV battery that goes into the fridge? I have it and set the battery protection on the fridge to medium and leave it plugged into the Bronco. When the car battery starts to go down, the BougeRV battery takes over. Just got back from a week long trip and never a problem

I also have the BougeRV with their battery that fits into the top slot in the fridge. Had it for 1.5yrs and many off and on-road trips. It works very well overall.

Sometimes the cigarette plug cable from the battery to the fridge comes unplugged in rough terrain. The fridge beeps when this happens. Easy to notice and check.

It does not have the build quality of the Dometic. But is considerably cheaper. I wasn’t totally convinced I’d appreciate the fridge so didn’t want to invest in quality. So far happy with the BougeRV.

The tie down anchors on the BougeRV are light plastic. I fully expect them to break. But they haven’t yet. And I always use the tie downs; all four of them to ensure even tension and ensure longevity.

The battery capacity is small. At the time it was cheap compared with a larger Jackery etc (battery prices have come down a lot since). And it doesn’t take up storage space. But the battery is only useful for trips where you drive everyday. It’s not “base camp storage”. The battery will last overnight into the next day. But that’s it. It fully charges during the next day’s drive.

I’m happy with the limitations for the price. Frankly I’m surprised it still works. But it does! I will replace it when it dies. And probably get the Dometic35 or 45.

this is the BougeRV I bought.
https://a.co/d/dCGlzuw

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