Principles of Overlanding 12V Fridges: Choosing the Right Size and Power for Real-World Travel

About this episode

Scott and Matt discuss the principles of choosing the right size and power for overland 12V fridges.

This episode of The Overland Journal Podcast , hosts Scott and Matt discuss choosing overland 12V fridges over coolers, advocating for the smallest necessary size (25–35L for one/two, 45–55L for small families) to avoid heavy slides and oversized units (like 80L for just drinks). They compare chest/drawer fridges to less efficient door-opening models, emphasize that cooldown speed matters mainly for warm groceries, and outline testing metrics: power draw, temperature accuracy, and warm-up time. They review brands, noting Engel's reliability issues, Dometic's value, National Luna's build quality/higher power use, and the heavy but high-performing ARB Elements 60L, plus Iceco and EcoFlow's battery/app features, promoting upcoming Overland Journal test results.

People in this episode

Hosts: Scott, Matt

Topics covered

• overlanding
• 12V fridges
• travel gear
• cooling solutions
• product reviews

Keywords

• overlanding
• 12V fridges
• coolers
• power draw
• temperature accuracy
• cooldown speed
• brand reviews

Mentioned in this episode

Products: 12V fridges, coolers, Engel, Dometic, National Luna, ARB Elements 60L, Iceco, EcoFlow

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