Greetings all,
Lets talk coolboxes 
.
I’m moving over to car transporting from distribution.
My new truck which is a 2013 Volvo FM12 460 Rolfo EGO doesn’t have room for a fridge (as anticipated).
Few questions:
Hope you can offer your views.
Regards
Dometic are the most recognisable brand , have the name as being the best . A coolbox just cools 20- 30 degrees below the surrounding temp , a fridge keeps a set temp . If your wanting to store food all week safely a fridge is really your only option . How much you want to spend and how big you want to go is up to you .
Indel b is another trusted make
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TB31-Portable-Compressor-Refrigerator-Fridge/dp/B06XK59K2K/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2STLV55HFHIDI&keywords=compressor%2Bfridge%2B12%2F24v&qid=1648420731&sprefix=compressor%2Bfridge%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-4&th=1
plenty more on Amazon or Ebay
I’d recommend one that you can run on 12 or 24 volt (12 in the car on the way to the truck) at 24 volts in the truck and also a 240 input so you can run it at home as well. Plenty of choice out there and something for all budgets as well .
Good advice above.
I will just add that although Beefy is correct about coolboxes only keeping a temperature a certain amount below ambient, I have ran one for about 5 years now. Outside of summer it is perfectly fine and even in summer if you point the air con at it while you are driving then it still does a decent job of keeping stuff chilled. I’ve always taken milk, pre-cooked meals, sandwiches and stuff like that for the week and always been fine. I wouldn’t risk taking uncooked meat or anything like that but for what I use it for or even just for having a cold drink to hand in the day or a cold beer at night it’s ideal.
A proper fridge is definitely a better option if you can afford it or are prepared to spend that kind of money but I think I only paid £40 for my cool box and it’s still going strong and suits my needs - also got 12/24 and 240v connection as suggested above.
That’s the one I use, don’t think they make it anymore but there are similar ones.
beefy4605:
Dometic are the most recognisable brand , have the name as being the best . A coolbox just cools 20- 30 degrees below the surrounding temp , a fridge keeps a set temp . If your wanting to store food all week safely a fridge is really your only option . How much you want to spend and how big you want to go is up to you .
Electric Coolboxes | Dometic Dometic United Kingdom
Indel b is another trusted make
https://www.amazon.co.uk/TB31-Portable-Compressor-Refrigerator-Fridge/dp/B06XK59K2K/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2STLV55HFHIDI&keywords=compressor%2Bfridge%2B12%2F24v&qid=1648420731&sprefix=compressor%2Bfridge%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-4&th=1
plenty more on Amazon or Ebay
I’d recommend one that you can run on 12 or 24 volt (12 in the car on the way to the truck) at 24 volts in the truck and also a 240 input so you can run it at home as well. Plenty of choice out there and something for all budgets as well .
Don t buy this.very heavy to lift in cab.And nayway you can t keep frozen and chill food in one section.One from the best what i use was this waecofridges.co.uk/tropicool/tcx21.htm
I tried the Dometic TCX Tropicool, it just about worked ok but the thermoelectric design has a few issues to be aware of: they can only cool to a maximum amount below ambient, so on hot days you’ll find it will struggle to cool to fridge temperatures. Plus if your cab is warmer than ambient because the heater is on or the sun is heating the cab there will be an unhelpful imbalance in the coolbox performance. The other issues are that they are noisy if sleeping near one and also they are relatively power hungry. There’s some quip in camping circles along the lines of “you might get it down to fridge temperature by the time you’ve run out of battery power”. They take quite some time to reach their maximum cooling temperature.
A compressor fridge like the Dometic CFX is much quieter, very fast to cool, can hold a steady low temperature regardless of the ambient temperature and is very quiet and power efficient. Unfortunately they also cost more. The twenty eight litres one might just be enough for a van / couple of nights out, the thirty five litres one is usefully bigger for a truck (but heavier when filled).
Having had both the Tropicool TCX thermoelectric and CFX compressor type fridges they are slightly different products, meeting different needs / preferences / budgets. The former for a driver who is happy with just a cooling rather than a home appliance / true chilled performance and maybe can take it home and plug it in overnight so it doesn’t spend all day getting back down to it’s lowest temperature (which might not be cold enough for you). The latter is probably the better fit for a driver wanting a manufacturer’s style fridge.
crunch13:
Good advice above.I will just add that although Beefy is correct about coolboxes only keeping a temperature a certain amount below ambient, I have ran one for about 5 years now. Outside of summer it is perfectly fine and even in summer if you point the air con at it while you are driving then it still does a decent job of keeping stuff chilled. I’ve always taken milk, pre-cooked meals, sandwiches and stuff like that for the week and always been fine. I wouldn’t risk taking uncooked meat or anything like that but for what I use it for or even just for having a cold drink to hand in the day or a cold beer at night it’s ideal.
A proper fridge is definitely a better option if you can afford it or are prepared to spend that kind of money but I think I only paid £40 for my cool box and it’s still going strong and suits my needs - also got 12/24 and 240v connection as suggested above.
Waeco Mobicool U32 AC/DC Coolbox
That’s the one I use, don’t think they make it anymore but there are similar ones.
I used to use this type of coolbox too when on transporters. Take it home, load it up, hoist it onto the passenger seat tied in with a bungee and away you go.
Not hard on electric either so I kept it plugged in overnight too. Give the fan and heat exchanger a blow out with an airline every so often to keep the efficiency.
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Get the biggest…
Fridge you can and then leave it plugged in, in the last car on the rack.
i am a genius
yourhavingalarf:
Get the biggest…Fridge you can and then leave it plugged in, in the last car on the rack.
i am a genius
So you leave that car running■■? [emoji53]
I’ll just add I started 25 years ago with a Waeco18 l coolbox. It ran for 8 years pretty much non stop before it gave up and I then bought another 21 l Waeco wich ran for another 10 years non stop . I then changed to a 40 l halfords one (12 volt and 240 )which lasted until I started working to an employer who gets fridges fitted as standard in his trucks . A coolbox may do your job , but one half decent bout of food poisoning in the heat of summer when it can’t quite get the food inside it cool enough will bring home the advantages of a proper compressor fridge .
Plenty of choice there to suit any budget .