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

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.