If you are preparing your offroad vehicle to go to remote places, a freezer is one of the most expensive and important pieces of equipment you will buy. We look at the differences between the most popular models..

How big is big enough? 

Before you buy the largest and most expensive fridge, you have to ask yourself what you are buying it for. 

Weekend warrior: Are you someone who will spend long weekends in campsites with 220 V power points? You don't need anything more than a 40 liter fridge. These freezers are usually a little heavier on power and not as well insulated, but you can rest assured that they will keep their temperature - as long as there is power. 

Versatile use. If you have two kids in the back seat of the off-roader, you want to go to remote areas for two and a half weeks each year, and stay in bush camps in the mountains, you probably need something between 50 and 60 liters which is well insulated and therefore uses little power. 

World traveler. Very few people really need an 80 liter freezer. However, if you have to cook for an entire group and there is no time to go looking for local products, you might consider an 80 liter freezer. Just make sure you freeze everything at home and it's well insulated. 

What kind of freezer should I buy? 

Compressor freezer

If you do long trips or expeditions, it doesn't really make any sense to look at any other type of freezer than a compressor freezer. 

They are reliable and can maintain very low freezing temperatures in extremely hot summers (-10 ° C in an outside temperature of 40 ° C). They don't have to be fully level to work and with a good solar panel and dual battery system you can keep your freezer running more or less permanently, except if it rains for three months straight. 

The only downside is that they are a bit expensive. However, there is no shortage of quality in the market - there are enough robust products that last for years and have good after-sales service. 

Absorption refrigerator

You also get another type of freezer - the so-called absorption refrigerator that have been installed in caravans and RVs for years. It is cheaper and works with electricity as well as butane gas, but the process of cold-making (heat is converted to cold through a gas) does not work well if the refrigerator is not exactly level. 

So they are good if you go camping for two weeks, but not so good if you drive in a river walk every day. In addition, these freezers are not as efficient when the outside temperature is above 40 °C.

Thermoelectric cooler

The third kind of mobile cooling you get - a thermoelectric cooler - is actually just around to keep your sodas cold for the BBQ before the game. A pack of ice in a well-insulated cooler box almost works better.

The fridge test

Yes, we know. the only real test of a freezer is to let it work hard for 3 months in the back of the vehicle. But it is impossible for us to do a comparative test like that. That's why we tested the freezers in a “laboratory”.

We tested four aspects:

• The speed at which a freezer gets cold;
• The amount of energy it took to get cold;
• The amount of power used by the fridge to maintain the temperature;
• And the speed at which it heats up again after switching off, which of course which naturally tests the effectiveness of the insulation. 

The freezers were all left to stand open for 32 hours at 32 °C. Then all of them were connected to 12.6V power (we only tested refrigerators that work with 12V compressors) and set it to 0 °C and closed the lid with a data recorder inside that recorded all the information.

How did we choose the freezers?

We tried to get a freezer of between 50 and 60 liters from each manufacturer, because this-

the size used by most of our readers. However, some manufacturers insisted that we test their 40 liter refrigerator because they are their best sellers. The choice of fridges were to some extent arbitrary, but we think we chose the most popular products.

Time to 0°C

ARB 47 litre 

Compared to National Luna and Engel, Australian company ARB's freezers are new to the market. Few people argue about the quality of ARB's other products, and this particular model has been named the best 4x4 refrigerator by Australian magazine 4WD Action In a detailed test.

Good features

• It has an interior light
• The useful drain plug makes cleaning easy
• Easily removable cover for access from all sides
• Robust and easy to use locking mechanism
• Cleverly designed and adaptable basket system
• Easy and clearly visible digital meters in front

Specifications

• Material: The body is made of stainless steel and the plastic lid is sturdy enough for a man to sit on.
• Weight: 22.5kg
• Compressor: Danfoss
• Battery protection: Yes, adjustable setting
• Dimensions: 508 mm (h) x 380 mm (b) x 705 mm (d)
• Warranty: Yes, three years

This ARB freezer was designed by someone who knows the 4x4 way of life. Features like the drain plug, the light, the lid that can be removed and the handles have been well designed.

The ARB does not fare well in terms of its cooling-off period and insulation (it heats up relatively quickly), but once it is cold, its power consumption is very reasonable. You can't fault ARB's quality and durability.

Engel 40 liter

Engel is a Japanese product (marketed largely in Australia) that has been driving with the 4x4 community for over 50 years. What makes the Engel freezer different from all the other freezers on the market is the so-called Sawafuji swing motor compressor  instead of the more famous Danfoss compressor. Angel reckons the Sawafuji is better because it's just one moving part, and because it takes less power to get started. 

Specifications

• Weight: 24kg
• Compressor: Sawafuji swing motor compressor
• Battery protection: No.
• Dimensions: 508 mm (h) x 364 mm (b) x 648 mm (d)
• Warranty: Yes, three years

Good features

• It has an LED light inside
• Its very robust walls and build quality
• The long-life indoor battery is connected to a device that gives the temperature reading all the time, even if it is switched off
• Its extremely reliable Swafuji swing motor compressor
• Its average power consumption is low
• Easily accessible electronic control panel (it sits on top)

Engel's refrigerators are well known for their reliability. The steel casing and handles are obviously strong. The Engel freezer also did very well in our test. It used the least amount of power to cool and when it was first cold it also used little power to stay cold. On top of that, the Angel seems to be the best insulated as it took the longest of all the refrigerators to warm up again. One disadvantage is that the platinum finish can quickly become ugly. Complaints about poor and slow after-sales service have also sounded up here and there. And while it is expensive, it is the cheapest of the three expensive models. Just remember, you pay for what you get.