12V cooler or 120V fridge

The Coleman coolers are complete garbage. If you're going to go cooler, go igloo. The plugs on the Coleman are so bad they tend to break easily. You don't even have to touch it. Then the motors start going bad after about a year. A fridge is a good idea but you have to a sponge at the bottom of the compressor to make sure it doesn't bounce constantly.

 

In the past year, I went through an igloo that all of a sudden just plain stopped working. Next, I went through a Coleman and you guessed it, the plug broke for no reason. Hence, both Igloo and Coleman aren't worth a crap.

 

Only some of the parts on the Coleman's are junk. Yes, the plugs are worthless. If you have wiring for a fridge in a cabinet, 12v, cut off the cigarette plug, and wire it direct. The Coleman fans are also not durable for the kind of continous use they get in a truck. You will be lucky to get a year or 2 out of them. I've had great luck with computer 12v fans from Radio Shack, and I'm sure there are other or even better places to get them. Once modified, I have had 3 years trouble free. But it is still a thermo-electric cooler, only capable of 40 degrees less than the air temperature, and prone to frosting up in high humidity with cooler temperatures.
But I do not want to run an inverter all of the time, due to the radio interference they cause.

 

Spend the $500 or so for a TruckFridge 12V real fridge! I've used the Coleman, (got over 2 years out of it, it helps to take the motor out every month or so and put a drop of oil under the little paper disk and blow the dust out of it!), I used an ice cooler for a few years! I also had a real 120V fridge for awhile.
I just got the TruckFridge, LOVE it! A nice feature is that if the battery bank gets down to a certain point, the fridge cuts off so your truck will crank!
Jack

 

I have went through a bundle of those Coleman coolers. Last year I bought a Black and Decker refrigerator/freezer (ca. 150-160 dollars) and it has worked like a charm. I have powered it with both a 1000 and a 1500 watt invertor with no problem.

 

What do you mean by a sponge at the bottom of the compressor?

 

A piece of foam rubber or a sponge under it to keep it from vibrating itself to death.

 

ENGEL is a 12v/120v brand that will freeze, or refrigerate. Has a low voltage cutoff. Bought ours 6 years ago. No problems. Has a heavy duty swing motor compressor designed for truck/RV use. Found them online out of Florida. Paid $600, for the 2nd from smallest size. Precise temp control. Little heavy, but built to last. We keep 5 days of salad stuff and cold juice/milk/dairy in it. You won't regret it.

 

Engel is the best, if it can take the heat of the desert and the punishment of being in back of a 4X4 truck off road, it can take anything in a truck.