Fridges in a pop-up

[dsw3131]

To all you veteran pop-up owners, I was wondering how well the fridge in your PU works.  Here are my questions:
1.  Does it keep things cold?  Some people have told me they're a hassle.  Either they won't keep you stuff very cold, or they freeze everything.  Has this been your experience?
2.  What about keeping things cold while your traveling?  I've heard that they can be gas cooled while on the road.  Does that work very well.
3.  I've noticed how small those fridges are.  Have you found them to have adequate space?  I know you can just bring a cooler, but I'm thinking about long campouts and the need for more cold storage.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[wavery]

I'm not exactly what you would call a "Veteran". I'm anxious to see what others have to say also.

I find our little 1.9 cu ft fridge a bit small also. This weekend will be our 5Th trip in our PU. The most that we have spent in the PU (on one trip) is 4 days. We got an additional Igloo 12v convection fridge. Like this one:
http://www.motorcaravanning.co.uk/shopuk/igloo_cool.htm
It runs continuously but at a MUCH lower wattage. I think it's about 60w. We run it 24/7 and don't have a battery problem (I have 2 large batteries). However, we don't store meat in it. We use it for our drinks. It stays at about 40 degrees but we've never had it running on a real hot or cold day. It's lite and moves around easily. I suppose you could do the same thing with an ice chest, especially on weekends trips. I just don't like messing with the ice and the additional fridge will be handy for longer trips.

We use the 3-way fridge (propane-12v-110v) for all perishables. I'm actually amazed at how much stuff that we can get in that little thing by leaving out the drinks. We haven't had any problems with it freezing things and it seems to stay pretty cold. We usually plug the trailer into 110v and turn on the fridge about 1 or 2 days before leaving (OOOOOPS, Ive gotta run down and do that now hehehehe). I have been told that helps stabilize the temp. When we hit the road, I turn it over to 12v. When we get to the campsite, I switch it to propane.

[TheViking]

When we had our pop-up we rarely used the fridge.  It was more of a hassle than anything.  For instance:  When we would pack up to leave a CG and go home I would clean out the PU so I wouldn't have to pop it up when I got home.  If I had stuff in the fridge I would have to.  The one and only thing we ever used it for was to put left overs in.  The beauty of a Hybrid or TT is that you have a bigger fridge and have access to it 24/7.  I even know people that keep it plugged in a running at home to keep soda and beer cold.

[wavery]

When we had our pop-up we rarely used the fridge.  It was more of a hassle than anything.  For instance:  When we would pack up to leave a CG and go home I would clean out the PU so I wouldn't have to pop it up when I got home.  If I had stuff in the fridge I would have to.  The one and only thing we ever used it for was to put left overs in.  The beauty of a Hybrid or TT is that you have a bigger fridge and have access to it 24/7.  I even know people that keep it plugged in a running at home to keep soda and beer cold.

I guess that has something to do with design also.

Our fridge is located in a place that we can access it with the top down. We just open the door and the fridge is straight ahead, on the other side of the camper. I agree, it would be a hassle if you had to bring an ice chest just to unload the fridge before leaving.

[AustinBoston]

In the summer of 2003, we moved from Massachusetts to Minnesota.  The house in Mass. sold about 5 weeks before the house in Minnesota, and we lived in the pop-up for the entire 5 weeks.

Three adults and one early-teen had the pop-up fridge as our only fridge for that five weeks.  I won't say we didn't wish for more, but it was adequate.

During the summer of 2001, we lived out of the pop-up on the road for 8 weeks.  During that time, we had an electric cooler and the pop-up fridge, but found the electric cooler to be a hassle.

We have found it possible to freeze the stuff in the fridge.  When setting the controls, the difference between luke warm and frozen solid is a narrow range.  But even more sensitive is the outside air.  If you adjust it when it's 45

[oldmoose]

We've had things freeze in both the electric Igoloo and the frig when on propane with cool temps. We definitely use our frig and when camping with hookups, take the electric Igloo. Since we cook a lot with Dutch ovens, we usually have a Coleman Extreme with us. That's why we've been knicknamed "Mother Of All Pop-ups" or M.O.A.P.U.S. We have the initials on our Moose Lodge sign.

Moose

[beacher]

I have only had my own fridge-equipped PU since June 2004, so I'm hardly a veteran.  But to answer your questions:

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

1. Mine works really well when I pre-cool it for 24 hours just like the instructions say to.

2.  It keeps cool when traveling on 12v DC power.  My fridge is a 3-way, (Propane, AC, and DC).

3.  When camping for a long period I rotate new beverages into the fridge. As I drink one, a warm one goes in.  Other perishibles are kept in the shelves.  Only stuff that I don't mind getting frozen go on the bottom.  Although, with an inexpensive battery powered air circulating fan , things rarely freeze, and the temperature is more evenly distributed.  Also, the fridge can run for a VERY long time with a 20lb LP tank.  The flame required by the fridge is about the size of a candle.

[tlhdoc]

1. Mine works really well when I pre-cool it for 24 hours just like the instructions say to.
 
2. It keeps cool when traveling on 12v DC power. My fridge is a 3-way, (Propane, AC, and DC).
 
3. When camping for a long period I rotate new beverages into the fridge. As I drink one, a warm one goes in. Other perishibles are kept in the shelves. Only stuff that I don't mind getting frozen go on the bottom. Although, with an inexpensive battery powered air circulating fan , things rarely freeze, and the temperature is more evenly distributed. Also, the fridge can run for a VERY long time with a 20lb LP tank. The flame required by the fridge is about the size of a candle.

That is basicly what we do.  We do take at least one cooler for drinks so that the kids are not in and out of the trailer opening the door to the fridge.  I also keep eggs and veggies in the cooler, I don't like them frozen.  For long trips 10 days + we also take a cooler of meat frozen with dry ice.  I usually pack some ice cream too.  The PU fridge is small,but I use it to precool drinks before I put them in the ice cooler.

[GeneF]

We owned two popups that did not have a fridge and then the third one did and the fourth one had to have one.

We used the fridge all the time especially to store meats that should be kept at a steady temperature.  This allowed us to store more meats than we would have if we were just using an ice cooler.

Both of our popups with the fridge were designed so that we could access the fridge even when not set up.  It is surprising how much food you can put into them.

Personally, it is an option I wouldn't be without.

Now that we have the hybrid, I wouldn't be without a freezer again.

[chasd60]

To all you veteran pop-up owners, I was wondering how well the fridge in your PU works. Here are my questions:
1. Does it keep things cold? Some people have told me they're a hassle. Either they won't keep you stuff very cold, or they freeze everything. Has this been your experience?
2. What about keeping things cold while your traveling? I've heard that they can be gas cooled while on the road. Does that work very well.
3. I've noticed how small those fridges are. Have you found them to have adequate space? I know you can just bring a cooler, but I'm thinking about long campouts and the need for more cold storage. Any suggestions?
 
Thanks!

1. Yes they do keep things cold. Ammonia refrigerators have a thermostat that seems to adjust for a temp difference between outside and inside VS actual refrigerator temp. IE. 80 degrees outside, refrigerator is 38 at setting 3. If it is 60 degrees outside, things will begin to freeze at setting 3 so it needs to be turned it down a little. Mine seemed to lower the external temp by about 40-50 degrees or so.
2. I always cooled on 12vdc while traveling in my popup and it worked well. On my hybrid I use gas because DC is not an option and gas works well too.
3.I always brought a cooler or two when I had my popup. The refrigerator is very small and I wanted to keep my "beverage of choice" on ice.

See my fridge mod here
http://userpages.prexar.com/chasd/frigerack.html

If your refrigerator doesn't work well, you may have to investigate how well it is vented. There are many post on refrigerator venting on this board.

[BigJohn]

Frankly, I have a fridge in this new PUP and after 1 trip, it has become a pots/pans storage area. The refer is located such that it cannot be accessed from the door, inside or outside, so we cannot pre-load, pre-cool the refer. Just as well, we always take coolers and a small fortune in ice anyway, so save on the power/LP. My previous PUP did not have a refer, had icebox, which also served as pots/pans storage for same reasons.

I personally think it may be a waste of $$ for a 1.9cu refer. Maybe some of the newer "high sided" PUPs have a larger refer, which might make sense if you could get at it with the top down, otherwise we just as soon not bother with it.
IMHO

[Camping Coxes]

My first PU had a fridge that didn't work.  Actually, it was an ice box that you put a block of ice on the top shelf to cool the fridge.  We didn't bother since the ice would melt and cause a watery mess.

Second fridge worked, and I loved it.  I found a Rubbermaid 1 gallon pitcher that fit perfectly into the squared out space for, I assume, a gallon of milk to fit.  
 
Current fridge is the same fridge basically.  Yes, after several days we may have some very cold, even frozen things (mostly eggs for some reason).  But I like that I can put my cheese in there and it doesn't get gooey from the ice chest water.  I don't use it for everything, but I do put a good amount in there, especially lunch meats, condiments, cheeses, a few waters, my jug of tea, my coffee creamer.  We also use an ice chest for just ice, and another for our other food items.  It's no big deal using both to me.  Plus, as mentioned before, I don't want to have the kids opening the fridge constantly for juice boxes, waters, etc.  
 
So if I had to do it over again, I'd get the fridge!

[dthurk]

We bought a "bare bones" PUP, looking to save money by not buying all the options.  We use the camper icebox as a dry goods/canned goods storage.  I used the ice tray as a template and cut out a piece of 12" flooring to make a shelf, doubling it's capacity.  We leave unused dry/canned goods in the PUP between trips so we don't have to set up at home returning our going out again.  Everything is inventoried, of course.

We use a 2.5 cubic foot refrigerator bought for less than $100 at WalMart.  We have had no problems with freezing or too warm temps on any of our camping trips.  We pre-chill food in our home 'fridge, then load a cooler that we keep in the tow vehicle for the trip out.  Food has always arrived chilled, ready to be loaded in the camper fridge once we hook up.  Cooler is then used to store extra drinks, sodas, etc. Placed under one of the bunk ends outdoors.  We keep limited numbers of those cool, and replace as needed.  We can store up to 4 days worth of food in the small 'fridge.  If we're out longer, we replenish from local stores.  

We have not tried any kind of dry camping at this point.  If we were to attempt dry camping (DW is resistant at this point), I'd investigate the 5 day coolers and look to buy ice.

That's the way we do it anyway.  It's interesting to read the various methods of dealing with this "problem".  Those of you that use a 3 way 'fridge in your camper, where do you store your dry/canned goods?  Almost seems like we're all just "swapping space".

[Camping Coxes]

Those of you that use a 3 way 'fridge in your camper, where do you store your dry/canned goods? Almost seems like we're all just "swapping space".

I have two methods, depending on how long we'll be out.  
 
If we're only out for a weekend, I have two collapsible crates (about $3 at Wal-Mart) and I store all my dried goods in there and leave the crates on the large countertop over my fridge. As I use up the food, it eventually gets down to one crate, and whatever comes back home goes back into the Suburban, right inside the crate, which also makes it easier to unpack back home.
 
If we are going to be out for longer, or if I have a lot of stuff to bring, maybe for a potluck situation or kids have brought friends, I have a set of those stacking cubes that you make out of wire mesh squares (think of a dorm room entertainment center!).  I put together about six of those and put them on the same counter, and I put the cereal in one square, the breads in another, the canned goods in another, etc.  I also have a small sterilite drawer set that I use to keep our medications, keys, wallets, spare change, etc. that goes into one of the cubes.  Works for us!

[SpeakEasy]

After half a lifetime of tent camping, I LOVE having my little popup fridge. We have lived in the popup for a couple of different three-week trips, and have used the fridge the whole time. We shop for groceries every couple of days. We rotate new drinks in when we take a drink out. A five-liter box of wine fits!