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Ideal fridge for the Beach? 2021

M

Mike Hammill

Messages
43
Location
Llanddoged, Llanrwst, N. Wales
Vehicle
T6 Beach 150
Hi all,
We are looking for a replacement fridge for our Beach. We had a 32 litre Mobicool but it broke down just after the warranty ran out. I would be grateful for suggestions. It needs to be 28 - 32 litres capacity and fairly quiet.
A recent up date of recommendations would be useful to everyone I guess?
Thanks,
Mike and Maddy
P.S. Our Beach is called Alastair which may amuse geologists particularly ex-Liverpool geologists.
 
Mike Hammill said:
Hi all,
We are looking for a replacement fridge for our Beach. We had a 32 litre Mobicool but it broke down just after the warranty ran out. I would be grateful for suggestions. It needs to be 28 - 32 litres capacity and fairly quiet.
A recent up date of recommendations would be useful to everyone I guess?
Thanks,
Mike and Maddy
P.S. Our Beach is called Alastair which may amuse geologists particularly ex-Liverpool geologists.
Click to expand...
Hi Mike,

some reading

 
Mike Hammill said:
Hi all,
We are looking for a replacement fridge for our Beach. We had a 32 litre Mobicool but it broke down just after the warranty ran out. I would be grateful for suggestions. It needs to be 28 - 32 litres capacity and fairly quiet.
A recent up date of recommendations would be useful to everyone I guess?
Thanks,
Mike and Maddy
P.S. Our Beach is called Alastair which may amuse geologists particularly ex-Liverpool geologists.
Click to expand...
We found it’s best to keep your fridge turned on 24/7. So if not being used in the van, use it as a beer/wine fridge at home.
Our first Dometic fridge broke down just before warranty expired, but we only powered it up for trips. We have had the free replacement plugged in for 4 years with no issues.

There are lots of threads with the various choices. The more expensive ones will still cool effectively using 12v (rather than becoming a cool box once 240v is unplugged). It just depends how you travel as to whether the £200 difference between the two types is justified.
 
I’ll be interested to hear your decision. I still have the unpopular VW Cool/warmbox. It came with the van and was replaced under warranty a couple of years ago. I’m now jealously eyeing the huge space it occupies behind the driver’s seat, however.

I wouldn’t want the replacement to fall short of too many of the VW coolbox plus points:
It can be safely secured in the living area, allowing access during journeys.
It can be used as a table, for mid-journey sandwich construction.
It is wide and square, allowing pizza’s to be stored horizontally.
It can be used as a illegal seat (10mph max!)
It is covered under VW extended warranty.

On the negative side:
It’s feeble, juicy, occupies a lot of space and has to be moved to allow access, once the bed is made up.

I fancied something between the seats, but they are too small, thanks to the old-fashioned handbrake.

I’m surprised that so many people store the fridge in the boot. Where do you store yours?

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Where do you keep your fridge?

Hi There, I've been looking at these pull out draws for my Beach. I have a couple of questions if that's OK? 1. Did you get the draw from CampervanBits and if so, was it the one for the Beach? The reason I ask is because on their website it looks full width of the Beach, i.e. doesn't fit...
vwcaliforniaclub.com vwcaliforniaclub.com
 
We use a small Indel B 15 litre fridge that sits neatly between the front seats and is really inconspicuous. This stays in the van during trips and we have a 5 day cool box that stays on the campsite in our gazebo. Not exactly what you are looking for but it’s an alternative option to consider.
 
Thanks - I was considering this option. I think the Dometic CFX 28 litre will be the one we go for - I just need to measure the gap we have behind the passenger seat.
 
Mike Hammill said:
Thanks - I was considering this option. I think the Dometic CFX 28 litre will be the one we go for - I just need to measure the gap we have behind the passenger seat.
Click to expand...
Hi Mike
I can firm a cfx35 fits nicely behind the passenger seat In a beach and still allows the bed to be made up. (Posted pictures in a recent thread)
I secure it during transit (if not in the boot) via the floor tie down points at the front of the outer rails (near either B pillar directly behind passenger and driver seat) loop a heavy duty bungee cord around the load fixing points (carabiner type for roof racks etc) bungee one shorter than the other) open the handle of the fridge and attach the two bungee‘s
 
Perfectos said:
Hi Mike
I can firm a cfx35 fits nicely behind the passenger seat In a beach and still allows the bed to be made up. (Posted pictures in a recent thread)
I secure it during transit (if not in the boot) via the floor tie down points at the front of the outer rails (near either B pillar directly behind passenger and driver seat) loop a heavy duty bungee cord around the load fixing points (carabiner type for roof racks etc) bungee one shorter than the other) open the handle of the fridge and attach the two bungee‘s
Click to expand...
That sounds good thank you - have you had to wire the fridge directly to the leisure battery?
 
Mike Hammill said:
That sounds good thank you - have you had to wire the fridge directly to the leisure battery?
Click to expand...
Hi Mike,

I have not, I just plug into the 12v B pillar socket or boot socket When travelling & not on 240v hook up at site.
others have mentioned problems with using the standard supplied set up.
I have not had any issues.
(Various threads about fitting Anderson connectors to a permanent connection on the leisure Battery.)

@Amarillo fitted a connector to the wind out awning to power the fridge externally.
I just run a splitter on the hook up cable.

horses for courses.

The one bit of kit that I would not be without is the compressor Fridge / freezer.
Cool boxes are ok for a day trip.
 
Use the 12v plug in the boot. Go for the larger cfx35model as it a big outlay, so may as well max your cold beer/wine capacity.
 
Thanks - looks like the Dometic is the manufacturer of choice. We will see whether the 28 or the 35 is a better fit behind the passenger seat - when it stops raining!!
 
Hi Mike - Dometic are the market leader. If you don’t go for that one, just make sure it has a decent compressor. SECOP compressors are among the best.
 
Mike Hammill said:
Thanks - I was considering this option. I think the Dometic CFX 28 litre will be the one we go for - I just need to measure the gap we have behind the passenger seat.
Click to expand...
That is what I have and am very happy with it
 
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