Travelling in a van without a fridge is like camping every day. You have to rely on canned meals, takeout or grocery shop often. Travelling in a van with a fridge is just like normal life. You buy what you need and live your best life, everyday.
When it’s time to switch over to travelling with a fridge, or buying a new one there’s a few things to think about. These topics cover everything you should consider before choosing a fridge for van life.
I chose a Adventure Kings fridge from 4WD Supacentre, you can see it here on Ebay or on the Adventure Kings website which often has good sales. Mine is 45L, which is a good size for fitting in my van. I also purchased on the Adventure King’s website an extension cord, so that my fridge can be in the back of the van, while my battery is in the middle (photo below).
Here in Australia, I’ve found Adventure Kings as an affordable yet durable brand, and most of their products come with warranties. It makes them both an Aussie and backpacker favourite brand, I can say that after nearly two years with the fridge I haven’t had any problems.
However, this article isn’t just about this brand, it’s about finding the best fridge no matter what brand, so keep reading to learn more!
Table of Contents
Think Battery Capacity
No matter what fridge you’re dreaming of, you have to choose one which works for your van’s battery capacity. The first time I bought a fridge for my van it was a three-way fridge, and sucked my 150ah deep-cycle battery dry within hours. What I learnt—after the fact—was that a three-way doesn’t monitor its temperature and shut off as a normal fridge should.
This is why it’s important to look at your battery’s capacity and compare the voltage and watts to a potential fridge. Doing this first makes it clear which fridge will work in your van, and also determines the different models. Looking for camping-specific fridges takes a great deal of energy out of this research.
If you don’t yet have a fridge, Adventure Kings sells bundles for the battery, fridge, cover and more. It’s also where I got my extension cord with a fuse, so my fridge always stays on without short-circuiting.
For information on choosing a battery and a van solar set-up, check out my easy guide.
Focus on Measurements
Anyone planning to or already living in a van knows space is always of the essence. Before buying a fridge, look at how much the fridge holds and its measurements. This can be a big differentiating factor between price and the fridges capacity. If a fridge is priced well and has a good capacity, it doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t fit properly in your van.
This is when it’s smart to choose a fridge while doing a van build and not after. It may take some rearranging in your van to get a fridge to fit in a particular location—and where it’s convenient. For my van I had to use a special slider with an extra heavy weight capacity for my fridge to fit in my van’s drawer.
Having your fridge on sliders is a great way to make compact spaces more functional. Check out how to install drawer sliders in a van.
Price Versus Quality
It would be great to choose the cheapest fridge model on the market, but cheap isn’t always best. Do avid research before paying hundreds or thousands into a fridge for your van. Research can include professional reviews of fridges, which compare price, quality and functionality.
Other reviews to consider are other customers reviews. These reviews can be hard to rely on but they’re a good resource. Otherwise consider delving into Facebook groups focusing on camping or van life to ask others. If you don’t balance product quality with price, you could end up with something too high end or something that may fall apart in a few months.
Check for Brands
The amount of stores to purchase a fridge are pretty endless, but relying on a fridge’s brand is more critical for understanding its quality. Learning about and focusing more on specific brands may lead to finding the best quality product.
This can also help with feeling swamped over the large amount of models at different stores. If you research specific brands and figure out which brand you prefer, then it’s just about finding the best price for that fridge either online or in-store.
Research Warranties
There’s no better way to guarantee you’re purchasing a quality product, if the company gives a warranty for its product. This way, no matter which product or brand you’re purchasing a fridge from, if something goes array, it should be covered.
Warranties for fridges generally have some requirements, such as that the fridge must be kept indoors. Read through your user manual to make sure you’re using the product correctly to use a warranty, if necessary.
Buying Used
I’m a big fan of buying products used or up-cycling in general. It’s harder to do this when purchasing a unique and expensive item such as a fridge for a van. The reason for this is that buying used, you can’t completely know how a product was treated before buying it.
Relying on the buyer’s information can be difficult, especially if the owner wasn’t aware of how to properly care for the product. And there’s no going back when purchasing a used product, which is why it’s important to be very skeptical. Especially so for products that have been unused for months or longer. As when the product is started up, issues may not be apparent right away.
But, What Type of Fridge?
Once you begin a search of looking for a fridge, you may soon realize there’s so many different types of fridges good for a van, instead of a house. Some van lifers use some bar fridges or camping-specific fridges. It’s probably not practical for measurements and weight in a van to have a full fridge as one for a house.
Searching for camping-specific fridges is best because they’re specifically developed to work well on batteries, instead of plugged into a house’s electrical system. One final note, be 100 percent sure you’re purchasing a fridge and not a cooler. Some electronic coolers are marketed towards camping but only maintain a temperature below ambient temperature. This isn’t practical for year-round travelling.
I chose a Adventure Kings fridge from 4WD Supacentre, you can see it here on Ebay or on the Adventure Kings website which often has good sales!
How do you really choose a fridge for your van then?
All of these topics are the most important things to focus on while buying a fridge. Think about everything and sleep on your decision before purchasing a fridge. Keep an eye out for non-fridge equipment that keeps things cool, or below ambient temperature but not actually cold like a fridge should.
Try not to get excited by flash sales of products you haven’t researched—especially if it’s not possible to make a return. Although do keep an eye on website that sell the product(s) you are wanting to purchase. Sales come all times of the year and are helpful at saving a big chunk of change.
Not sure if you need a fridge? Check out my article on travelling without a fridge for tips, or check out my complete van build to build a fridge into your van build!
