One of the biggest issues camping in summer in Australia is the fridge. In the old days we used to have an esky (an ice box) where we'd buy ice every three days - messy and impractical, though a beer in esky ice will be the best you've ever tasted in your life!
When 12V fridges came along it was like God had spoken. Of course they were expensive, but sometimes you could pick them up second hand. The Engel fridge was particularly amazing and has an excellent reputation - we have a 40L chest one in our van.
However, trying to squeeze a bed AND a fridge in the back of a 4x4 is not easy! Luckily we had put a tub on the back of our 130 and that made it long enough to fit a Bushman's 50L fridge just inside the back door before the bed even starts. We were beyond thrilled to get a solid discount from Bushman for one when we explained what we were doing, especially as we could give them a free advertisement through our Instagram account, @roving_tracks.
One of the biggest debates in the camping world is whether you should go a fridge or a chest fridge. The chest ones are awesome and efficient, but times have changed and the upright ones are excellent as well. It hardly draws any power, is very quiet, and stores a suprising amount. I can never quite understand why people think 50L isn't enough and go for the 80L ones. We have packed food in there that we think will last a week - I'll let you know in a future post - it's really just about clever storage. We're vegetarian so cheese for protein is necessary - I don't eat a lot of cheese but my husband appreciates it as an extra source of protein which he feels he needs.
What We've Packed in the Fridge
- 2 small tubs of coconut yoghurt
- 1 packet parmesan cheese
- 2 X packet 12 cheese slices
- 1 small tub hummous
- 4 beers
- 1 litre milk
- 1 litre soda water
- sriracha mayo
- 2 pack veggie sausages
- 4 packs halloumi
- 2 packs of paneer
- pack of tofu
Vegetables
- 1 bunch kale, end chopped off, leaves sliced in half
- 2 capsicum (peppers), top chopped off, seeds removed, quartered
- 6 small tomatoes
- 3 lebanese tomatoes
- 1 small bunch of basil, leaves only
- 6 fresh chillis
- 1 large head of broccoli, florets only
- 1 bunch of spring onions, tops only, folded in half
- 1 leek, topped and tailed and halved
- 1 mango
As you can see, there is a lot more space if you prepare the vegetables first. I have a large tupperware container that most of the vegetables fit in, and there's a little space down the side for more too. I don't survive well without veggies!
Onions and potatoes are, of course, not kept in the fridge. We plan on cooking stews (canned lentils and beans), salads, stir fries, tacos, omelettes and more. We do love our food so it won't necessarily be classic camp food for us.
We have added a switch behind the passenger seat and behind the bed, as we don't like to run it at night, even though it doesn't switch on a lot. We're light sleepers so sleeping with a fridge on isn't good for us. It goes on again as soon as I wake up at dawn, even if I go back to sleep for a bit.
By all accounts, the customer service is far better than many you'd get. I've had nightmares trying to contact the cheaper budget camping company, Adventure Kings, and would rather give money to these guys anyday.
So would we recommend it? Without a doubt. Low power draw, economic use of space, quiet, and great customer service? It's a no brainer from these Landrover camper nutcases.
With Love,
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is right lol you've put so much thought and work into your Landrover 👍 My packing advice would be less water ... more beer. Less milk ... more beer. But I guess thats why us guys let the women pack the provisions 😁
Oh I was so happy when I finally got a fridge for the truck. I can't imagine not having it now.
I was having to buy fruit and veg almost daily in the summer. We even have a little freezer space.
Now I dream of a bigger freezer so I can make vegan ice cream lol.
Enjoy xxxxxx
Oh man, nicecream is the best... !!! We go through phases where I have to whizz some up every day. I just use the frozen bananas/fruit in fridge and whizz up with a bit of coconut yoghurt which is a huge addiction for me! Yum!
I haven't caught up with you in ages, anyone really, as I've been busy then away - sorry about that. Hope you're well xx
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We opted for a Bushman unit after our old fridge finally gave up mid-trip: thawed meat and warm beers are no fun when you’re off grid. After a lot of research we ended up going with Bushman because of the strong reputation for low power usage and solid build quality. In parallel we kept an eye on the mini fridge Black Friday options at BougeRV, which helped us benchmark cost against features. What really stood out with the Bushman was the stability: even in 38 °C ambient we barely saw the battery drop and the compressor cycling minimally.
Taht's brillianbt. Some people say that they don't work so well in the tropics but I've not ever had it in the tropics to care!