Esky or 3 Way Fridge

We always travel with a medium sized 2 way engel (cig lighter in car then mains power/generator when stopped). Wouldn't touch a fridge on gas. Adequate for camping on short trips (up to 5 weeks).

Now we have a caravan, we still keep it in the car for our lunches, putting shopping away without having to unlock the caravan, etc. Useful for drinks if you run out of fridge space at home too. Even used it to keep our lunches & milk cool in the shearing shed.

A good esky is a good investment ,not cheap at $3/400 but lasts a lifetime , but then again so does a good 3 way , best yet is to hire and try what suits you , a 12v/240v fridge /freezer aka engle/waeco not cheap initially but will pay for itself in no ice to buy and no gas /leveling problems of a 3way. and a 12/240 job can always double as an extra fridge at home.

HH. For a casual user on short term trips the good quality eskies are the go. Frozen ice cream container blocks will last 3+ days & as you mentioned have a large capacity for parties at home where most of the portable fridges are not particually good. (they take 3+ hours to properly cool drinks as opposed to 30 minutes on ice)
The 3 way fridges are ideal for extended base camping away from towns. Set them on gas & you have no battery issues at all.
12 volt compressor fridges by comparison are fairly expensive, require dual battery systems, solar back up or generators for extended stays. Ideal for regular remote area touring.
If & when you get out more then the addition of a compressor fridge would be a good investment.
Cheers Craig.........

I've got a big Tropical esky 105 L. Used for festivities today so it is always handy to have a biggie available. Tough and effective, but check to see if it fits your vehicle.

More than enough space for a family and cheap to use because the ice lasts.

Have a 12/240V as well but I'd still buy the Tropical first for the camping you describe.

Electrics are no good for parties because you need to take good care of them and a 3way would be hopeless for that use.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I'll go for the big esky option, and upgrade to a 2 or 3 way in the future if required. Another couple of questions:

1. What are the best methods to keep the esky cold, and

2. What is the best materiel to use as flooring for the front room of a canvas tent (the back sleeping area has a floor, but the front room does not)?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Yep - if only going fo 2 or 3 days, and you get some BLOCK ice, you'll be fine with a quality esky - no bother at all - because temps are not ultra low, you can just use food that is ok to be cold, but not frigid. We used to make our own block ice in the size required- lasts quite well.

Mate I was in your position a few years back.
My advice is to go away and spend some time camping and having a look at the more experienced campers and the sets up they have.
We have an Engel fridge and we also take an esky. The fridge is set on freeze and we transfer frozen bottled water into the esky. The fridge is used alot at BBQs and partiess.
Gear is a personal thing depending on family and needs. I have four men and three women in my family therefore we have porta potties, showers, 20x30 tarps over the tents etc. We don't lock the house when we go away as the wife takes every blooody thing with us.
The down side is we need a ute, trailer,4x4 with roof rack and boat to carry all the gear. But we are very comfy

Good luck and have fun

Daryl

Engel or esky, we always freeze mealsize packs of meat & wrap in newspaper before packing nearest to ice/cold end. Home freeze square 4lt. icecream containers for as long as possible before packing in esky. Freeze bread, cooked chook or whatever else is freezable that goes in esky. All helps keep cold longer.
If possible, en-route, place esky in centre of vehicle away from window/sun & cover with blankets. Place in coolest shady spot at campsite (watch out for ants!).
Remember each morning to place nights meal near top to thaw.
As for flooring in living area; annex; entry etc. cheap 90% shadecloth, hemmed (with eylets to peg down) is hard to beat.
Happy hols. RB

Thanks for all of the info guys. After mulling it over, I think it would be best to go with the esky option rather than the fridge due to the short duration of our proposed trips, and also the versatility of an esky for non-camping applications. If I go for a couple of eskies rather than one big one, what size eskies would you guys recommend, and also, could I get away with a high quality cool box type for the 'open once a day' esky, and a supermarket quality type for the 'grazing' esky?

We will only be camping for 2-3 days max.

Thanks again for the great replies.

HH

Hi ya,

check this site,

http://www.techniice.com/english/iceboxes.htm

I picked up the 100 ltr and the 60, and the techni ice sounds good, you'll prolly only need the 60, I got the 100 cause I wanna go on extended trips 2 weeks + so the 100 will hold only frozen stuff and be left unopened until the beginning of the second week to restock the 60, the 60 will be used for frozen stuff opened daily for the days food, and I got a 60 ltr Waeco from the Waeco seconds joint for a couple of hundred to be the regular for openeing and closing.

I think your best bet will be an eski, the fridge is good (can get good deals here, http://www.fridgeshop.com.au/products.asp?catId=6) but ya gotta keep power up to the bloody thing, and that's when the fun starts :).... Deep cycle battery gennie/in car dual battery /solar, for a couple of days, Eskies WORK!

have fun.