What 12V Fridge is Best for Van Life?
There are many options to choose from for your 12V fridge for van life, not a 120V or AC fridge. Choosing the right one might feel overwhelming. However, we are here to simplify that for you so you can focus on other major pieces of your camper van conversion.
There are only two questions that you need to answer to narrow down which 12V fridge is best for you. Those questions are:
- What style fridge do you prefer: upright, or chest style?
- What size fridge do you need for your eating and grocery shopping style?
This guide walks you through both of those questions and then provides various options to fit your answers.
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12V vs 120V Fridges for Van Life?
It is important to get a 12V fridge for van life for power efficiency reasons. A 120V fridge, or a typical “mini fridge” would require your inverter to be on at all times which is generally not a good practice. Additionally, 120V “mini fridges” or “dorm room style” fridges are much less efficient at keeping your food cool which is a double whammy. With an appliance like a fridge that runs 24/7, you want to make sure it is not a concern for drawing your battery bank too low.
Choosing Between Upright and Chest Style Fridges
Let’s talk about fridge styles. This decision tends to mostly be swayed by preference but can also be swayed by budget! Below you can see what each style looks like for camper vans and then we proceed with a comparision.
Upright Fridges
- Resemble traditional refrigerators with a front-opening door and shelves
- Are permanently installed under a galley and do not require additional space besides the ability to open the door
- Tend to be higher cost
- Come with, or without, freezer compartments
- Provide easy access to food in an organized manner
Chest Fridges
- Opens from the top, similar to a cooler
- Accessing food is harder because food is stacked on top of each other
- Often built on heavy duty drawer slides. This takes up more space, but can also be repurposed as a bench
- Generally keep food more insulated as they lose less cold air when opened
- Tend to be cheaper cost
- Offer options with larger freezer compartments, or multiple zones
Generally, we recommend upright fridges for those who love to cook and have easy access to their food. And we recommend chest style fridges to van lifers who prioritize space, and energy efficiency over cooking and food access.
Sizing your 12V Fridge for Van Life Properly
The second decision you need to make is what size fridge is best for your van life! We estimate that van lifers need about 10-13 liters of space, per person, per day. “Days” is defined by how many days you want to go without having to go to the grocery store. To choose your perfect fridge size, use the following formula:
FridgeUpright = 13 L * (days) * (people)
Fridge Chest = 10 L * (days) * (people)
For reference, we are two people who train hard and eat well. We like to go shopping every 3-6 days and have a 130L upright fridge. This works great for us!
A Survey of Van Lifers and Fridge Sizes
We surveyed 50 van lifers to provide a view of van life fridge sizes in the wild. This is what we learned:
- The split of upright vs chest style was almost down the middle, skewed slightly towards upright fridges.
- Van lifers with upright fridges tended to have larger volume fridges:
- Solo van lifer upright fridge sizes ranged from 50L to 115L, with most under 70L.
- For van lifers traveling in a duo, upright fridge sizes ranged from 90L to 140L, with most above 105L.
- Those with chest style fridges generally had smaller volume fridges as they store food more compactly:
- Solo van lifer chest style fridge sizes ranged from 24L to 75L, with a majority falling around 50L.
- For van lifers traveling in a duo, chest style fridge sizes ranged from 45L to 100L, with a majority falling around 75L.
12V Fridge for Van Life Recommendations
Once you know your desired fridge type and size, you can begin to search for the perfect one! Below we will share some recommendations.
12V Upright Fridge Recommendations
Isostherm and Dometic are great options for marine style 12v upright fridges.
- [48 liters] Nordcold 1.7 ($1,287)
- [65 liters] Dometic CRX 65S ($1,674)
- [85 liters] Isotherm Cruise 85 ($1,539)
- [110 liters] Dometic CRX 110S ($1,324)
- [130 liters] Isotherm Cruise 130 ($1,999)
48 & 76 Liters: Norcold
Norcold 1.7 = $1,287
Norcold 2.7 = $1,474
Dometic CRX
These are great marine fridges that are quiet, efficient, and have temperature control. You can opt for fridge only, or with a small freezer.
Dometic CRX 65 and 110 are the most common ones we see on the road.
Dometic CRX fridges pull about 6 amps at 12v.
Isotherm Cruise
Isotherm Cruise 12V Marine Fridges are very similar to the Dometic CRX line above. The main difference is a smaller freezer compartment (if opted for) and larger capacity volumn sizes!
Isotherm Cruise fridges pull about 5 amps at 12V.
12V Chest Style Fridge Recommendations
12v chest style fridges have many more options with a pretty extreme range in budget. Alpicool is on the more affordable end and Dometic is on the more costly end. Many van lifers prefer this type of fridge because it can be removed from your van easily and can even be plugged into a portable power station instead of hardwired into your electrical system.
- [34-55 liter options] Alpicool
- [30-50 liter options] ICECO
- [25-100 liter options] Dometic CFx3
Alpicool Chest Style Fridges
Alpicool 12V Chest Style Fridges range from 35-55L and are all under $325. These are simple “cooler” style fridges; however, the temperature can be controlled down to -4F.
ICECO Chest Style Fridges
ICECO 12V Fridges have removable baskets for storage, as well as dual zones (in some). These are a popular option for camper vans due to their sturdy design and efficient cooling.
Prices range from $500 – $1,300.
Dometic CFX3 Chest Style Fridges
Dometic fridges are tried and true for quality and efficiency. They offer single and dual zoned chest style fridges / freezers with temperature control.
Prices range from $879 – $1,400.
Use the code “ENGINEERS” for 5% off.
Complete Your Camper Van Kitchen
That is pretty much it when it comes to choosing a fridge for your camper van buildout:
- Get 12v marine style one
- Decide what style you prefer
- Determine how large it needs to be
If you found this useful, we have an entire guide dedicating to other parts of your camper van kitchen set up. Head on over there next! Or, check out our plethora of other DIY Camper Van Building Guides. Happy building!
Next Reading:
Camper Van Cooking and Kitchen Guide
Thanks for being here! Happy building!
Eric + Colby
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Comments 3
Do you have a recommendation for vanlifers who don’t want to run their fridge 24/7? I’d like a 12v cooler that has great insulation, so I can leave it off and once it’s cooled down and still keep things relatively fresh if we don’t open the lid very often.
Author
All of the fridges we linked are compressor fridges. Compressor fridges do not run all of the time – I think on average they run about 35% of the time!
Hi! Nice kitchen! I am wondering what material you used for your countertops?
Thanks, Lynn