Finally joined the fridge/freezer club! Costway 54qt

[PolarExpress]

I grew tired of hauling my 50qt yeti style cooler around for camping immediately. Took up too much space inside and had to team lift with my wife to move it around once it was full. Really wanted the Dometic DZ75 but didn't want to spend the $$. So I pulled the trigger on the Costway 54qt fridge/freezer. $380 and 3 day shipping from Amazon. First impressions are it's decently built, not exactly a tank, but should last if I'm careful. The temp settings are definitely not exact, so I'll be purchasing an accurate thermometer to stick in there. The 54qt fits perfectly behind my JKU's rear seat, even with the seat recline kit installed AND a tailgate table with med kit strapped on it. I can completely open the lid where it sits, although I'll probably make a slider for it at some point. Currently running it off the JKU's one battery. Plugged in last night at 6pm already cooled down to 34F, ran off battery until 6am. Starting voltage was 13.4 morning voltage was 12.5, drove 20 minutes to work, voltage back up to 13.5. I have a Yeti400 that will be run between the jeep 12v and the fridge for trips and will also be purchasing an additional 34ah battery to daisy to the Yeti400 that should close to double the Yeti capacity. So happy I don't have to mess with heavy coolers n ice anymore. Just hope the fridge lasts. :-) I'll post updates every week or if something crazy happens.

Cheers!

 

[toxicity_27]

Nice! It's a game changer for sure.

 

[Matoolie]

Congrats! I’ve been looking at this one. Any chance you could report back on the temperature delta as that seems to a possible issue with these? The durability of the handle might be another. Enjoy it!

 

[PolarExpress]

Congrats! I’ve been looking at this one. Any chance you could report back on the temperature delta as that seems to a possible issue with these? The durability of the handle might be another. Enjoy it!

Temp is kinda all over. I’ll post once I figure it out. There’s a big difference between Eco mode and High mode. Eco mode the temp was set to 32f, the compressor didn’t turn on until it hit 37f and didn’t turn off until it hit 31f about 12 minutes later. It was drawing 48w at the start and dropped to 37w after 7 minutes. Once it hit 31f it shut off for 36 minutes. I ran it off battery for 24hrs with driving for a total of 40 minutes in the middle. Now it’s on the yeti400 until morning.

 

[Reaper_st84]

I grew tired of hauling my 50qt yeti style cooler around for camping immediately. Took up too much space inside and had to team lift with my wife to move it around once it was full. Really wanted the Dometic DZ75 but didn't want to spend the $$. So I pulled the trigger on the Costway 54qt fridge/freezer. $380 and 3 day shipping from Amazon. First impressions are it's decently built, not exactly a tank, but should last if I'm careful. The temp settings are definitely not exact, so I'll be purchasing an accurate thermometer to stick in there. The 54qt fits perfectly behind my JKU's rear seat, even with the seat recline kit installed AND a tailgate table with med kit strapped on it. I can completely open the lid where it sits, although I'll probably make a slider for it at some point. Currently running it off the JKU's one battery. Plugged in last night at 6pm already cooled down to 34F, ran off battery until 6am. Starting voltage was 13.4 morning voltage was 12.5, drove 20 minutes to work, voltage back up to 13.5. I have a Yeti400 that will be run between the jeep 12v and the fridge for trips and will also be purchasing an additional 34ah battery to daisy to the Yeti400 that should close to double the Yeti capacity. So happy I don't have to mess with heavy coolers n ice anymore. Just hope the fridge lasts. :-) I'll post updates every week or if something crazy happens.

Cheers!


View attachment 82366 View attachment 82367 View attachment 82368

Maybe you can help me?The rear handle from the fridge is it removable?Not sure about the space in the jku,i have a dometic slider and a DIY cover box,i need to be sure,this fridge(smaller version) is on my wish list.

 

[ArkansasDon]

congrats on the purchase. I like my Engel portable fridg\freez

 

[PolarExpress]

Maybe you can help me?The rear handle from the fridge is it removable?Not sure about the space in the jku,i have a dometic slider and a DIY cover box,i need to be sure,this fridge(smaller version) is on my wish list.
View attachment 82518

The handle at the rear has four Phillips head screws, just like the front handle that has the control panel in it. So I imagine that you could remove it pretty easily and it would save about 2-3” of space. All the vents are back there so you’d need to ensure it can breathe. I like your slide out.

 

[The other Sean]

Always keep in mind a fridge/freezer will always have a +/- range for the compressor to kick on. Does yours have an adjustable range?

 

[PolarExpress]

Always keep in mind a fridge/freezer will always have a +/- range for the compressor to kick on. Does yours have an adjustable range?

Nope. It only has a setting for target temp and Eco or High mode. Granted, on High mode it may start the compressor sooner than Eco mode. So it maybe similar to what you’re talking about, but there’s no way for me to choose the exact temps. That would be a nice feature, it’s probably available on the more expensive fridges.

 

[Reaper_st84]

The handle at the rear has four Phillips head screws, just like the front handle that has the control panel in it. So I imagine that you could remove it pretty easily and it would save about 2-3” of space. All the vents are back there so you’d need to ensure it can breathe. I like your slide out.

Thank you so much for the info!![emoji106]

 

[PolarExpress]

If you want to spend more money to maybe get a better warranty or something, the same fridge/freezers can be bought from Smittybilt for $799 and Tuff Stuff just sent me an ad for their new fridge/freezer for $749. exactly the same as the one I purchased off Amazon for $379 right down to the plugs.

 

[Reaper_st84]

Sounds like a 400$ warranty LOL!!

 

[CSG]

I love the idea of a fridge but as it's only me that travels in the LX, I make due with a Yeti Roadie. I freeze a few Costco water bottles but most of what I eat doesn't really need refrigeration and I only take that rig for a couple nights max anyway. Fridges are a trade-off - convenience for complication in the electrical system. My van has a compressor fridge that came built in and I've got two house batteries to run it so it's easy in that rig.

 

[PolarExpress]

I love the idea of a fridge but as it's only me that travels in the LX, I make due with a Yeti Roadie. I freeze a few Costco water bottles but most of what I eat doesn't really need refrigeration and I only take that rig for a couple nights max anyway. Fridges are a trade-off - convenience for complication in the electrical system. My van has a compressor fridge that came built in and I've got two house batteries to run it so it's easy in that rig.

Yup. Totally understand, I’d do the same thing if it were only me. Having my wife, 6yr old and 4yr old boys along needed a big ass cooler or a decent sized fridge. This was a good option for us.

 

[CSG]

When my kids were young, we traveled in a succession of three RVs - a truck camper, a small 5th wheel, and finally, a larger 5th wheel. We had a proper fridge in all three but we were traveling, not overlanding. We did take the truck on day adventures but tossed what food items we wanted in a cooler. Now, the kids are grown so I've gone back to camping like I did back in the day. My wife won't camp without a proper RV.

 

[KC2BUN]

I'd love to get a fridge/freezer, can't afford those. I use dry ice in the bottom of my cooler with regular ice on top to insulate the groceries

 

[PolarExpress]

I'd love to get a fridge/freezer, can't afford those. I use dry ice in the bottom of my cooler with regular ice on top to insulate the groceries

Coolers are fine, I was tired of mine taking up so much space and dealing with the weight. Food for 4 people plus ice, plus big ass cooler gets heavy and takes up a ton of space. After selling a couple of nice coolers, I was only out $120 for the fridge. I lost a little money on the coolers but I’d had them several years and got a lot of use out of them. I still have a big cheap cooler to use when hunting. After seeing the fridge/freezer most of my hunting buddies are getting one as well. They’re very convenient.

 

[varano14]

OP if you can post up how you daisy chain the yeti to an additional battery. I am doing exactly what you are describing to power my fridge (a Dometic CFX50) and would like to double my yetis capacity. Reading online I know it can be done but haven't found much info on how people have gone about it.

 

[PolarExpress]

OP if you can post up how you daisy chain the yeti to an additional battery. I am doing exactly what you are describing to power my fridge (a Dometic CFX50) and would like to double my yetis capacity. Reading online I know it can be done but haven't found much info on how people have gone about it.

I was able to buy everything off amazon. The post-to-Anderson connectors and battery boxes come in tomorrow but the batteries won’t be here until next week. I’ll post the product list and photos of the setup when I get the batteries. That’s right, I’m adding two instead of one, because why not. Hahaha

 

[Smorris6891]

If you want to spend more money to maybe get a better warranty or something, the same fridge/freezers can be bought from Smittybilt for $799 and Tuff Stuff just sent me an ad for their new fridge/freezer for $749. exactly the same as the one I purchased off Amazon for $379 right down to the plugs.

View attachment 83079 View attachment 83080

so the smittybuilt is the same as the cheaper Costway version? any one have experience witht the smittybuilt version