ASK ARB – Fridge
Freezer Features

Hi, 

My name is Bart and I live in a beachside suburb approximately 180km south of Perth. We enjoy legal beach access for our 4WDs and as I’m retired I use my 4WD and the beach almost daily.

My main 4WD is a 2003 Mazda Bravo 2.5 Turbo Diesel Freestyle cab/chassis. When it came time to select a fridge, I was restrained by the space behind the front seats but due to the suicide doors this was deemed to be the perfect place to locate the fridge.

After extensive research I decided on the ARB 47L fridge and have never looked back. ARB Mandurah’s salesperson helped, as his product knowledge contributed positively to the purchase decision.

The ARB fridge delivers so many better features than the other main players:
– protected controls located at the fridge opening
– non-protruding carry handles that don’t look like an afterthought
– protected power cable outputs
– excellent and robust lid and hinge design that can’t be damaged by over centre opening
– lid locking catch design superior to any other manufacturer – very user friendly
– drain plug for easy cleaning

I also recently purchased a very old but honest Nissan Patrol. It’s a 1989 4.2 Petrol/LPG gas automatic long wheelbase wagon, and with nearly 300,000km on the clock, it still drives well and is intended for the beach and long fishing sessions. So another fridge was immediately identified as a priority and so I went back up to my friendly ARB retailer in Mandurah and grabbed one of ARB’s 35L models. 

Both fridges run 24/7. When at home or visiting friends and family, a 240V mains power cord is run to the vehicles. They are only switched off when cleaning is required. The 47L fridge is nearly three years old and hasn’t missed a beat, with cold beers all the time. The 35L is less than a year old but appears to be as happy as its bigger brother.

Hope the feedback helps and congratulations on a great magazine. 

Kind regards,

– Bart
Happy reader, happy 4WDer and happy ARB fridge owner 

G’day Bart,

What a great place to live and enjoy the local offerings with full beach access and ocean fishing at your fingertips.

We appreciate the honest feedback on all our products and your glowing report of the ARB fridge reflects what is truly a new and innovative design, creating the next generation of portable fridges. The unique ARB Fridge Freezer design is a result of significant market research with input from a wide range of customers around Australia, plus our own experiences from using older style portable fridges.

The six key features you rightfully point out have all contributed to the ARB fridge winning 4WD Action magazine’s best fridge comparo for the second time in a row. With your new 35 litre fridge in the Patrol, I am sure that you are equally impressed with the bright white LED display which makes it easy to read, especially in full glare such as beach driving.

I like the way in which you run 240V power to run the fridge when at home as this overrides the 12V circuit and keeps the charge in your vehicle battery – a very nifty feature especially when travelling to a powered campsite for the night.

Hopefully your return journey from the beach has a fridge filled with your catch of the day.

– Robert Puts, Product Manager
Canopy & Fridge Freezer