12v Portable Camping and 4x4 Fridges

After enduring a scorching hot camping weekend recently we finally bit the bullet and decided to invest in a portable 12v fridge for the back of the Cruiser.

Over the last few years the market has been flooded with different options of fridges all offering something which they claim you cannot live without.

Do you need a digital thermostat? What size will suit your needs? Do you need a freezer section?

40l Engel

Being a family of four we basically steered away for the popular 40l straight away. Having used a friends 40 Engel (when our esky didnt hold up to the task) I was not overly happy with the deep bottom which meant you must dig around to find things which in turn kept the lid open for longer. I also found the optional transit bag a pain to keep out of the way of the lid and latch which meant you needed two hands at all times to open and close the thing! A few things the Engel has going for it is claimed reliability and tough build. The transit bag definitely protects the fridge and you can see yourself pulling the fridge out of the bag a few years later and it still looking brand new. Lastly, I didn't particularly like the heaviness of the fridge and the cost for something with no digital thermostat and no fridge/freezer option. No sale!


 My research then took me to the Australian Direct Website. Klaeton who runs the show up in QLD has really got his act together. The guy offers a wide range of 12v fridges (and numerous other camping products) with a 24/7 phone support hotline! Klaeton and his team were more than willing to handle my questions with unbiased  and experienced opinions.


I have always been a fan of decent ice boxes - tough as nails, easy to clean, great to stand on to load up the roof and the ice lasts days! Evakool are a market leader in ice boxes and with a German made Danfoss compressor strapped to the side and simple, reliable electronics provide a great option for portable fridge/freezers.

Evakool offer two main models and recently a range of cheaper models. The two standouts are a fibreglass option and a poly option - the fridgemate. Both options are tough, Australian made and offer a 5 year warranty. There are service centres throughout Australia.

60l Evakool Fibreglass

The fibreglass is sexy. I love the clean white and non porous finish. From what I gather the benefits are great for not holding stains and smells (especially suited to fishing), light, reflects sunlight and hand made in Australia. Claimed negatives are it may be a little less robust than the tough poly fridgmate and the hand making of the unit definitely adds to the cost.

Evakool make the fibreglass model in a 40l, 47l, 60l, 85l, 110l and a whopping 150l!!!

The 60l should be ideal for most small families and my pick of the lot.

60l Fridgemate Poly

In keeping costs down, Evakool sourced a range of Evakool designed poly ice boxes from China and offered the new range as cost effective versions of their popular fridge/freezer.

They come in the sizes 55l, 60l, 70l and 95l. The new model is a good looking 60l which has a molded body around the compressor.  This means you have two great handles to tie down off and a cover over the temperature switch.

For the same price you can opt for the 70l but i found it a bit long and bulky for my needs. I have heard they are popular though as you get an extra 10 litres for your hard earned.

The poly to me was a great option too being tough as nails just like a normal poly icebox and fitted with the same famous Danfoss compressor.

Both units have removable internal dividers which convert the fridge/freezer to either all fridge or all freezer.

Now the interesting bit. Australian Direct have added an industrial grade Carel Digital Thermostat option to all of these models. This gives uses the option to set and forget the temperature - so no waking up in the morning with frozen lettuce or even worse - beer!

The last model I seriously considered is the Waeco CF-50DZ dual zone. This fridge is a 49l dual zone fridge freezer with a removable divider to make it either all fridge or all freezer. I really like the look of this fridge and found out recently my neighbour has one and it looks great. Waeco has a great reputation and warranty (5 years on compressor and 3 years on everything else) and it comes with a standard digital thermostat.

For the price i think this fridge is a ripper. The only thing that turned me away is the slightly smaller footprint which meant you have to dig down to get to things. The compressor is built in which does make the footprint smaller (which is a good thing for space) and you then have a butter section above the compressor. Evakool claim this makes them more inefficient but i wouldnt personally worry too much about that as the butter section is fairly practical.

There are alot of different cheaper models out there (and some more expensive!) and im sure most will do the job. A recent contender are the waeco copies being advertised with a danfoss compressor and great warranty.

You just have to make up your mind on what will suit your purposes best.

Stay tuned for our decision and review on the new purchase!

Yalwal NSW campsite review

When you type in Yalwal it autocorrects to halal. The irony here is that Yalwal NSW is a far from halal as you might get.

1.5 hours from Wollongong is a great campsite bordering a bass filled dam and surrounded by 4wd tracks!

The drive is quite easy, after you get out of Nowra, you hit the great red dirt this area has to offer, deflate and drop down a windy descent into Yalwal itself.

The camping is free and it seems a lot take advantage of it. It is accessible to 2wd vehicles who are happy to risk a few bumps and this does draw in a bit of rif raf.

Funnily enough, the weekend we were there, the toughest crowd were a scout group from Sydney who turned up at 1am Friday night, wedged themselves between some unhappy campers and banged pegs in for the next hour. It wasn't windy but the little buggers were determined to keep their tents pinned to the one spot.

Toilets and drinking water are provided and of good quality. The ground is rough with only the grassed edges of the campground worth fighting for and you have to get in quick.

The temperature sent us down to the dam where the girls paddled and the guys made the jump off the 5m dam wall. Refreshing and exhilarating for someone past their prime in stupid behaviour.

Yalwal is rich in history and a quick scope around reveals the hardship of the goldrush era. Unfortunately, a lot of trails have been fenced off as of late so a lot of the exploring has to be done on foot.

A favourite return trip is to head back out of Yalwal, right onto Deans Gap Road then right into Mintbush firetrail. It then winds down a bumpy descent then starts ascending up Monkey Gum firetrail which is a real gem.

The deep ruts were a challenge for the new flexy coil kit and the rear locker was activated twice to help out. A mates hilux stock bar a set of muds and a body lift made it up with a few attempts of the harder stuff. A real effort!

If you are up for a challenge and don't mind a few scratches from the odd branch then Monkey Gum is a ripper. You are rewarded with a great view from the top. The trail then takes you to Turpentine road where you hang a left and continue along before you hit a sharp turn onto Deans Gap road again for your return back into Yalwal.

A great weekend away with some good trails, comfy enough accommodation and a choice swimming spot. Just be ready to encounter a few fireworks, poor karaoke and the odd scout with no idea.

Suspension Stuff Landcruiser Flexy Coil Kit

I thought i would tell everybody my opinion on my 2 inch flexy coil kit from suspension stuff.

I recently bought a 105 series landcruiser. With this truck i wanted it to be a family car for my wife and still be capable enough offroad to get me most places.

I also wanted it to be basically legal ie no more than 50mm lift and run 33 inch tyres max.

I narrowed my suspension choices down to the 2 inch flexy coil kit, the old man emu 2 inch lift with sports shocks or a tough dog combo.

I am sure the OME or tough dog would be awesome and i would have been happy with them but i decided to take a risk in search for more flex and give the flexy coils a go. I have found there isnt much about these set ups so hopefully this helps people decide.

The OME kit was $1900 installed. it was just coils and shocks and castor bushes. 

The flexy coil kit was $1600 delivered and had additional: 3 extended brake hoses and sway bar extensions. Install was around $450 - mine ended up costing $700 as there were some problems with LPG tanks in the way... So overall pretty similar. 

Firstly, can i say The guys at suspension stuff were really helpful and i deadset must have annoyed them heaps asking questions and spent 40 min on the phone to shane at one point but they were always courteous and helpful. Every guy i spoke to in the suspension industry including ultimate and tjm as well all said obviously that theirs was the best. But i didnt like how ARB etc were like: ours is the best and that it. no real explaining why just buy it as its the best. i did like how munroe do alot of research for the ome kit tho... Suspension stuff actually explain the reason why there kit will do what i wanted it to do. I was sold!

The first problem i had was i ordered the kit and the guys contacted me and said that dobinson was out of 4 inch shocks and they would be a month. I was a bit disappointed with that as i had handed over my hard earned and get told it would be a month instead of the agreed few days. No big deal.

The boys then looked into 6 inch shocks for the kit and i spent some time on the phone negotiating the best approach. I didnt want to fit these shocks if they needed massive bumpstop spacers so we nutted it out. Shane then volunteered to go in on a saturday and fit the 6 inch shocks to his own 105 series and see what size bumpstops you would need and see if they would work. This is the service that was great with these guys.

Turns out the 6 inch shocks worked and needed 35mm bump stops front and rear. This would give the truck some serious flex too!

I had some 35mm square tube at work so gave it to the guys fitting my suspension and they fitted it all and extended the bolts for the bumpstops and added the spacers.

The whole concept i wanted was a car that wasnt very high, was great for my wife to drive and get kids into, was legal but flexed unreal off road. The best of both worlds - and it is awesome!

On the road it handle great. I think due to getting the wheel alignment right. i havent loaded it up yet but i am told it will handle a load really well as the spring binds up as you put pressure on it so you can add weight without too much sag.

I ordered 5 steel rims with 5x 305/70r16 mtz's and told shane - he recomended -14 or -20 offset which was a great idea and i went with -14 cause thats all i could find. They scrub on the rear inner guard a little and in hindsight a -20 or -24 would have been better as they still sit inside the guard a fair bit.

I have added some pics of it flexing but this is only early days so havent got great pics but i am more than happy. I did some pretty gnarly stuff on the weekend and still didnt get a wheel off the ground so not sure of the potential of the flex!!! I walked behind it as my mate drove it up a hill aiming for the hardest route - the car just crawls lazily up not even bothered. i put a rear locker in the truck and used it once on a big step. No lockers required with this kit! you never lift a wheel off the ground!

A big thanks to suspension stuff and also highlands tyremaster mittagong - they were awesome and highlands transmissions for fitting the kit. (hope this is OK - i have no affiliation with them but they deserve a big thankyou)

Chris

link to kit: 2" LIFT MATES RATES FLEXY COIL KIT for a Landcruiser 105 Series, Suspension Stuff

http://www.suspensionstuff.com.au/shop/

Meryla State Forest 4x4ing

A great day trip from Sydney is Meryla State Forest.

Located 10 minutes from Moss Vale, there are plenty of tracks to keep you and your mates amused with some challenging hill climbs and great camping spots.

The video is my old 90 series turbo diesel Prado with lockers hitting the main climb on Gunrock Falls fire trail...

Unfortunately, i have seen this hill climb become quite rutted out over the last couple of years as a local 4wd club uses it every month for driver training. I love the bush and love hitting some hills but have seen first hand the damage done over a short period of time.

Having said that, it just adds a bit more challenge and there are a huge amount of tracks to get into and if it rains for a week then get onto the powerline track and tackle the mud!!!

It wouldnt be a 4wd video without the lovey dovey wife comments to my 1 year old in the background!!!

Opinions are vital

4X4 products are flooding the market, and in an age where there are so many options you would think it would be easier to find what you want.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case.

There are sometimes too many options - and all claiming they perform the best, last the longest and surpass the competition.

Mix in our quest for perfection in all of our material possessions - it can get quite confusing.

I love camping and 4wding. I love considering different camping/4x4 products.  

My latest buy will be a 12v fridge/freezer. I've bugged suppliers on the phone, done spreadsheets comparing features, scoured eBay, forums and the like for opinions leading me to the perfect fridge for my needs! 

What size would suit us best? Should I buy a chinese cheapy or Big brand Engel or somewhere inbetween? Do I want a digital thermostat? Is a 1 year warranty enough? What is the after sales service like? How many amp/hours is too much? When i make a decision i will let you know!!!

Hopefully, my reviews will help you make up your own mind on products you are looking for - and ultimately help you get out and explore this great country with your friends and family.