Gear test / Updated Oct 20, 2026
How we test 12V fridges
Same food load, same thermometer, same van. Here’s the routine every fridge goes through before we say a word about it.
Quick take
A fridge only earns a recommendation after a full weekend on the road: pull-down time, power use per day, and how steady it holds temperature in a hot van.
Good for
- Van and overland owners choosing a fridge
- Anyone comparing power use before buying solar
Skip it if
- Weekend tent campers with a cooler that already works
The question
Every test starts with the buying decision it answers. For fridges that’s simple: will it keep food cold on our power system without draining the battery?
The setup
Each fridge gets the same load of water bottles and food, starts at the same room temperature, and runs from the same battery. A probe thermometer sits in the middle of the load and a power meter sits between the fridge and the battery.
We write down the date, the outside temperature and anything that could change the result before we start.
What we record
How long it takes to get the load down to fridge temperature, how much power it uses over a full day, how much the temperature drifts, and how loud it is at night.
Manufacturer numbers and our own numbers are always labelled separately.
How we decide
We only compare fridges tested the same way. If a result looks odd, we run it again. Then we tell you who it’s for, who should skip it, and what we’d buy instead.
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