12V 4WD Canopy Fridges Buying Guide

Advantages of upright

• Much easier to access food and drinks
• A bigger volume for the space
• Significantly less weight
• No fridge slide required
• Less expensive overall

The benefits of an upright fridge for a 4wd canopy are easy to see. Your food and drinks will be easier to access, and you’ll have more fridge volume for the area it takes up. An upright fridge will also weigh a lot less than a chest fridge on a slide too – not to mention the cost savings. It’s for these reasons that we are seeing a lot more Bushman upright fridges being installed into canopies.

Although it is also worth understanding the disadvantages an upright fridge has over a chest fridge freezer so you can make the right decision for your needs.

Disadvantages of upright

• Less temperature control
• Requires more ventilation
• Requires defrosting more often
• Needs to be packed more carefully

The first main difference between a chest fridge and an upright fridge is the cooling capabilities. A chest fridge is designed as a fridge or freezer, so you can set the fridge to any temperature all the way down to -18. Whereas an upright fridge is designed to sit around 4-5º. So no matter how far you turn the thermostat down, your drinks wont get to 1º.

In general terms an upright fridge also requires more careful packing and more maintenance. By placing all your jars, bottles and cans in plastic tubs, you will stop them moving around during transit. And once a month or so, depending on use and weather conditions, you may need to defrost the freezer.

And finally, the third main difference is the amount of ventilation they will require. For example, and 85L upright fridge will require proportionally more free air flow than a 45L chest fridge.

Advantages of chest fridges

• Precise temperature control
• Can easily be removed from vehicle
• Less ventilation needed
• Can operate as a true deep freezer

Chest fridges allow greater temperature control than an upright fridge, as temperatures can drop to as low as -18. This means your chest fridge will always stay icy cold and can operate as either a fridge or as a deep freezer. Chest fridges are truly portable and due to their cooling system design, less ventilation is required, so they can fit easily in almost any vehicle and in tight spaces and still operate efficiently. Many customers choose to have both an upright fridge and a smaller chest fridge freezer as part of their 4×4 setup, as this provides the most flexibility and extra cold storage for longer trips.

Disadvantages of chest fridges

• Not as easy to access food and drink
• Heavier than an upright fridge
• Requires a fridge slide or drop slide for better access
• All up, costs are generally more expensive

More like a traditional esky, the internal configuration of a chest fridge means your food and drinks are not as easy to reach as the vertical layout offered in an upright fridge, that’s more like your fridge at home. Chest fridges are generally heavier than an upright fridge, and if a fridge slide or drop slide is required, take up more space and are more expensive overall.