Can A Mobile Fridge Be Too Big? [Part Two]

In the first part of this segment, I talked about the experiences I have had with past “Adventure” refrigerators…you know, the mobile 12v kind. The kind that we want to use and abuse and never have to worry about. The kind where we know our stuff will be kept cold and our vehicle battery will still start our rig the next day. Well, the Dometic CFX3 75DZ has met all of those demands!

Those of us with Jeep Gladiators know that installing a fridge slide in the back of our rigs does present a small challenge…the slide must be elevated enough to clear the drop down tailgate “bump”. So before you throw that slide into the bed and bolt it down, check to make sure the slide will have clearance to actually slide out!

In my case, installing the Dometic CFX3 SLD75 which fits the 75DZ like a glove, did require some spacers to lift the slide about 5/8″ off the bed floor. Weighing just over 40 lbs and having a capacity of 220 lbs, this slide is no lightweight!

One side of the bed already had some Mac’s VersaTie Track installed and I wanted to keep it in place and use it, so I only had to worry about elevating the one side equally. I had some aluminum bar stock laying around that worked perfectly.

Once the spacers were drilled and the holes were lined up, the installation was simple and allows the slide to clear the bump in the tailgate and extend fully.

While I was at it, I also installed the Dometic Dual Plug receptacle on the side of the bed. Using their quality wiring and allowing me to have two 12v receptacles was exactly what I was looking for!

The only thing left to do was plug the unit in and see if it worked…which whenever I wire something, I tend to hold my breath…but in this case it worked fine.

This fridge can hold 113 cans! That’s a lot of space! What’s even better is the ability to control each compartment separately, either by using the controls on the unit itself or by using the app on my iPhone! The Dometic CFX3 App allows temperature control via WiFi or Bluetooth and provides performance history as well! The control panel also provides a USB plug to charge your phone or any other device through the fridge, drawing power from whatever source the fridge is connected to.

While I was afraid that this fridge may be too large, it has worked out for our uses very well. When we are only gone a day or two, we simply just turn the front compartment on. The flexibility of this unit is awesome.

• One or both compartments on/off and either can be a fridge or freezer;
• With the app you can monitor AND adjust the temperatures;
• We have kept the fridge plugged into the Jeep for extended times and the fridge will turn itself off before you lose the ability to start the rig;
• The lid can be mounted to open either side;
• The protective cover is thick and made very well.

I LOVE this fridge. If you have the space and plan to be out for extended periods of time, Dometic has you covered! Also, check out a few of their other products that we will be showing in future stories! The Dometic GO Family of products.

We give this fridge 5 out of 5 ModernJeeps!

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