Skip the Ice & Cooler With the BougeRV 12 Volt Fridge

From fabric to old-school Coleman and even YETI, we own a lot of coolers. But nothing like this one! The BougeRV 12-volt fridge is a real game changer. Yes, this term is overused – but it really is a game-changer. Life-altering, to be exact, and you’ll be shocked at what a 12-volt portable refrigerator can do these days! Keep reading, as this post is a really good one.

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When Electric is Good

You’re reading BushLife, where we make fire with sparks of steel, scoop water from a river, boil and drink it. And we favour places where technology ceases to exist. But some tech these days are too good to pass up. That tech is the 12-volt DC power fridge from BougeRV.

We were eyeballing portable electric coolers a few years back to avoid the inconvenience of ice (and save the space it takes up). The salesman suggested to plug it in THE NIGHT BEFORE so it cools down for when you need it. Even YETI advises pre-chilling their coolers with ice before use. When you spend hundreds of dollars on something, it better be convenient and ready to go when you want it. The BougeRV’s fridge cooling power goes from room to fridge temp in 15 minutes!!! No ice! Things have changed a lot.

Features

12 Volt DC Electricity

The big deal is that an electric fridge/cooler fundamentally changes things – you no longer need ice. Ice that takes up precious space. Ice that melts and makes a mess. Ice that needs to be replaced and is often not easily found on backcountry road trips.

Now all you need to replace is electricity. But that’s the easy part these days with a solar panel, battery bank, or even power station options like those from Bluetti or Jackery, which many outdoorsy people already own. And if you don’t already have a power source, you need not look far, as BougeRV will recommend their own battery at checkout.

Most newer cars conveniently have a 12-volt, cigarette lighter-style outlet in the trunk. Check yours, as you might have a 12-volt outlet and not even know:) The same goes for boats, trailers, RVs and so on.

Convenience

Speaking from experience when camping with the family, when the ice melts, it’s an emergency. You need to stop enjoying what you are doing and find some ice – or say goodbye to your ice-related products. The more remote you are, the more difficult this can be.

Related Post: Camping Gear Essentials: The Ultimate Checklist

Food Safety

The coldest a traditional cooler gets is when loaded with fresh ice. The temps only rise from there as the daytime temps rise or when it’s left in a hot car. It’s doubly an issue when the kids take forever in the cooler and are constantly in and out.

Of course, a GOOD cooler loaded with ice can last for days. But a digitally controlled cooler with the power to generate cold is far more capable of keeping a consistent temperature – a cold, food-safe temperature.

With temperature zones of -22℃ to 10℃ (-7℉ to 50℉), the BougeRV fridge can convert into something else: a capable 12-volt freezer! No traditional cooler has that capability.

A Built-in Backup Plan

A traditional cooler has no backup plan for the lack of ice. But who says you can’t put ice into an electric cooler? Even a powered cooler is insulated, maybe not as well as an ice box, and with no drains, but the fact remains it is insulated.

Two is one, and one is none, is a good motto for remote scenarios. Have a backup plan, especially with some of your most precious cargo. If the fridge were to fail, ice would be the rescue. While that’s a negative thought process, that’s how I generally prepare for an outdoor adventure – with contingencies. These contingencies create a positive experience no matter what happens along the way. In simple terms, the 12-volt fridge can go to plan B, and a regular cooler can’t.

Freezer Mode

Let’s get back to freezer mode since it’s another door that opens up with a 12-volt fridge – at least with compressor coolers capable of converting to a freezer like the BougeRV. You can’t do that with ice. Ice in a cooler will slow the melting process of frozen food, and it may even buy hours, but it isn’t and never will be a freezer.

We’ve had several near 30-degree Celsius days this summer, and our family LOVES ice cream. Particulary, from one store which is 40 minutes from home! Since its arrival, with this 12-volt fridge/freezer, we can buy ice cream (or any frozen products) from just about anywhere. Instead of rushing home in a panic, we can stop as often and as long as needed. Even better is that we no longer need to plan our shopping stops with the intent of leaving the food stop as the last. We can now drive a more efficient route while placing perishables into the fridge along the way, saving a LOT of time and money.

Multiple Power Options

The BougeRV cooler ships with a 12-volt, cigarette lighter-style adapter, which works well in cars, boats, etc.

But it also comes with your standard 110-volt DC adapter. I suspect it simply converts the voltage down to 12 volts. Either way, the brick is similar to that of a laptop computer, making it super easy to run the fridge at home, at a camp with power hookup, and so on. In other words, you need not try to rig up a 12-volt source for home use.

If you find yourself in a situation where no power source is available, a power station is your best friend. BougeRV even has a 200-watt-hour power station that fits the bill. Now, you can add solar panels and potentially run off the grid for a long time.

Battery Protection Feature

The BougeRV fridge has some built-in programming to stop the fridge from running when the battery hits a certainvoltage, which is handy if running the fridge off your vehicle’s battery in an overnight or multi-night situation. The battery charge level with which the fridge shuts off is selectable from 1 of 3 levels, offering varying degrees of protection.

Yes, it’s a feature and theoretically handy. But I don’t like using it one bit. Keep reading – it’s the fridge’s only flaw.

There Was a Problem

When testing the BougeRV cooler, an E1 error popped up on two separate occasions. That means the fridge shuts off over a low-voltage detector. It also does this without warning, which I don’t like.

On both occasions, the fridge was plugged into my Jeep’s cigarette lighter outlet with a fully charged car battery. In other words, I don’t know how well that feature works or perhaps when a large electrical load like starting the car happens, it draws the voltage low enough to enable the fridge’s cutout feature. Maybe it’s meant for times (like overnight) when the car isn’t running and there are no other loads to confuse the fridge’s sensors.

Having food not spoil, however, is equally important as your starting battery being able to start. Maybe even more important as I’d rather get a boost than food poisoning.

There is a VERY Simple Solution

After setting the protection level to its lowest, there have been absolutely ZERO issues with the fridge shutting off. And this is over months. I delayed releasing this post until I could confirm the problem has been resolved, and I am confident to endorse the product.

Ongoing Solution

Having some yachting experience, you should always have a separate house battery to run your gear when you are away from shore power, especially in an overnight or multi-day setting. Ideally, a deep cycle battery is your “house” battery since it’s intended to survive that type of use. Overlanding, car camping and RVing are no different.

This house versus starting battery system saves your starting battery simply by not hooking up a bunch of stuff. I recommend that every system or portable power station for camping or long-term scenarios be your power source. You’ll need something to charge your phone, camera, laptop, etc.

Fit and Finish

The plastics are nice, the 12-volt refrigerator feels solid, and the lid closes and stays shut with a solid magnetic hold that instills confidence. The LCD is clear, and the buttons feel crisp and responsive. I have no complaints about the fit and finish and find the fridge to be a nice unit.

The only cons we listed is that the fridge is a bit heavy. The fridge is almost 24 pounds empty. While that weight makes it feel good in the fit and finish department, like you’re holding something solid, it’s heavier than a traditional cooler, which makes it a con. However, it’s not unmanageable, and the weight is a functional weight. When weighing a traditional cooler, you better add the weight of the ice for it to be a fair comparison.

Full Use of Space

We have used the terms cooler and fridge quite interchangeably in the post. While you can call it whatever you want, it fills a void in the cooler segment. Ie. Keeping fold cold on the go. Hands down, the biggest pro is being powered, ready in 15 minutes and capable of staying that way indefinitely.

The second biggest pro is the lack of ice-wasting space! We’ve already covered the convenience of ice (acquire, insert, drain, and replenish). But let’s look at what that does for space. The fridge has a small amount of body on all sides, except for the right side, which is 5.25″ wide – this is where the compressor and all the goodies are. In exchange, you get a full 30-quart usable capacity when buying a 30-quart cooler. Let’s do some comparisons now.

Coleman and YETI are probably your biggest household names in the cooler segment. Let’s compare it to YETI as it’s a similar price point. YETI suggests a 1/3 to 2/3 ice ratio to keep contents cold for a long time. 13 food or drink to 23ds ice, that is. Now your 30-quart cooler is only capable of chilling 10 quarts!!!

Massive Space Savings

If you have ever camped, overlanded and so on, you KNOW space is at a premium! You also know the cooler takes a good chunk of the trunk. At least it does in my Jeep. So, for giving up 5.25″ on one side of a fridge, you gain a full 20 quarts in cooler capacity. Following basic math makes the numbers shocking. It’s the equivalent of carrying three comparable-sized coolers.

Organization

The BougeRV fridge has a removable verticle divider that splits the fridge in half. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s something. And no, you can’t run the fridge and freezer simultaneously – you’re asking for too much:)

Operation

We use the car fridge a lot for grocery shopping. Plugging into the cigarette lighter socket in the Jeep’s trunk is all it takes to get the fridge going. We plug it in, power it on, and it remembers the last set temperature, which for us is 6 degrees Celsius (regular fridge temp). The town is 20 minutes away and the fridge is as cold as our household fridge.

We have left the fridge running in the car for hours with no effect on the car battery, and it has held a consistently cold temperature. When returning home, we empty the BougeRV fridge, shut it off, and then leave the lid open to allow the moisture to dry up. Dry-up happens fast, within an hour or two. Then we close the lid to keep dust out, and it never develops a smell. We couldn’t ask for anything more.

Camping is easy. It gets plugged into our Bluetti power station, and we need not worry about the car’s battery overnight.

Video Review of the BougeRV 12 Volt Fridge

The Verdict

The BougeRV 12-volt fridge has worked impeccably and offers a wide range of use, such as outdoor adventures, long trips and grocery shopping. It has, in all honesty, enhanced our lives. It hasn’t been perfect, like most electrical things. Choosing the lowest level of battery cut-out protection was the only issue we found which went away.

It’s also an excellent size and choice for camping, overlanding, boating and RVing. This portable refrigeration unit does not get used on our side-by-side, as these trips call for more traditional coolers that can take a beating. If you are seriously into the outdoors, you’ll need multiple cooler options for different scenarios. For what the BougeRV covers, it does it very well. Plus, it’s easy to clean, and we recommend it wholeheartedly. Should you buy the BougeRV fridge, don’t skip the next section!

Warning – Don’t Tip Your Fridge!

It’s common knowledge not to tip a refrigerator and plug it in. Ie. When you buy a fridge for home and if it was delivered flat like on the back of a pickup truck, you can’t generally plug it in for 24 hours. The gas goes somewhere it shouldn’t and escapes if you plug in too soon.

The BougeRV 12-volt fridge freezer is no different. It’s why they even put a sticker advising you to avoid immediate use if delivery was on its side. Only they advise for 12 hours. In other words, always keep compressor-based coolers upright for at least 12 hours before use.

It’s not a con or a problem. It’s just the nature of running appliances that carry refrigeration gasses.

Don’t forget to use code ‘AFF25’ to get 25% off your BougeRV Fridge.

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