If you’ve ever pulled up at camp after a couple of dusty hours on the track, and realized that your camping fridge is off or has that dreaded blinking red light, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there, and we all know that sinking feeling when all the meat’s gone off and the beers aren’t just ‘not cold’, they’re actually well into the ‘hot’ category. A 12v fridge not running cold can be pinpointed down to a couple of most common faults that thankfully can be fixed relatively easily, so here are the top six ways to keep your fridge running colder.

1. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR 12V PORTABLE FRIDGE IS PROPERLY PLUGGED IN!

The absolute number one cause of portable fridges that stop running during the day comes down to retaining the cigarette plug. These things are prone to jumping loose over corrugations, and when they come in and out of contact, they develop massive resistance to the point where the plugs frequently melt. Hard-wiring your fridge solves this problem (don’t forget a 15A blade fuse), but if you want to swap your camping fridge between vehicles, replace the cigarette plug with a 12v Anderson-style plug which has a much more positive-locking action and won’t jiggle out.

2. KEEP YOUR PORTABLE CAMPING FRIDGE OUT OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT

Camping fridge transit bags exist for a reason. Even the most basic ones help to keep direct sunlight off your 12v fridge, and they also provide a second layer of insulation to keep the cold inside. You’ve got two options – you can typically pick up a specific fridge transit bag from the manufacturer for somewhere between $60 and $150, and it’ll be made perfectly for your model of fridge and fit spot-on. The other, less effective but considerably cheaper, option is to grab one of those cheap car window reflective shades and a bit of duct tape and make your own. We’ve done it in the past to get out of a bind and it works okay – better than nothing, but not as good as the real thing. Get the real thing.

3. ANOTHER OPTION FOR KEEPING DIRECT SUNLIGHT OFF YOUR CAMPING FRIDGE

Speaking of those window shades, they’re perfect for fitting to the rear windows of a wagon or fiberglass canopy ute in a semi-permanent arrangement. In the past we’ve duct-taped the shades to the three sides of the cargo area as a way of keeping the rear of the vehicle cool and preventing direct sunlight from hitting the portable car fridge. As a bonus it’s a nice little boost in the security stakes too, keeping prying eyes away from what you’ve got stored in the back of your 4WD

4. AIRFLOW MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO HOW EFFICIENTLY YOUR CAR FRIDGE RUNS

If you run an alloy or steel canopy on your ute and your dual zone car fridge is inside, you’re going to push it seriously hard on those hot days. Canopies have this ability to turn into giant heat boxes, especially when you’re parked up in the middle of the day at work or the like. The solution here is airflow – vents to allow air into the canopy to keep the temperature down. If you do a lot of driving then fit a couple of canopy/boat/caravan one-way type vents at the front of the canopy up high. As a bonus it’ll positively pressurized the canopy as you drive and prevent dust from getting in through breaks in door seals. Another option would be a whirly-bird style vent which will work well even if you’re not constantly moving.

5. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CAMPING FRIDGE HAS PROPER ELECTRICAL POWER TO RUN IT!

Of course none of this matters if your battery setup isn’t right, because when you turn your engine off, you’ve got to keep your 12v fridge running. Typically, you’ll want at least 100Ah of auxiliary battery capacity to happily carry you through the first night and most of the second day, but you’ve got to also be able to charge it up again. DC chargers can put anywhere from 25A to 80A back into your batteries per hour of driving, so they’re perfect for pumping your batteries back up full again if you only drive relatively short distances each day

6. PRE-CHILL YOUR PORTABLE FRIDGE BEFORE YOU GO CAMPING

If, like us, you chock your camping fridge up the afternoon that you head away for the weekend, you’re behind the eight ball from the very beginning. The best option is to fill the 12v fridge the night before, set it down to a frosty 0°C and give it time to bring everything down to the right temperature. Then, before you go to bed, put a 240V charger onto your auxiliary batteries to get them charged to maximum capacity before you leave. That way, you’ll set off with a cold car fridge, full batteries and a lot less potential for things to go wrong.

BONUS TIP: TAKE THE HEAT OFF YOUR PORTABLE 12V FRIDGE

Sometimes, simple is best. We’re big fans of carrying an icebox for the drinks and leaving the food in the 12v fridge. What this does is prevent your portable fridge from running flat out trying to cope with being opened every 20min when someone wants a tin of amber nectar. With this sort of setup, a $4 bag of a ice can extend the usable life of your batteries by double because your 12v fridge is running nowhere near as hard sucking down the juice!

With a little bit of assistance, you can get your portable car fridge running colder and better – and that’s guaranteed to improve your camping experience!