Making the most of a tiny fridge
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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11462
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Topic: Making the most of a tiny fridge
Posted By: Mesa Verde
Subject: Making the most of a tiny fridge
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 7:43pm
One thing we gave up when we bought our new (to us) 179 was a decent sized, well arranged Norcold fridge. It had at least 1 more cubic foot of space than the 179, a freezer twice the size of the new one and shelves that actually are wide enough to hold a lot of food. Any tips for making the most of this little fridge with shelves so narrow that anything wider than a yogurt carton will fall off and even a quart of milk is too tall (only exaggerating a little bit!  ).
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Replies:
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 7:55pm
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It does take some getting used to. We will sometimes carry a small freezer to use just for extra space/room. We will also carry a cooler for waters/condiment etc to be able to use the fridge for more important stuff. ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 8:31pm
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Refrigerator bars (spring-loaded, rubber tipped bars that are placed across the front of the shelves help to keep things from falling off. That way, you can stack some items and still have them stay in place. I also put a couple of them behind the upper shelf so that things would not fall off the back side. I do wish they had made the shelves a bit wider also, but have used the bars to help use what we have more effectively. We do have an extra cooler we purchased that is a Free Piston Sterling Cooler that runs on 12V but unlike a thermoelectric cooler, actually does cool reliably while using less power than the thermoelectric models. We got it at our local ReStore after it was donated by a pharmaceutical company (not used to transport hazardous biological materials or organs). These are set to run at 4 degrees C, which is about 39 or 40 degrees F and will hold within a degree or two of that temperature. They are very expensive new, but ours was used and came with both a 12V cord and 120V power cord with transformer. This usually rides in the TV with us. We have not checked to see exactly what the power draw is as we got it after last summer's travel. On those times we did have it and stayed in a motel room, it was nice as it is also very quiet, much more so than the thermoelectric ones we have. I don't know if we could run it on 12V without running down the batteries (dual 6V in series). I think we could get an overnight okay, but don't know how much beyond that would be possible. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 9:17pm
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We kept drinks out of the fridge, used a cooler for them. No issues for 10 days.
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Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 9:39pm
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We also use a cooler as an added space to keep drinks and vegetables cold. We use the refrig for meats, cheese, eggs, milk and things that need to be kept cold and somewhat constant temp. the cooler has the rest. It lives in the back of our expeditioin and is readily accessible. Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
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Posted By: rawest50
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 10:08pm
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We bought an ice maker. Makes I think 26 pounds in a day. More than we need. We also carry a cooler with ice for drinks & some food items. Doing this we have camped for 5 days and could have stayed longer with no problem . Drinks are the biggest storage problem. A lot of beer. 😂 You need to figure out you eating habits & what needs to be frozen versus cooled. ------------- 2017.5 RPod 179 2017 Jeep Unlimited Wrangler 2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 Off Road Crew Cab 2 Weiner dogs Great wife puts up with my BS ❤️ Thoroughbred Racing. 
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Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 23 Apr 2018 at 10:21pm
+1 ------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: Mesa Verde
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 10:14am
| Thanks for some helpful ideas. |
Posted By: TheBum
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 11:13am
+1. They also come in handy for packing the pantry in our 179. We have shelves in the pantry and the bars keep items on the shelves. ------------- Alan 2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats |
Posted By: DavMar
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 3:39pm
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We also like many here use a cooler for drinks and such. Though I got tired of buying ice every day and I was about to spend hundreds of dollars on a Yetti cooler so I made my own poor man version of a Yetti. Now I can get three days out of a bag of ice to keep drinks cold in the cooler, not bad for a $20 investment and a little work I'd say?
------------- Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 3:44pm
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+1 to fridge bars and large cooler, I buy ice. With quality cooler my ice lasts 4-5 days. I debated ice maker. But figured I can buy that or 100 bags of ice. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: TheBum
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 3:58pm
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Wow, you must know a place for cheap ice. It's $2 per 10 lbs minimum down here in Texas, unless you can find one of those self-service ice "kiosks". ------------- Alan 2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 4:01pm
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I buy it on post at Fort Campbell. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 6:50pm
------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 6:54pm
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I'd move. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 24 Apr 2018 at 6:59pm
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We bought a small ice machine for making ice for the coolers when fishing down on Cape Hatteras, a lot better than buying a bag every other day for the month. Have use that ice machine for 3 years now!! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |