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Travel cooler/fridge

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There was a youtube video posted on here (link below), but I think the unit was supplied by the vendor to the person who posted the video.

...and his ^^^is more expensive than identical units available on Amazon...
 
I just ordered the Phantom 30L portable electric cooler at Costco for $189 and it fits like it was made for the MYLR 2023 5 seat sub trunk. It has both a 12v plug for the trunk that pulls 45 w per hour (1kW) max per day. You can also use AC at a hotel/Airbnb w/ a second cord they provide. I’ll be using the AC cord to precool it before road-trips / sports tournaments for the kids / camping.

Compared to the Yeti Tundra 45 recommended on other threads, this has the same 32L capacity and 23 pound weight, but is less than half the price of the $400 non-electric Yeti.

The lid will also close completely flat with clearance for air circulation. I think on hot days we may crack the lid just to prevent overheating.
It’s pretty quiet so we won’t be able to hear it over the road noise.

I haven’t taken this on a long road trip, but as far as fit, design, function, and price I have yet to find a better electric cooler solution.

Thanks for the info, putting one on order now!
 
Thanks for the info, putting one on order now!
I ordered one too last week after it had been out of stock for a couple of weeks. Received it earlier this week but haven't had a chance to use it in the car except for a test fit.

I agree with @SmingusDingus that it fits perfectly in the subtrunk with room to spare around the sides for ventilation. I tried it out in the house setting it to -4F and it got down there within an hour or so. I checked with an separate thermometer and it got close to 0F but would have probably gotten down to the setpoint if I left it running overnight.

The cheap price with the Costco return policy is a winner.
 
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Anyone look into something like this? I'm thinking of ordering it to try it out. Would work perfectly for trips where we need to keep our daughter's formula and milk cool/cold
There was a youtube video posted on here (link below), but I think the unit was supplied by the vendor to the person who posted the video.


The above was my video and a little update on the unit. I had this sent to me from Tlyard to review and install as stated in the quote above. I have two kids as well and it’s perfect for snacks or drinks, etc. It’s a bit expensive, but I get tons of use out of it. After a month or so, I still love it and works as intended. Here’s my YT vid again on it directly below for ease of watching.

 
The above was my video and a little update on the unit. I had this sent to me from Tlyard to review and install as stated in the quote above. I have two kids as well and it’s perfect for snacks or drinks, etc. It’s a bit expensive, but I get tons of use out of it. After a month or so, I still love it and works as intended. Here’s my YT vid again on it directly below for ease of watching.

This looked appealing to me at first, but how do you end up using it in practice? If you're on a road trip, you can't access the drinks while you're driving. It's also not big enough to keep a lot of food cold after a trip to the supermarket.

I suppose you could grab some cold drinks out of it just before heading back for the day?
 
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I ordered one too last week after it had been out of stock for a couple of weeks. Received it earlier this week but haven't had a chance to use it in the car except for a test fit.

I agree with @SmingusDingus that it fits perfectly in the subtrunk with room to spare around the sides for ventilation. I tried it out in the house setting it to -4F and it got down there within an hour or so. I checked with an separate thermometer and it got close to 0F but would have probably gotten down to the setpoint if I left it running overnight.

The cheap price with the Costco return policy is a winner.
Got my Costco Phantom 30L cooler last week. So far, opinions are pretty positive.

As I mentioned before, in the five seater, there's actually a slot/gap under the rear of the subtrunk cover that serves as reasonable ventilation for the fridge. So you can sit the subtrunk cover flush over the fridge while running without any worries. As far as I can tell, it does not get excessively warm in the compartment and the fridge seems perfectly capable of cooling itself to any desired temperature with the cover in place.

When the fridge is in the subtrunk, there's still space on the left side for one bag's worth of something. Ventilation for the fridge is on the right side, so I'd lean towards leaving that space clear.

I run the 12v DC power cable out through a small gap in the outermost corner of the cover and into the 12V socket.

Temperature settings are remembered whether the fridge is plugged in or not. There is no smartphone app to control or monitor the fridge.

I tried to get clever and power the fridge via a USB-C to cigarette lighter socket. Unfortunately, the fridge has both undefeatable low voltage cutoffs to protect ICE car batteries and a starting amperage that is too high for lower amp USB-C settings. 15V/3A adapters supply insufficient amperage to start the compressor, and 20V/5A is interpreted as below the low voltage cutoff for a 24V battery, so the fridge errors. It would take some more serious hacking to work around this, so I'll just use the supplied DC power cable ... it's not a big deal.

Today, I was able to fit a 2 gallon pack of Costco milk (in the square jugs) plus a relatively flat bag of frozen ramen. There was room for a bit more on top ... perhaps another relatively flat bag of food. The compartment is quite deep.

OK, you're not going to be stocking up on frozen pizzas with this thing, but it can help extend a day trip of errands if you compromise a bit around it. If you're stocking it purely for a trip, you'll be able to pack it with a lot of stuff.

I think there's still room for a custom fit fridge that really takes advantage of all the space in the subtrunk. The one coming out of China right now is quoted at 35L, which doesn't seem like enough of an improvement considering it fills the entire space.
 
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So, LostVector, with the 30L Costco Phantom cooler, are you able to access drinks while you're driving, 🤪 🤣 (sorry, couldn't resist!)

The behind-the-console cooler (5 liter) is the only one that can be accessed while driving down the road. I've been considering the "hidden trunk cooler" (15liter.) The 30liter one you have is clearly the largest, but both the "hidden" refrigerator and the Costco cooler can't be accessed.

Sigh...all have advantages/issues!
 
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So, LostVector, with the 30L Costco Phantom cooler, are you able to access drinks while you're driving, 🤪 🤣 (sorry, couldn't resist!)

The behind-the-console cooler (5 liter) is the only one that can be accessed while driving down the road. I've been considering the "hidden trunk cooler" (15liter.) The 30liter one you have is clearly the largest, but both the "hidden" refrigerator and the Costco cooler can't be accessed.

Sigh...all have advantages/issues!
LOL I get it. The side pocket cooler just seems to be in a weird middle ground where you give up its accessibility but you don't gain enough space in it to help run errands. Basically the only thing I can think of to do with it is keep some drinks and packed lunches cold for an all day trip ... which isn't something we care too much about personally, but YMMV. I feel like the bigger and smaller options have a better variety of use cases.
 
Precious power? What about our precious water?!? :p
Blue ice conserves water. ;) I have over 10 pounds of it.

Where I live, in the New Mexico desert, evaporative coolers are considered better for the environment (compared to A/C). They consume a lot of water (often 100 or more gallons per day) but use far less electricity. When we get more renewable sources of energy I think this will change and A/C will be considered better because electricity will be very cheap but water will still be scarce.
Actually the efficient portable fridges use about 400-500Wh per 24 hrs, eating about 2 miles of range. And get a portable power station, and some fridges have power packs also.
Good point. Thanks for putting that in perspective. I broke down and ordered a Tesfridge. Blue ice in a cooler can easily last me a couple of days but the fridge might be more convenient, especially for longer trips.

Size-wise, an Igloo Laguna just fits in the Model Y subtrunk and holds 48 quarts. The Model Y Tesfridge also just fits in the subtrunk and holds 35 quarts. The Laguna wins even with a gallon (or two) of blue ice.
 
Blue ice conserves water. ;) I have over 10 pounds of it.
Nice! Still, a compressor-based fridge lets you store more stuff.
Where I live, in the New Mexico desert, evaporative coolers are considered better for the environment (compared to A/C). They consume a lot of water (often 100 or more gallons per day) but use far less electricity. When we get more renewable sources of energy I think this will change and A/C will be considered better because electricity will be very cheap but water will still be scarce.
I've lived in swamp cooler country (El Paso, Apple Valley), and it's effective and energy efficient, but hopefully we can go solar + heat pumps and save our water. A lot of these places are running out of water as it is!
Good point. Thanks for putting that in perspective. I broke down and ordered a Tesfridge. Blue ice in a cooler can easily last me a couple of days but the fridge might be more convenient, especially for longer trips.
I'm waiting for the MX version to come back in stock. Will get a Renogy 266Wh battery bank to keep the fridge powered when the car is parked. And I already have 2 Newpowa 60W solar panels, when camping should keep the fridge going indefinitely. (I also have EcoFlow 160W and 220W panels, but those are MUCH heavier! Worth it for camping, though.)

Also, the non-square shape of the subtrunk gives TesFridges considerably more insulation than rectangular fridges!
Size-wise, an Igloo Laguna just fits in the Model Y subtrunk and holds 48 quarts. The Model Y Tesfridge also just fits in the subtrunk and holds 35 quarts. The Laguna wins even with a gallon (or two) of blue ice.
Interesting option… requires too much planning ahead, LOL. My wife and I are… let's be generous and call it "spontaneous."
 
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Nice! Still, a compressor-based fridge lets you store more stuff.

I've lived in swamp cooler country (El Paso, Apple Valley), and it's effective and energy efficient, but hopefully we can go solar + heat pumps and save our water. A lot of these places are running out of water as it is!

I'm waiting for the MX version to come back in stock. Will get a Renogy 266Wh battery bank to keep the fridge powered when the car is parked. And I already have 2 Newpowa 60W solar panels, when camping should keep the fridge going indefinitely. (I also have EcoFlow 160W and 220W panels, but those are MUCH heavier! Worth it for camping, though.)

Also, the non-square shape of the subtrunk gives TesFridges considerably more insulation than rectangular fridges!

Interesting option… requires too much planning ahead, LOL. My wife and I are… let's be generous and call it "spontaneous."
Blue ice melts. It doesn't make a mess like regular ice but it takes up space and needs to be refrozen when it melts (usually daily).
The compressor fridge will go forever.
I've been using a compressor fridge (with a small battery unit) for the past year on all of my trips. Love it. Works great. No mess. No hassle. Just plug it in and go.
 
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Blue ice melts. It doesn't make a mess like regular ice but it takes up space and needs to be refrozen when it melts (usually daily).
The compressor fridge will go forever.
I've been using a compressor fridge (with a small battery unit) for the past year on all of my trips. Love it. Works great. No mess. No hassle. Just plug it in and go.
Agreed, 12V compressor fridges are an amazing solution, especially with all the power banks available now.

Plug fridge into power bank, power bank into car, you have an auto-recharging setup.

Of course keeping it at 100% SOC all the time damages the power bank. If only battery banks had charge controllers that default to charging to 80%, with a "charge to 100%" button before camping trips! I plan on doing this manually, if I remember to unplug it LOL
 
Agreed, 12V compressor fridges are an amazing solution, especially with all the power banks available now.

Plug fridge into power bank, power bank into car, you have an auto-recharging setup.

Of course keeping it at 100% SOC all the time damages the power bank. If only battery banks had charge controllers that default to charging to 80%, with a "charge to 100%" button before camping trips! I plan on doing this manually, if I remember to unplug it LOL
The newer power banks have LFP batteries which don't have the problems of NMC batteries with overcharge and overdischarge.
 
I'm waiting for the MX version to come back in stock.
I think you can still order them from Indiegogo but the feedback there from the company is very poor. Recently they said the MY versions should be arriving in mid October but so far they haven't sent out a survey to ask which variant of the MY people have. My optimistic guess is they have made it one-size fits all so the survey is no longer needed it. MX deliveries are expected in mid-Februrary.

Will get a Renogy 266Wh battery bank to keep the fridge powered when the car is parked. And I already have 2 Newpowa 60W solar panels, when camping should keep the fridge going indefinitely. (I also have EcoFlow 160W and 220W panels, but those are MUCH heavier! Worth it for camping, though.)
I got a renewed Jackery 1500 for half price. Since I don't plan to use it often, a possibly short lifespan is not an issue for me.
Also, the non-square shape of the subtrunk gives TesFridges considerably more insulation than rectangular fridges!
Good point! The extra insulation could be a game changer. Maybe I could do a side-by-side comparison.
 
The newer power banks have LFP batteries which don't have the problems of NMC batteries with overcharge and overdischarge.
I got my Tesfridge for Model Y. Basically what I expected ….. the built in venting out the back is significantly better than the Phantom cooler I had before. Certainly pricier but more fit for purpose. I do wish they had gone with a more spacious and thinner walled design, even at the cost of overall efficiency. It doesn’t consume a significant amount of power to begin with so the space would be more important to me. But it is certainly the largest capacity fridge for the subtrunk regardless.
 
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Depending on how much cooling you need I like mine:

1696722914687.png

And only $34 when I got it. I run it off USB and it keeps a stack of cokes I keep in the car cool to cold depending on how long I've been driving. Fits behind the center console between the seats in my TM3.
 
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