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PORTABLE REFRIGERATORS for Rivians -- 12V or 110V??

Lil'O Annie

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Any recommendations for portable refrigerators to use in the Rivians?
AND, is there a 12V or 120V outlet in the front trunk--haven't been able to find info on that.
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Seattleite

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You might not want to put a fridge in the frunk unless there's good airflow, otherwise there'll be nowhere for the heat to go...
 

ajdelange

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Any recommendations for portable refrigerators to use in the Rivians?
There are several out there and as I have only used the one I am hardly qualified to offer a review. I can say that the ARB I have has been great both in the car and in the house (where we use it a supplemental fridge for soft drinks, beer etc.)

AND, is there a 12V or 120V outlet in the front trunk--haven't been able to find info on that.
I believe the answer to that is "both". This is something to think about a bit depending on the architecture of the fridge you buy. The ARB, for example, has a 12V compressor and a 120V power supply to produce 12V if you plug it in at home. Obviously in the car you want to use the 12V receptacles as overall the system is more efficient that way.
 

ajdelange

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You might not want to put a fridge in the frunk unless there's good airflow, otherwise there'll be nowhere for the heat to go...
The ARB uses 45 W when it is running and seems to be on about a 1/3 duty cycle so average consumption is 15 W. That's 51 BTU/hr. I'll bet that won't warm the frunk much.
 
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12v. National Luna are the best ones. But expensive.
 

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I believe front trunk is 12V only, bed is 120V only.

I have a dometic 95DZ that I plan to put in the frunk (if it fits - the latest shots have me nervous ?). I'm not concerned about the ventilation - it may be a little harder on the compressor over time but it's worth it to me to have a sealed area that's still easy to access and leaves the bed free. (Lots of local campgrounds don't allow fridges in a non-secure compartment given grizzlies, and the Dometic is an inch or two too tall for the bed.)
 

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There is definitely 12v in the frunk. (Located on little shelf towards the top front of the frunk off set to the drivers side) I saw it in April when I wasn't allowed to take interior pictures...lol. It was always my understanding that Rivian practically expected people to use the frunk with a fridge. At one point there was talk about custom fridges for the frunk but maybe that was wishful thinking.....
 

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I don't claim to know anything about portable fridges, but I did notice one in the MotorTrend tire article:

Rivian R1T R1S PORTABLE REFRIGERATORS for Rivians -- 12V or 110V?? 2022-Rivian-R1T-Spare-Tire-Explained-15
 

ThatOneGuy

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Didn't Rivian say at one point that they were partnering with Dometic to make a custom fridge for the frunk? I swear I saw this somewhere..
 

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I'm sorry - You appear to be incorrect. That is clearly a table. :p

Ok yes - I bored..... at least next week there will be football on Sunday.


I don't claim to know anything about portable fridges, but I did notice one in the MotorTrend tire article:

2022-Rivian-R1T-Spare-Tire-Explained-15.jpg
 

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DynoSaur

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Any recommendations for portable refrigerators to use in the Rivians?
AND, is there a 12V or 120V outlet in the front trunk--haven't been able to find info on that.
I use a Dometic CFX3, and it’s great. Heavy once loaded, but a great dual zone option.

Definitely go 12V. It’s much more efficient. The nice thing anout the dometic is it has 2 ports, and can run off either. So if you need to bring it in, you can run off regular 110 outlet - or for our R1S’s, go frunk or cabin.

I just used mine again this past weekend, left it in the trunk with a Jackery 500. Didn’t notice any crazy heat output - but hard to notice when it’s 100+ in the car :)

If I had to purchase over, I’d probably go a little smaller fridge only and keep a separate yeti for clean ice. I mostly take 2 day trips. For longer overlands, the freezer would be fantastic though.

Though I will say, being able to
open up the freezer and have ice (not melty) and a syruppy bottle of vodka is pretty baller. Not to mention popsicles for the kiddos that don’t get all mushy and wet with traditional
coolers.
 

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You really can’t go wrong with either Dometic or ARB fridges. But also consider just getting a roto-molded cooler. I’ve got a large Yeti that’ve I’ve taking on weekend camping trips and it’s always kept a good amount of ice for the entire weekend while keeping my foods well chilled. Even a top of the line (and overpriced) yeti is going to be more affordable and will never break. Something like an RTIC is even more affordable.
 

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Didn't Rivian say at one point that they were partnering with Dometic to make a custom fridge for the frunk? I swear I saw this somewhere..
They did say at one point that they were looking into possibly having someone make one down the line, they didnt specify who, but i saw in one of the reviews that dometic makes the induction cooktop, its retail is over $500 alone, so makes sense why the camp kitchen is so expensive, but i would assume they were maybe looking into it with them.
 
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TAZ

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I asked CS about the exact size of both the frunk and bed of the R1T to confirm if my yeti 75 cooler would fit and received the following information. Based on this, the yeti wont fit in the bed with the tonneau cover closed unfortunately, 1/2in too high but should in the frunk. I figure this would be useful information for this conversion also.

Dimensions for the front trunk in the R1T and R1S:
  • Length (Max): 647mm or 25.4″
  • Width (Max): 1393mm or 54.8″
  • Depth (Max with cargo shelf removed): 577mm or 22.7″
  • Depth (with cargo shelf installed): 373 mm or 14.6″
  • Volume: 313L or 11 cubic feet

    As for the truck bed:
    Truck Bed
    Length (Tailgate Up): 1371mm or 54″
    Length (Tailgate Down): 2124.5mm or 83.6″

    Cargo Width: 1299mm or 51.1″
    Wheelhouse Width at Floor: 1277mm or 50.2″

    Wheel Well Height: 151mm or 6″
    Height to Tonneau: 434mm or 17″
    Height to Rails: 465mm or 18.3″

    Bed Volume: 828 L or 29.2 cubic feet

    Underbed Storage:
    Underbed Storage Dimensions: 900mm x 1010mm x 316mm (35.4″ x 39.7″ x 12.4″)
    Underbed Storage Volume: 405L or 14.3 cu ft
 

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Dometic CFX3 35 - Dimensions product height, 16.02"
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