When car top tent camping off the beaten path, one of the first things you are liable to be looking for is a bag of ice To top off the cooler.. In our early days of cartop camping we attached a trailer rack to the hitch mount on the back of the car and used this Pelican cooler designed for long-lasting ice storage. It was made to keep ice for up to seven days and did so very well. The cooler was heavy when filled with food, drinks and ice, But it worked well just leaving it mounted to the car and using it As we traveled without ever taking it off. Unfortunately, the walls of the cooler are thick and that limits the space inside the cooler. By buying a wire shelf accessory to keep some items dry and out of the ice water, there was even less room for food items. On more than one occasion we had food wasted by immersion in the ice water, containers leaking etc. There was no way to keep anything frozen so most packed food items were only going to last a few days. For short trips where ice was readily available, this was a very good cooler and did fine. However, for boondocking or traveling to areas where ice was not as available, this was not a good option.
I started checking boondocking and off road overlander sites to see what other people do when off-road in remote locations where they don't have access to ice. One of the most popular and best reviewed products was the Dometic line of refrigerated ice chests. There are several different shapes and sizes and different features at different price points. The first thing I did was measure the area in the back of my SUV that I would mount it and haul it. I decided that this needed to be inside the car for security and protection from the elements. The second thing I did was figure out how I could access this while on the road without having to remove it from the car. After measuring I determined that I could accommodate the Dometic CFX3 DZ (Dual Zone) 75 (Liters), MSRP $1399.99. This unit has two separate compartments where the temperatures can be set independently. The two lids are the same size, but the compressor is located below the bottom of the smaller compartment, reducing the capacity on that side. I determined that I could use one side as a freezer, and the larger as a refrigerator. There is the option to freeze on both sides, refrigerate on both sides, etc. I will review my unit later in this blog, and include a link if you would like to purchase one from the manufacturer. If you do, I'll get a small commission. I carefully checked the dimensions and decided to build a slide out rack to mount it on. There are commercially available slideouts, but they are expensive, and I thought I would build my own. More on that later.
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