A few weeks ago I parted ways with my amazing and awesome ARB Fridge/Freezer. I never thought this would happen. The ARB is a highly regarded, highly efficient cooler that is popular among off-roaders because it can keep foods very cold using very little energy.
I wanted the 50 quart ARB Fridge Freezer
So I had this fabulous AC/DC ARB refrigerator to supplement the tiny, tiny refrigerator in The Tiny.
I’m guessing the trailer fridge is about 1.3 cubic feet. The 50-quart ARB I bought is the equivalent of 1.7 cubic feet, so I more than doubled my capacity. I need a lot of space for food because I eat from a special food plan that includes a lot of fresh vegetables.
I wanted the AC/DC ARB rather than a cooler because I would never have to buy ice. And one of my pet peeves is buying bags or blocks of ice for camping. When I hear a fellow camper say: “I need to go get ice,” it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard.
For 8 months, the ARB traveled in the back of my SUV. At camp, I set up a table under my awning or in my Clam shelter tent, and put the ARB there.
But here’s what I started to notice: the ARB is freaking heavy! It weighs 50 pounds empty! And with food, that could equal 70 pounds. That a heavy beast to be schlepping from vehicle to trailer and back every time I move camp. What was I thinking? I noticed that when it came time to move camp, which I generally do every three weeks, I would dread the moving of the ARB. The task would be hanging over me like a dark cloud. It finally occurred to me that having such a heavy appliance that I had to move was not sustainable. There would eventually come a day where it would be impossible for me to move it. And keeping it in the vehicle was just not an option.
Slowly, the idea emerged of getting rid of the ARB. I looked over at my tiny refrigerator and the awkward cabinets near it—one to the right, and one below—and wondered if I might use all that space to replace the small fridge with a bigger unit. (Installing the ARB there was not an option. It was too big and would require a sliding shelf to pull it out.) I hired an RV mechanic to come by my camp and tell me if it was even possible. He said yes, no problem, and if I bought a bigger fridge that would fit in the space, he could install it for a couple hundred bucks. Eureka! I decided to get rid of the ARB.
Once the decision was made, I could not wait to list the ARB on Craigslist. I was a week away from leaving the camp and did not want to load that monster back in the Durango even one more time. It turns out selling the ARB was the right thing to do. I know that because it was so darned easy. I listed it late in the evening on Craigslist for $700 and said in the ad that if you didn’t have $700 cash to purchase this high quality unit, don’t bother contacting me. The next morning, I got an email from a potential buyer. I had instructed responders to put something in the subject line to indicate they were legit. He wrote: “I am not a robot or an alien.” We agreed to meet at the welcome center of my campground to avoid the hassle of getting him a visitor’s pass. He was a young guy who saved money from his job as a forest fire specialist and did off-roading in his Land Cruiser. He knew exactly what an ARB was and he saw the value of buying a nearly new one locally rather than paying for shipping. He handed me 7 crisp $100 bills and loaded the ARB into his vehicle. We stood and spoke a while about our adventures. We both agreed that people who travel have the best stories.
That night, I went to Walmart and bought a small white Igloo cooler to span the gap in time between the exit of the ARB and the new fridge I want that costs more than $1,000.
I came up with the brilliant idea of buying two blue ice packs, and keeping one freezing in my small trailer freezer, and one in the Igloo, and then switching them out each day. No bagged ice for me!
So, a few weeks on, I’m so happy with my Igloo and the elegant simplicity of my system. I’m not even sure I’ll get that bigger fridge. I’m having a cosmic shift within me, and am seeking fewer expenses and fewer complications.
One thing I know for sure, when I leave my present camp 4 days from now, I will not need to move that massive, honking, back-straining ARB from the awning area to the SUV. I won’t have to empty the food out, move it, then load it back up. All that is not hanging over me. At this moment, camping and traveling seem so simple and so easy. And that is the life I want.
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