Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator
When we drove the White Rim Road in Moab, Utah6 years ago, we were sporting a classic 1990’s era red and white fridge that had powered many a soccer game snack and camping adventure alike. That being said, our dear little fridge began to struggle on the White Rim. With temps in the mid 80’s to 90’s, there was only so much ice we could cram into that fridge before there was no room for food. Our 3 day journey had an edge to it, will the ice melt and will our food stay good?
Fast forward to the end of our adventure on the White Rim Road and our food survived, but we had reached our limit on endless cold plunges for our hands and non stop worry over whether or not our food would spoil. So we got home and started researching. The biggest caveats we factored into our research were:
No Ice: As mentioned, we were pretty done with worrying over how well ice was or was not holding up on trips so we wanted something that would eliminate our need to carry ice (unless we are making margaritas).
Good for Multi Day Trips: We had recently started and were planning on taking more 7+ day overlanding trips and we wanted a fridge that could easily accommodate food for that amount of time.
It Could Grow with Us: At the time we were recently engaged but knew we wanted to have a family one day, camping fridges are one of the more expensive items you can purchase for your overlanding rig and we wanted to make sure our purchase was future proof.
We finally settled on purchasing the Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator because it fit all of our criteria and it was the best quality product for the price on the market at the point of purchase. We have been using this fridge since 2020 and have compiled a full review of why we love the fridge and have included some of the things we don’t love as well.
What we Love About the Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator:
Interior Space:
This fridge is spacious. Frankly, if you are adventuring solo on short trips or are a couple who are primarily weekend adventurers, this size of fridge is overkill and you could definitely size down. However, it allows you to carry all of the food and drinks you could want in a weekend with extreme ease. We have packed this fridge with pirex’s, full grocery bags, beer cans, loose fruits and veggies, you name it and it all fits. We can pack it to excess for small weekend trips or can comfortably pack 3-5 days worth of prepped meals for our longer trips.
Interior Compartments:
The Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator is broken up into 3 sections. There is one top section that is small and runs with width of the fridge that is great for storing either condiments or more fragile food items such as fruits or vegetables. The main compartment has a removable divider that allows you to make it two small sections or one big square storage compartment. I personally rarely use the divider and have opted to have one big storage compartment as this suits my method of meal prepping most of our food ahead of a trip. However, it has come in handy no longer trips when I want to separate out the food that I am purchasing to cook with later.
Pro Tip: A fully loaded reusable shopping bag fits perfectly in the big square compartment when the divider is removed. If you’re short on time on a trip and need to make miles you can plop a bag of groceries in there and take the time to properly organize your fridge once you get to camp (it also keeps your fridge nice and clean!)
Temperature Variability:
The Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator has a great range of temperatures to set the fridge at which makes it ideal for overland travel. On scorching hot days we can keep the temperature pretty low and it keeps our food beautifully cold. A word from the wise though, don’t set it too low, it will freeze your food and you will be disappointed that your soup now requires an ultra slow defrost. Alternatively in the colder months the fridge can be set to slightly higher temperatures without issue.
Toughness:
This fridge is built to be really tough and withstand a fair amount of abuse. It has lived in the backseat of our truck and the truck bed throughout the last 5 years and has been subject to being a stepstool, favorite seat for our dog, had gear piled on it, been sat on and been generally bumped around as we drive some rough roads and it still looks brand new. It has not sustained the bumps, scratches and dents that one would maybe expect from a fridge that lives in a truck bed 95% of the time.
App Based Control:
The Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator has a very easy to use app that allows you to name your fridge (we went with Big Frosty) and control the fridge from just about anywhere. This ends up working out really nicely when you have a few hotel nights interspersed with your overlanding trips. It allows you to keep the fridge plugged into your power source and run it safely from the vehicle without having to unload what feels like half your kitchen into your hotel room.
What We Don’t Love About the Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator:
Weight:
Realistically, the Dometic CFX3 55 IM Portable Refrigerator is competitive on weight ratings for the industry and competition. We have prioritized keeping our entire set up as light weight as possible to combat the low overall recommended gross vehicle weight that our Tundra has so we are always looking for spots to lighten the load. The fridge is and remains a bit heavy for our liking especially when it is fully loaded.
12 V Power Cord & Reliability:
The 12 V Power Cord has caused us quite a few headaches over the last few years. The cord initially broke after a year and a half of use and has been faulty with staying plugged in throughout the lifetime of the fridge. Having the power source for our fridge be faulty has been something that has caused us more anxiety than we would like. We have also had an issue where an internal component of the fridge broke causing the fridge to freeze all of our food. Both of these issues were resolved by a Dometic dealer but took quite a bit of time to resolve and took place within the first 2 years of owning the product which was disappointing.
Customer Service:
Dometic overall stands by their product and takes care of their customers when the product has an issue. That being said, it can take weeks to get in touch with customer service and take several more weeks to reach a resolution to your problem. If you have time sensitive issues to take care of with your fridge I would be prepared to adjust your expectations for when they will actually be fixed as it will not be quickly.
Power Draw:
The downside to not having an ice based fridge is you need a power source, and you need a power source that functions while your rig is not running. The Dometic, loves power, it eats it up, and we made the mistake of buying an underpowered battery and solar panel to fuel it. While this was a rookie mistake on our end, we would recommend going bigger with battery and solar capabilities if you plan on taking longer trips especially during the summer time so that you are not concerned about whether or not your fridge has enough battery to keep your food cold.
Thanks so much for reading this review, if this was helpful and it influenced your decision to buy the Dometic, please consider using our affiliate link to make your purchase. The money from this goes towards helping us provide more product reviews for people like yourself and supports our small business. Thanks so much and #staywild.
