BODEGA 38 Quart (36L) Car Refrigerator

I’ve had this cooler for about two years now and for the most part, it’s worked as expected. The dual-zone feature is genuinely useful; I like being able to keep meat frozen in one side while the other stays just cold enough for drinks and snacks. It’s been great for road trips, camping weekends, and even came in clutch as backup fridge space during a crowded holiday gathering. When it’s running, it cools quickly and holds temp pretty reliably, even when packed full. That said, it’s not without issues. After about a year, the extendable handle broke while I was wheeling it across the driveway with a full load. I wasn’t slamming it around or doing anything wild. These things happen, and honestly, I wasn’t mad about it. I expected to be able to buy a replacement handle. But despite several attempts to reach the manufacturer (emails, contact forms, etc) I never got a single response. Not one. So now I’ve got a 50-pound cooler that’s awkward as hell to move without the handle. Still usable, just a pain. It’s also louder than I expected. Not jet-engine loud, but you’ll notice it humming along, especially if it’s indoors or in a quiet campsite. For the price, I expected better support and a bit more durability. It’s a decent product when it works, but don’t count on any help if something goes wrong.

We bought this to replace a Peltier-type cooler we had for many years after it finally gave up the ghost. We wanted a compressor-type unit that would: 1. get really cold no matter the outside temp; and 2. would not be a current hog so it could be used with solar panels & a battery when needed. We also wanted something quiet. All three objectives met. We hit the camping trail in Michigan's upper penguin-insula ("Da U.P") for three weeks and left it plugged into the Durango's rear 12V outlet, which is only active when the car runs. To cover out-and-about ignition off-times, I simply filled the lower part of the freezer section with 6 or 8 blue ice blocks for a big thermal mass and set it fairly low. The cooler side was set to 38*F and filled with carbonated water cans. We had ice cold water at all times everywhere we went, (over 1500 miles...) and kept meats and cheese snacks cold in there as well. Kids loved it. At camp we plugged it into an extension cord using the AC power adapter included, so this unit ran nearly 24-7 for three weeks. The small amount of heat generated by the compressor was useful too, as it helped keep my Martin acoustic guitar (in a good case) from getting too cool in the car during nights that often touched 50 degrees. The compressor is whisper-quiet. Only niggle I noticed was the sensitivity of the touch-control panel - it beeps when disturbed and I felt like I could not work anywhere around it without setting it off inadvertently with some random body part. As a result I was often checking the display to make sure I had not accidentally changed a setting. [NOTE TO THE ENGINEERS:] It's a very very minor thing, but perhaps a "lock" function could be set up in the software on future versions such that you have to hold a key (or keys) for several seconds before adjustments can be made. I found the settings to be "set and forget", so locking them once set would just make sense. Seems to be well-made and it way-outperformed the Coleman Peltier-Junction unit it replaced. Freezing the ice blocks solid was never an issue during our trip. I bought the 2-year warranty, so we'll see how it fares on reliability over time. Pleasantly surprised. UPDATE AUG 2024. We took two trips this year with the cooler - one to Florida for spring break to see my parents, and one in July, a 3000-mile camping trip to Maine's Acadia National Park. In both cases the cooler remained inside our 2018 Durango, I just unplugged the unit's 12V cable and plugged in the included power supply's cable instead, and ran it overnight on 120VAC or anytime the car was parked. The Durango shuts power to the 12V lighter plug in the back whenever the car is off for a while, so running the battery down is not a concern. This kept nice cold seltzer water on hand and snacks too during our daily car trips. Still running like a champ. My kids love it as much as I do. Wish I could buy a dehumidifier that was this reliable...

Excellent portable fridge with powerful cooling performance! I was impressed by how quickly it reaches the set temperature and how quietly it runs. The large capacity is perfect for long trips, and the dual-zone feature gives great flexibility. The app control is a big plus and works smoothly. It’s sturdy, stylish, and easy to transport thanks to the wheels. Definitely worth the investment for camping, RV travel, or family road trips!

I've had this for a week and put it through its paces. It's great. The temperature setting isn't free of fluctuation even if unopened, but stays within range. In general: Direct Expansion gas compression (DX) is the current best form of freezing on the market today. Absorprion fridges, often used in RVs are limited to ±20°F from abient outside air temperature (OAT) so on a hot day in Arizona it won't keep ice or ice cream usable, and fish and poultry is useless as well. They also have to be kept level to work. THIS unit has a real DX compressor, real gas so the state transitions (liquid to gas absorbing the heat, gas to liquid being compressed after releasing the heat and so on. Give it 8" clearance in the back, 4" on the sides, 12+ VDC to run (it comes with a car adapter and a home voltage adapter).. For car users, set the voltage sensitivity to H (High). It will run when the car is on, and if it doesn't run when the car is off than (you need a new battery for the car and) set it to M (medium) for a lower threshold to shut off. The cooler itself is great. It keeps things cool. It lacks rubber straps to hold the lid tight but the lid handle locks so it's mostly as good. It is NOT an Igloo. It works well enough. It will not maintain the set temperature. i put it at -5°F freezer 34°F fridge. It did freeze my 4oz water, but wentup to 15°F in the freeezer to do it. That's still below the freezing temperature of water, but a 10°F variance is something I'd want to be aware of... except if I'd bought a fridge/freezer where the temp goes from "1-5" and you don't really know what it ever is. This is an improvement. Power utilization is good.. fit and finish is awesome. The lid stays shut. The 110VAC adapter works great. My remaining projects are: 1. Create a "mount" for it in the back seat so it doesn't "walk away" from my truck. 2. Permanently wire it in. The cigarette lighter output is busy with a 3-way Y-adapter, a Valentine 1, a Garmin 5i, and a USB charger for the phone. Would I recommend this to others: YES Would I buy it again: If we get that RV trailer we've been talking about, YES Would I sell it to friends knowing they'll hunt me down if I rip them off: YES If the zombie apocalypse was happening, other than my weapons would I take this: YES If I could DIY make this better: 1. Add insulation. As I said, it's not an igloo, and it cost energy to cool the space. If you're willing to reduce the space and put some foam or other insulation you'll not only save on power, but it will maintain temps great. 2. Layer the food and put some for of clear vinyl between them. Put most used stuff on top. Some of this is "general cooler stuff" but now that you're working a compressor it matters more. That way you're not introducing ambient (hot) air into the cold box. 3. Add a $60 refrigerator icemaker to the freezer side. Feed it water through a tube and a bottle, and feed it electricity... where there is a bit of a problem. You see, fridge replacement icemaker units are $50-$60... but they run on 120VAC. In a car, RV, boat, or aircraft you have 12 or 24VDC. You can use an inverter but there's a huge inefficiency there. So I'm looking to buy one, gut the motor, find a 12VDC motor that does the same job, and mount that in. There's a guy on youtube that mounted an icemaker in his cooler. Youtbe-search it (can't link to it here). The point is that installing an icemaker in a cooler is... well... cool... but installing it in a freezer means your cubes will stay frozen forever. Now if there was only a soda dispenser on top!

I’ve owned this Cooler/ refrigerator for 3yrs. It’s reliable and sturdy. We’ve driven from OK to AK and back and it never quit cooling even on the unimproved roads in Canada. I love that fact it works on AC and DC. We use it at him for outside events eliminating the need to replenish ice constantly. It draws minimal power when plugged into car 12v outlet. I’ve left it plugged in and set to 35 degrees Fahrenheit for several days and it never drained the car battery. I can’t say enough good things about this product. It’s a great value fir the money. It’s hold temperature extremely well even in the hot Oklahoma summers. I’m very impressed with customer service as well. Recently I broke a tab on the lid being careless. They worked with me to get the lid replaced at minimal cost even tho it was beyond the warranty date. I highly recommend this product!

UPDATE: Reports of difficulty connecting to phone Bluetooth are accurate. Biggest tip is use the QZsmart app (scanning the QR code was problematic for me as reader kept going to wrong app while searching android play store didn't find the app either) and be on a 2.4Gz network with your phone (also problematic as I forget my 2.4G extender password). But once resolved setup was fairly easy. The app is intuitive and biggest advantage is being able to monitor the cooler while driving to make sure it is working properly in in the cargo area where you can't just glance at it. Otherwise, you might get an unwelcome surprise when you stop somewhere only to find out the cooler was not working. I tested the cooler immediately after delivery with the assumption that the cooler was only transported in the upright position, so maybe these test results are skewed if the refrigerant needs to settle. After 30 minutes on house power: The refrigerator section reached the set temperature of 40 degrees (per the led indicator), although the bottle of water inside only felt cool, not cold. The freezer section reached an indicated 33 degrees of the set temperature of 20 degrees. The bottle of water inside was only cool and no where near freezing. After 60 minutes on house power: The refrigerator section maintained the set temperature of 40 degrees and the bottle of water inside felt chilled enough for a refreshingly cool drink. The freezer section reached the 20 degree set temperature. The bottle of water inside was chilled but still along way from starting to freeze. Moved cooler to idling Tacoma truck bed and plugged into the 110V 400W Max / 100W Min bed outlet. After additional 30 minutes (90 mins total) the cooler display read 40/30 degrees. The outside temperature was 80 degrees and the truck was idling in the sun with cab A/C running. The truck bed has a BakFlip4 cover so the cooler was not in direct sunlight. I'm guessing that at driving speeds the outlet would produce higher watts and the cooler would do better. Moved cooler to idling RAV4 and plugged into 12V/120W cargo outlet for another 30 minutes. The outside temperature was 80 degrees and the RAV was idling in the sun with A/C running. After 30 minutes the temperature was 40/20 degrees. Interesting that the cooler did better with RAV4 12V/120W outlet at idle than the Tacoma 110V bed outlet at idle. Maybe due to cargo area getting A/C benefit. Both bottles of water were very chilled at the end of two hours. The water in the freezer was nowhere near freezing but maybe a little colder than the bottle in the refrigerator side. Guessing that freezing will take 5 to 6+ hours. When camping it will run on a 3500W generator or shore power. No error codes were ever thrown. Overall I'm satisfied. If this cooler operates well for years it will be worth the money.

Very pleased with my electric fridge/freezer. Game changer for lengthy trips. I have always been happy with my setup of using a LOT of frozen water bottles (I line the bottom, sides, middle, and top of my coolers and everything keeps cold for up to a week). I have a mid range Coleman Xtreme 5 days. Cheap and effective. But after a week or so, the bottles would be melted and then I would have to get a cabin/hotel room with a freezer so I could refreeze my bottles to keep on travelling. When I tried buying blocks of ice(blocks can be hard to find but bags of ice melt even faster) instead, it would need to be replaced every 1-2 days and I’d have a pool of water inside. So I restricted my camping trips to 1 week or so. A few months ago, my son bought me the Bodega cooler and the Anker Solix C1000 power station and suddenly my range has expanded. I have camped for about 2 weeks with this. And am now planning a 6 week camping roadtrip next year. I love treating it like my home fridge and not worrying if I don’t finish everything. I leave meat frozen as much as possible. Many times I go home with meat and veggies still frozen and other items in the fridge side and just unpacked straight into my home fridge/freezer. No more “must eat that because its defrosted” for me! Even better is being able to start packing food a day or two early. I’ll plug in the cooler to get it chilled. Then start tossing items inside whenever I think of it over the next couple of days. Then in the morning, I unplug and load it in my van. No more waking up 30-60 mins earlier to load the cooler and hope I didn’t forget anything. I was debating between the smaller and bigger size. 65L is a big when I am solo but on the smaller side when I travel with my mother (who packs a load of fresh veggies and fruits). So we put frozen bottles in a cooler bag and use that for veggies and such. I replace the frozen bottles from my freezer and refreeze the ones that have defrosted. So never ending source of ice. I do find the freezer side bigger than I need and rarely fill it up. Unless I happen to pick up groceries for my home on my travels. We buy in bulk so easily fill up the cooler and beyond.

The overall capacity isn't too bad. I was able to get 23 17oz water bottles into it, plus everything on top that you can see in the photo. The down side is how long this thing takes to cool everything when starting at room temperature. I put everything into the cooler at a room temperature of 71F (21.6C), I then set the cooler to 20F (-6.6C). I was hoping to get everything cooled quickly and then would set the temperature back up to around 35F (1.6C). The photo that I attached is after 24 hours of the cooler running in a room that is 71F (21.6C). After 24 hours it has only managed to cool all of the drinks to 56F (13.3C). It does get cold as quickly as advertised when it is completely empty, but who wants a fridge/freezer to get super cold with nothing in it? I have not tried it yet with a full load of drinks that are already cold, although I would imagine that it would maintain their temperature very easy. Just don't expect to throw room temperature drinks in this thing and expect it to cool everything within a reasonable amount of time. I guess if you only put 1 drink inside of it you could get it cooled quickly, but again, who buys a big fridge/freezer for one item? The other issue that I have is the temperature display on the cooler, as you can see in the photo it is saying that it is 20F (-6.6C) inside of the cooler, while the temperature sensor that I have in the cooler is saying that it is 56F (13.3C). I understand that no temperature sensor is perfect, but a 30 degree difference in what the cooler thinks the temperature is, and what the actual temperature is, is pretty significant. The noise level is one thing that I am very happy with. You can hear it in a quiet room, but it is not loud by any means. I will let it sit for the next couple of days and see if it is ever able to get to 35 degrees where I want it. **UPDATE** For anyone having a similar issue of extreme temperature differences while using it as only a fridge or freezer, I have found a solution. As it turns out, there are two different cooling loops that are used, one of the cooling loops is on the fridge side, and the other on the freezer side. This is what allows each side to have a different temperature when the divider is in place, however, once the divider is removed, the cooler will ONLY use the fridge side cooling loop to try to cool the entire unit. This creates a massive temperature difference from the fridge side to the freezer side. As can be seen in my pictures, the temperature sensor that I placed in the cooler was resting on the freezer side. I noticed this when the drinks on the fridge side were all frozen and the freezer side drinks were still at 50F. So, the sensor on the cooler that I received is working correctly, and it was 20F on the fridge side, but that cold could not make it over to the freezer side. I did find a way to get both cooling loops to be used while the divider is out. To do this, you have to make the unit think that the divider is in place, even when it isn't. To accomplish this, I used two small powerful magnets. Not any magnet will work, I tried a couple magnets off of our refrigerator that didn't work at all. On the bottom of the divider is a magnet, when in place this magnet tells the unit that it is in and then the unit will give you control over both sides and use both cooling loops. By taping the tiny magnets to the bottom, I fooled the unit into thinking that the divider was still in, then I set both sides to the exact same temperature of 35F. I checked on the cooler about 2-3 hours later, this time I moved the temperature sensor into the middle, and the entire cooler was finally at 35F. By using the entire unit without the divider, you are only going to get cooling from the fridge side loop, and the freezer side loop will never be used. This is a massive flaw in my opinion because you are then trying to cool the entire cooler with only half of the available cooling. I am going to leave my review at 3 stars even though I did find a solution to my problem, however, this problem should never exist. If you take the divider out, it should still use both cooling loops and cool the entire unit to the temperature that you set. This is either a massive oversight on the part of Bodega, or they thought that no one would ever try to use it as just a fridge or freezer. It is a great cooler, it is just sad that a lot of the people in the reviews like myself have had to find our own way to fix the many problems that exist, problems that shouldn't be present in a regularly $500 unit.