Saturday, Jan 05, 2008 at 04:23
Hi Brian,
Well that ALL DEPENDS on what your application is.....like I said the Trailblaza a very robust unit and in my opinion stronger than the Engel by far. Our application for it was 6 to 8 trips to Fraser Island each year for many years and this Trailblaza bounced around in the back of our old 100 series wagon over those extremely rutted tracks on the island...some ruts were up to 600mm deep around the roots of those rainforest trees....so it rocked and rolled and even broke free of it's tie downs at times....never once gave any trouble and being marine grade alloy cabinet....no rust. However, the sharp edges and corners on the botom of the cabinet really did a job on the carpet and plastic moulded panels in the rear of the cruiser...that's why I suggested that it would be fine tied down in the back of a tray back type of vehicle. Also, the 2 long sides of the Trailblaza are heat sinks for the cooling system of the fridge and as such you have to allow a minimum of 50mm clearance on both sides of the fridge for efficient cooling and battery usage....this means 2 things.....One is that you can't pack the rear of the vehicle up against the fridge like you can the Engel and Waeco. The other is that you can't buy a travel bag to put around the Trailblaza to protect the interior of your vehicle....As a side note the cabinet of the Trailblaza needs no protection by way of a transit bag as you would need to hit it very hard with an axe to hurt it.
The Engel has a different way of doing things and they are able to be fitted with a transit bag which helps insulate the cabinet and hence cuts your battery usage and also protect the Engel cabinet from bumps when you pack your wagon right up against the walls of the fridge. This makes the price a consideration too as the Engel doesn't seem to have as the same thickness of insulation in the cabinet walls as the Trailblaza so the Transit bag is really a necessity when purchasing an Engel.
Having had the 3 fridges and used them for some time.....The Waeco is a good design in the 80 Litre with the 3 separate compartments however it is the flimsiest in construction and quality of build and uses a "Lot of Battery".
The Trailblaza is by far the most rugged in construction and suited for the back of a utility more so than a wagon type of vehicle.
The Engel is the best of the 3 "FOR OUR APPLICATION" as it has good construction and able to be packed up against the cabinet for packing in the back of a wagon.....and....We have a HF Radio installed in our Landcruiser for Emergency communications as we do a lot of outback and remote travel.....The Waeco and Trailblaza both use the Danfoss compressor as the heart of their cooling system and the Danfoss Compressor just wipes out the receiver of the HF Radio while it is running...we have in the past turned off the Waeco so we can check in to VKS-737 nets as well as others.....the trick is to remember to turn it back on after the radio has been used and it really means installing a dash mounted On/Off switch with a light alert to help in this respect if you want to monitor HF Frequencies while driving.
Having said all that....the Engel is the better option for OUR APPLICATION.... however, everyone has different requirements and I hope this info helps you with your decision.
If I can be of any further assistance, it will be my pleasure.
Cheers
Rick
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