Here Is What THEY Say About It:

Engel MT60-combi

The Engel MT60-Combi is a large and powerful dual voltage combination fridge and freezer, with two separate compartments – one freezer and one refrigerator.

The fridge compartment is fixed at 40°F and the freezer compartment features variable temperature regulation from 40° down to below 0°F.

Operates off 12/24V DC or 110V AC. It automatically switches power from 12/24 volts DC to 110 volts AC.

It is a great product where size and volume matters.

A LEGEND IN RELIABILITY

Technical Specs

Model Number MT60F-U1-C
Power consumption 0.7 – 3.6 Amps
Volume – refrigerator 34qts – freezer 26.5qts
Weight 75 lbs.
Outside Dims 31.1″ x 19.3″ x 17.4″
Inside DIMS – Fridge – Freezer 15.3 x 9.8 x 12.4 15.3 x 7.8 x 12.4
Freezing Ability From 40°F to 0°F
Temp. control Variable
Available colors Silver
Side Handles Yes
Refrigerant Gas 134A
Input rating DC12/24V – 4.2A – AC110V
Power Leads DC – 5′ detachable “hardwire” AC – 5′ detachable
Fuse 15A external DC fuse
Max Noise 42 dB
Warranty 2 years

Here Is What WE Say About It:

You are heading out on a 3 day off-road trip this month, a one week trip next month, 4 days the month after. Consider that you live in the desert where temperatures in the summer can reach 120 or more. You are going to travel some of the most inhospitable terrain the southwest has to offer and you have to depend on your vehicle your off-road trailer and without a doubt you need to carry everything you are going to need for this trip plus a 2 day reserve because once you leave the pavement behind, there are no more services, no more stores. Just you and what you have with you.

Keeping food cool and fresh has always been a problem on longer trips and especially here in the desert. We have tried regular coolers and they might be good for 24 to 48 hours and then all your ice is now water and those zip locked packs of ham and cheese are starting to leak water……leak water? Yep zip locks do leak.

The next step us are the “Extreme Duty” coolers. They claim to keep ice as ice for 5 or more days. Five days where, Alaska? Don’t count on it. The best we have ever gotten out of the Extreme Duty coolers is maybe 3 days and your two bags of ice cubes have turned into water.

A buddy of mine who has been to Australia a number of times and said that the ARB refrigerator seems to be the one of choice for “Expeditions” and general off-road touring. So I start looking into what might be available out there that is durable, dependable and has a good reputation. So as most people do anymore I turn to a Google search. How many thousand hits came back you ask, only 59,000+ and ARB didn’t even show up on page one, normally the only page I look at but the name Engel came up 1st from a website of one of their distributors. So I start checking out Engel and find their website. Wow, they have lots of stuff and a good selection of refrigerators that seem to fit what we were looking for. The next question was how reliable is it and that soon became evident when I found out that Engel makes ARB’s models and they seem to be exactly the same except for the name. I am beginning to like what I see but I have to put this on hold awhile as we have a big trip coming up that needs some details finalized.

A few days later I met a friend from California who was spending a couple of weeks “wheeling” in AZ and as we talked about Jeeps and long trips I brought up the refrigerator subject and he said that he had and Engel 45 quart model he carries in the back of his Jeep, has had it for over a year and he would not hesitate recommending it to anyone and then he said “you do know that they are the ones who sell their product to ARB and put the ARB brand on it”. So we go out to take a look at it and it’s got a 6 pack in there and he said that he adjusts the temperature down to just above freezing and it just chills his brew down to perfection. Ok so I think I am pretty much sold on Engel now

I contact Engel with some questions. One thing that I feel is particularly important about is customer service and turn around time so I test them with an email and within hours I had a reply. Ok, I am getting impressed. I reply to the email “after hours”. I get a reply it seems shortly after they open with an invitation to call and speak with them directly. Not to be one to turn down an invitation to talk about any thing Jeep, off-roading and equipment I jump at it and make the call.

Friendliness, courtesy and product knowledge are important. The person I was talking to at Engel had all three and as we discussed fridge models, she wanted to make sure that before I made up my mind on one model or another to make sure that the size of the unit would work with the room that we had to install it in a custom off-road trailer, an M416/M101 with many modifications. So she suggests that I take some measurements to see what kind of space was available and then narrow it down to a specific model.

Out to the garage and grab a tape measure. Make a quick inspection of the trailer and where it would be mounted then a quick call back to Engel with the information. Now with the facts in hand I call Engel back and after a few minutes with the help of my contact there pick out a model and some accessories. Now the big question is we have a 4 day trip to Canyon De Chelly coming up in two weeks, can I get it by then. Yes I can, they will ship it out on Monday. It doesn’t get any better than that! Gives me time to get the trailer prepared and to add one, maybe two Optima’s between the frame behind the tongue and get the wiring set up.

The new “fridge” arrived today via truck. I could not wait to get it unpacked and check it out. The flat box was opened 1st, it contained the protective cover that Engel refers to as “the transit bag”. Not only does the transit bag look but it is designed to protect your investment from scratches and scrapes while providing an extra level of insulation, something that we need here in the Arizona desert. The transit bag is made so that the “fridge” can operate when in the bag, another plus.

Now to the big box, the heavy one. The unit comes well packed and protected in a heavy duty box. Once you remove the cardboard and thick corrugated cushions you have successfully liberated your new “fridge”. Prepare to be impressed. Somewhere I missed reading that this unit had a steel outer shell, there is no doubt after looking it over that it was built to be dependable and perhaps nearly indestructible. It hasn’t even been turned on yet and all I can do is just look at it and continue to be impressed with its construction.

Here is what the MT60-combi looks like out of its protective box.

Time for a test drive, I filled the “fridge” section with a 12 pack of Bud, 12 pack of pink lemonade and a 12 pack of 7-up. There was still room for other necessities like cheese and perhaps some brats too. The freezer section I put a box of popsicles and a bag of ice I got at the local C-Store. With the unit now powered up and running on 110v for the 1st night’s test I set the temp dial and let it go until the next day.

24 hours later. The beverages were chilled to perfection! The ice and popsicles were rock solid. Ok, it passes the test on 110v. Now the big test will be next weekend when we take it on a 600 mile trip over 4 days on battery power. In the mean time it has to be mounted securely in an M101 trailer that has been upgraded and converted for “Expedition” use.

We surveyed the trailer to determine the best place to put the MT60 for protection, air flow and weight distribution. Because of the hinged lid that a roof top tent is affixed to the MT60 will have to be placed either on the left side, front to back, or across the front to keep the weight in front of the wheels. It seemed that since the MT60 would be accessed more than some of the other gear that the best place to mount it would be the 1st option, across the left side long ways. Now for protection and air flow a “frame” made out of 2×4 lumber was bolted to the floor so that the MT60 in the transit bag would sit snugly in the frame with a 3 1/2″ buffer on all 4 sides which takes care of both air flow and protection. A quick test and the fit is perfect!

The MT60-cobi sits well protected inside this custom M101 trailer along with other gear and supplies for a multiple day Expedition

Now for the electronics. The MT60 runs on both 12v and 110v. Power cords for both attach to the MT60 at the same time and the MT60 will sense when it is connected to 110 and run on 110. When there is no 110 it will switch to 12v. This is a nice feature and we plan on taking advantage of it. An Optima Red Top battery was mounted on the tongue of the trailer low and between the frame rails. Why a Red Top when the Yellow Top is a deep cycle? Because the Red Top has a much better warranty and we don’t plan on draining it and charging it back up over and over, at least we hope we don’t have to. We modified the existing harness with 12ga wire so that the battery can be charged when the trailer is hooked up to the vehicle. The 12v harness from the MT60 was then routed thru a hole and rubber grommet to the battery. At the same time additional 12ga wire was run into the trailer for future hook up to a trickle charger to keep the battery in top charge when not in use and also to hook up to a power inverter not for the MT60 but for possible use for other 110v devices like laptops, camera battery chargers etc. An electrical box with outdoor covers was attached to the trailer so that 110 could be plugged into the trailer to operate the MT60 when electricity is available and also to power the trickle charger. All of this done we are ready to take it out on it’s 1st of many Expeditions.

A quick look at the electronics installed. Installation of this type is NOT necessary, sometimes we just go a little overboard on stuff.

Exterior View showing 12v socket, voltage gauge and 110v outside receptical

Interior View showing electrical boxes to protect components and the interior 110v receptical

Now the MT60 is big, it takes up over 1/4 of the trailer but there is plenty of room for other gear. The trailer was packed with two butane stoves, two Coleman Northstar lanterns, a 10×10 easy up, 10 bottles of propane, a large “5 day” cooler for canned beverages, Zodi hot water shower, Zodi shower privacy shelter, two plastic storage boxes for supplies (such as cleaning and cooking materials, HD paper plates, bowls, cups, and plastic utensils), tool box and some repair supplies, 4 gallon cook pot with several other pots inside, the “bumper dumper” potty and yet even more “stuff”. It is all packed for our 4 day trip to Canyon De Chelly and ready to go.

Here is a picture of the MT60-combi mounted in the trailer in its protective optional Transit Bag along with other gear.

On Thursday I do a final check of all of the electronics, the MT60 is turned on and tested with both 12V for 4 hours and then switched to 110. We pack it with 20 lbs of ice, a couple of Ben & Jerry’s treats, 3 gallons of home made spaghetti sauce, lunch meat, cheese, condiments and a jar of “red beet eggs”. Now everything is ready for Friday departure and then I find out that the Grand Cherokees factory trailer towing package does not have 12v going to the 7 pin factory connector and there is no time to run wire so the MT60 will be on its one when the 110 is disconnected on Friday until we get back late Monday. This will be a great test of its power consumption and its efficiency.

Fridays here, the 110 line is removed from the trailer, we are ready to hit the road for the 300 miles to northern AZ. Hours later we arrive at our destination and I check the MT60, running fine, the ice is solid in fact the cheese that is up against the freezer section seems to be slightly frozen too, I cut back the temp control just a bit. I check the ice in the “5 day” cooler, its melting, go figure.

It’s now Saturday, the MT60 has been running on 12v for 24 hours and is running strong. The ice is solid and the fridge section is at what seems to be a perfect temperature. The ice in the “5 day” cooler is still melting and the cans are now sitting in cold water with ice on top of them.

Saturday night after we got into our roof top tent for the night, I noticed a slight hum start up and go for about 15 min, a sure sign the MT60 is still working and now for about 36 hours.

Sunday, checked the MT60 and it’s still running strong, ice is still solid, I can’t say the same for the “5 day” cooler but the water the cans are sitting in are cold.

Sunday night we pull the 3 gallons of spaghetti sauce out for that night’s dinner for 40, it is nice and cold, and the ice and ice cream are still frozen. The MT60 has now been on battery power for well over 48 hours and is still running strong. I replaced the sauce with some of the cans from the cooler, well a lot of the cans. Drain some of the water and put one of the 10lb bags of ice in the cooler.

Sunday night, the occasional purr of the MT60 tells me again that it is still running, I am now beginning to get impressed as I didn’t really expect it to run more than two days. I should have been more optimistic!

Monday morning, checked the MT60 again, nothing new to report all is well.

Monday evening we take the long ride home with the MT60 still running.

Well it is now Monday night, the cooler has gone 300 miles on the pavement and about 30 miles over deep sandy ruts and hard bumpy roads and has worked flawlessly! Now we know that we can go at least 4 days on the power of only one battery! I was going to leave it turned on to see exactly how long the battery would last but decided against it because 4 days on battery alone would be the max we would need.

Are we pleased, ABSOLUTELY! The MT60 performed better than we expected on battery power only for 4 days. The food was kept cold and the ice and ice cream was kept frozen.

Engel makes a number of other units that would be perfect for an individual or even a family. From the smaller units to the big MT80 (too big for our trailers but probably perfect for the boat to keep your catch fresh). A couple of our members have now bought Engel units that they carry in their trailers or Jeeps from the 16qt to the 40qt models.

In closing these units are high quality and are backed with a 2 year warranty from Engel. No more soggy lunch meat or cheese from a water logged cooler. As the person who is writing this review, I highly recommend the Engel units for your camping or other needs.

Engel units are available at dealer’s world wide, check out all the details at Engel’s website below:

Read more about Engel’s MT60-combi and other great products at their web site…

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