Yeti vs Norcold

BigWaveDave

I'm a little confused about new T@Gs coming equipped with a Yeti cooler instead of a refrigerator/freezer. What do you use as a cooling agent? Ice takes up space and the blue freeze packs must be frozen from time to time.

DaveB

We have a 2020 with the Yeti. So far we have only done weekend trips 2-3 days and 1 large 'blue pack' keeps everything nice and cold for that time, in fact the blue pack is still 80% frozen when we get home. That said we have 10 day trip coming up and those blue packs aren't going to cut it, since we won't be able to re-freeze them, we will have to do the bags of ice thing. This upcoming trip will be the test to see if we buy the Norcold for next year and refit it into the tray, the 12v receptacle is still there for it. I'm not sure exactly why they decided to lose the Norcold in favour of the Yeti, but it would have been nice to have it as an option, even if it meant an upcharge for it.

BigWaveDave

Great info DaveB. I was thinking the same thing about giving buyers the option. I think I would definitely want the Norcold.

Sharon_is_SAM

@DaveB, we added a couple layers of closed cell foam on top of the contents of our ARB. You can also add a lining of Reflectix to the Yeti to see if it helps prolong your “blue pack”. Maybe a Reflectix cover as well.

BBsGarage

Has anyone used dry ice? I know there are some precautions you need to take, but I wonder how long it would last?

beaky

cold is not the main issue with the Yeti. Ours stays cold but the water level becomes pronounced after 3 days with regular ice. the main drawback is you are transporting ice/ice blocks instead of food and beer

DaveB

@beaky I couldn't agree more, the Yeti has a slightly larger capacity than the Norcold, but that extra capacity and then some is wasted on ice. But neither is large enough for beer AND food, and we end up having a cooler for beer/drinks. The Yeti gets the food and those blue ice packs so our food stays dry, not sure how that will go with a 10 day trip, really don't like the idea of our food soaking in cooler water.

tagurit

Dave B, we do the opposite, keep a Canyon cooler in the back of the SUV with ice and drinks, our groceries that need to stay cold and dry go in the Norcold. On a 24-day trip last summer, added a bag of ice to the cooler every few days when we stopped to shop, we also had to defrost the Norcold once.

beaky

yup, beer goes in an ice cooler, food goes in the fridge, just throw a bag of party ice in every few days

LuckyJ

We already had an ARB frodge frezer before we got our T@G. So when we travel for longer period, I carry food in tye ARB in the TV and keep the Norcold to frozen for bottle of water, ice tea or anything else that can be frozen. It could probably be used t refreeze blue pack as well.

I do not like to cary food in the norcold, to much bouncing. We have the Outback model.

DaveB

@tagurit @beaky I don't have Norcold as an option my T@G is a 2020 with a Yeti.

LuckyJ

If any of you yeti owners think about going with a frig / freezer, I would recommend that you go with an ARB or Dometic or similar quality. Yes, they are more pricy, but no other brand/model are as efficient.

Our 35 qt ARB will go for up to 4 days on the TV (jeep wrangler) battery, w/o engin runing to charge up, and plenty of power will remain to start the jeep. This could be different with other TV, like Honda have really small batteries, but They are very efficient.

Way more than the Nocold.

Jay

We LOVE our norcold in our 2019, We also have a cooler for water, beer and other things. Wine bottle fits into the Norcold. We are on a 14 day trip in Florida and really appreciate the Norcold when it hits 100F outside.

TomD

Jay..I’m with you. I love my Norcold (2015SS). Wine and beer live in a cooler so we don’t tax the batteries getting at the good stuff.

ontheroad

We also love our norcold, unfortunately there were more problems posted than loves...

willbingham1

For long trips I combo my 2017 Norcold for refrigerated food and like others use my Orca 35 for drinks, etc. It holds for a few days and then another bag and some draining. Orca goes in back of TV with dry food box. Orca is almost identical to Yeti but cheaper and got a "pink" one that was on sale because no one wanted pink. Such a shame! Have a Ford Edge. If room, I back TV up to galley and open both lids and it provides protection when wind to much for Canopy. I love my Norcold and would not go without out it. It is enough for long weekends without Orca. Just my way, and hope yours works for you. Bill

MikeLucky

@tagurit said:
Dave B, we do the opposite, keep a Canyon cooler in the back of the SUV with ice and drinks, our groceries that need to stay cold and dry go in the Norcold. On a 24-day trip last summer, added a bag of ice to the cooler every few days when we stopped to shop, we also had to defrost the Norcold once.

We do the same... We have a Yeti Roadie that we use for ice and drinks. But, we love using the Norcold for food. BTW, you can set the temp on the Norcold to where you don't ever need to defrost it. We set ours to 35 degrees and it's awesome to have food ready to go at all times. I also will always have the Yeti separate as I am someone who needs ice in my drinks so I'm pretty much refilling the ice in the Yeti every two days anyway.

BigWaveDave

Thanks, Bill!

Michigan_Mike

After many years of using coolers, ice, floating food, etc. I bought a 50 quart ARB and haven’t looked back. As Luc noted they are spendy, but this was an investment for the future. I place the ARB in the back of my pickup and have also used it while boondocking for days off the grid, powering it with my 200 watt Zamp portable panel setup. No more looking for block ice, beer, wine, meat and fresh produce stay cold and fresh and you can use them in your home, etc. for family gatherings, sporting events, etc. No regrets here and this unit can also be used as a freezer via its digital controls.

siberian7

Does anyone know what size Dometic would fit where the yeti is?

HikinMike

Should be the CFF 35

JamesDow

Dometic CFF 35 (34.3 L)
28.15 D
16.02 H
15.71 W

Norcold NRF 30 (30 L)
15.6 H
22 L
15.7 W

Sure have been pleased with my Norcold and would not hesitate replacing it with the same, if I had to. Maybe the Dometic offers something that I am missing, but for the price difference ...

WilliamA

X2. Happy with my Norcold. Wouldn't swap it for any other brand...

HikinMike

I've been pleased with my Norcold (which came from the factory) as well.

siberian7

thanks for the help, we are getting a tag and its coming with the yeti so at some point I would like to go with a dometic or something. My only experience and why I asked about dometic was it seems to be the popular choice with most overlanders etc. I had never even heard of norcold before I found nucamp trailers

Jay

We were disappointed to see that they replaced the Norcold with a Yeti, we love the Norcold for food, wine, eggs etc. We even put a bit of ice for drinks that lasts longer than in the drink cooler. We have a 2019 T&G XL, seems the last model year with the Norcold.

HikinMike

The NorCold would fit without modification of the cabinet size. I believe all you need to do is unscrew and remove the cutout which secures the Yeti and drop the Norcold in. I heard someone (whoever that is) say they thought the wiring for the Norcold was still included. Just what I heard but don't take my word for that.

I also ordered an extra AC adapter and DC cord so I can use the Norcold in my TV when I don't take the trailer out.

DaveB

I can verify (at least on ours) the 12v plug is still present for the Norcold on our 2020 even though we have the Yeti. I can also say now, after having our first season under our belt and planning for our second, the Yeti is an enormous step backwards for NuCamp. We will be getting a Norcold before planning any long trips. Need that space to store food not ice, yup the Yeti is larger at 35L compared to the Norcold at 30L, the Yeti requires you to waste 25-30% of that space on ice, the Norcold requires no ice. So with less volume the Norcold holds a fair bit more, and requires nothing but a charged battery to keep you going for as long as you want. Anything longer than 3 days and the Yeti turns into a watery PIA.

HikinMike

Nice to know about the cord and those are very good points, DaveB. When you subtract the space occupied by the ice, the Norcold is larger. I only use the Norcold for food. I do keep a Coleman in the back of my TV for beverages. I put a couple of freezer packs in the bottom, add the beverages, then cover in ice. I do have a very small Coleman I will move a few beverages into so I'm not constantly opening and closing the big cooler. That may be obsessing a little bit but it works for me.

GigHarborTom

Lined the Colemans with bubble insulation, last a lot longer. Wrapped the outside of another and it helps a lot. Having been into the Vintage trailer cult, we treasured our old Colemans. Looking forward to using the Norcold in the trailer,and the lined cooler in the 4Runner.

HikinMike

Now that's funny GigHarborTom! I lined my Coleman too! And it resides in my 4Runner as well.