Testing the Bodega Dual Zone Electric Cooler 53qt for Van Life

As my partner and I began building out our Ford Transit to live and travel in, we were on the hunt for a good electric cooler to use as our fridge/freezer in the van. 

I’m grateful to share that Bodega Cooler reached out to me offering to send me a cooler to test out and use in our van. While this cooler was provided to me as part of a collaboration, all thoughts and opinions shared in this review are entirely my own.

I was sent the Bodega Portable Freezer 53 qt with Flexible Dual Zone.

If you’re curious to know if the Bodega coolers are suitablefor van life then keep on reading.

First Impressions of the Bodega Cooler

Our cooler was sent in a cardboard box with Styrofoam padding on the top and bottom. Nothing more nothing less. 

When we first unboxed the cooler I immediately noticed it’s high quality. You can tell it’s made of a good solid plastic that’s resistant to water and stains. I also noticed how lightweight it was. For some reason I expected it to be super heavy, but as a short girl I can easily carry it around when it’s empty. 

When you open up the cooler you’ll find another box inside with a few different cords that you can use to plug in the cooler. There’s also a brief instruction manual which I recommend reading beforehand.

What I Love About the Bodega Cooler

• Has both a fridge & freezer compartment. Not all Bodega Coolers have a fridge and freezer but because we went with the dual-zone cooler it has both which I absolutely love. We buy frozen and fresh foods so I was super happy when I realized we didn’t have to give up buying frozen food when we started van life. 

• There’s a drain at the bottom of the fridge. If you don’t want to plug in the cooler you can fill it with ice to keep it cold because there’s a convenient drain at the bottom of the fridge to empty the melted water. This is also handy for cleaning or if anything spills.
• The cooler runs quiet. This was what I was most worried about with having a cooler inside our van but it actually is super quiet. Sometimes it does make some bubbly noises, but it’s not loud or bothersome. Overall I’m very impressed with how smooth and quiet it runs. 
• App controlled temperatures or easy to use buttons on the cooler itself. Another fun feature of the Bodega Cooler is that you can control the temperature settings by your phone. It’s a neat feature, but most of the time if I need to change the temperature I just use the buttons on the cooler. They’re easy to use with simple plus and minus buttons for both the fridge and freezer. 

Any Cons of the Bodega Cooler for Van Life?

• The freezer is a little bit bigger than the fridge and you aren’t able to switch them. If you don’t intend on using the freezer this may not be a problem for you because you can make both sides the temperature of a fridge (around 35°F). However, you cannot make the fridge side as cold as a freezer. We still buy some frozen food so we definitely need both, we just would prefer the fridge side to be bigger than the freezer. So it’s taken a little bit of an adjustment with groceries we buy to make it work for us. 
• There is only one lid so to access the fridge you have to open the freezer too. This didn’t seem like a problem at first but if you’re keeping the lid open for several minutes it will let out a lot of cold air from both the fridge and freezer. I think two separate lids would be better.
• It’s hard to access food that you have stored at the bottom of the cooler. Especially after we go grocery shopping and have tons of food stored in the cooler it’s difficult to reach the items we have stored at the very bottom. I end up having to take everything out so I can access the things in the bottom. This can get repetitive when you’re cooking a lot and living in your van full time. 
• Things on the top of the freezer don’t stay as frozen. This I don’t think is a huge deal, and I understand why, but it is something I noticed. 
• Items get warm quickly when unplugged. You can get away with having it unplugged for a little while, but anything longer than 1.5-2 hours I’d worry about food getting too warm. If you know you aren’t going to be connected to power for a long time make sure to take out all your food.

Using the Bodega Cooler for Van Life

Like I stated we use this cooler full time as our fridge/freezer in our Ford Transit van build. Overall it’s performed very well. At the end of the day it keeps our food cold and holds up while we’re driving around. There are some less desirable parts about it, but overall I am happy with this cooler. 

I love how easy it is to set it up. All you have to do is plug it in, and set the fridge and freezer to whatever temperatures you want. We usually keep the fridge around 35°F and the freezer at 1°F. The temperature stays constant at all times unless we have the lid open or have it unplugged for a while.

How Much Food Can the Cooler Fit?

I do a lot of cooking in my daily life and when we travel, so I knew I needed a lot of space to store our groceries. We go grocery shopping anywhere from once a week or every other week so I was surprised to find that we can easily fit a week’s worth of groceries in the cooler. 

Below is a photo of all the food that we currently have stored between both the fridge and freezer. 

Here is what it all looks like when it’s all packed away in the cooler. 

The thing I was most surprised about is that you can fit a half gallon of milk in the fridge!

Does the Freezer Actually Keep Frozen Food Frozen?

This was another one of my initial concerns before using the cooler. I was doubtful that the freezer would actually keep my food frozen. I’ve used small fridges before that had a freezer compartment inside of it that did not keep things frozen at all. Because of this I was skeptical at first, but I can honestly say I was very impressed.

When we’re staying at a campground and we have our cooler plugged in and running at all times, it successfully keeps our food frozen. 

Since we have a great freezer, this helps us go grocery shopping less because frozen food stays good for so much longer. As long as we have the cooler running we can keep a stock pile of frozen meat, veggies, and fruit that will last us weeks. 

Should You Buy a Bodega Cooler for Van Life?

I would definitely recommend a Bodega Dual Zone Cooler 53qt for anyone on the market for a fridge/freezer combo for their van. It’s small enough to not take up too much space, yet can hold more than a week’s worth of cold and frozen groceries. 

Whether you’re doing full time van life or just part time on the weekends, this cooler will work excellent for you.

Learn more: The "Monster" in My Front Seat: A 64Qt Bodega Dual-Zone Fridge Review for Minivan Life