Dometic CFX3 35 After a Few Seasons.
The fridge is the single largest electrical load in our teardrop and the one piece of gear that decided how big the battery bank had to be. We run a Dometic CFX3 35 in the galley bay, and after a few seasons of it we've got a clear picture of what it does well and where it annoys us. One catch up front: you can't buy a new CFX3 35 anymore. Dometic has moved on to the CFX5, so this is part review and part guide to what you'd actually buy today.
Why a Compressor Fridge at All
A compressor fridge is a real refrigerator that happens to run on 12V. It works to a temperature you set rather than to whatever the ice is doing, it freezes if you tell it to, and it never needs a store run for a bag of ice. It'll also run on 120V AC — plug it into shore power or the wall at home and it cools without touching the battery at all, which makes pre-chilling the night before a trip trivial. On a teardrop with solar and a lithium bank, that turns a cooler from a consumable into an appliance — you stop planning trips around ice and start planning them around where you actually want to go.
The tradeoff is that it costs real money up front and it draws power all night. That second part is why the fridge, not the lights or the fan, is what determines how big a battery bank you need. Ours lands somewhere around 25–35 amp-hours over a full day depending on ambient temperature and how often the lid gets opened — the 7.5A figure on the spec sheet is the rated input, not what it pulls around the clock, because the compressor duty-cycles rather than running flat out.
What We Like
Works to a Setpoint
It cycles around the temperature you set rather than slowly warming the way ice does. It drifts a few degrees either side as the compressor kicks on and off — normal for any fridge, and close enough that food stays where it should through a Tennessee summer afternoon.
AC or DC
12/24V off the battery on the road, 120V AC on shore power or at the house. Pre-chill it in the driveway on wall power and it goes into the galley already cold.
Built Like Gear
The ExoFrame and the detachable aluminum handles take being slid in and out of a galley bay and loaded with a full grocery run without loosening up.
Deep Enough to Organize
36 liters is the sweet spot for two people over a long weekend — around 50 cans, or real groceries with the wire divider keeping produce off the cold plate.
App Monitoring
Checking the interior temperature from inside the cabin without opening the hatch is genuinely useful, especially on the first night when you're still trusting it.
Freezes When You Want
Down to −7°F means it works as an actual freezer, not just a cold box — useful if you're keeping meat for a week-long trip.
Sized to a Teardrop Bay
It fits a galley cabinet without dominating it. Ours sits on a slide-out drawer, so rolling the drawer forward clears the countertop and the lid opens fully — the fridge itself never has to come out of the bay or off its power lead.
Where It Falls Short
In the Galley
The CFX3 Is Gone — Buy the CFX5
Dometic has replaced the CFX3 line with the CFX5, and the CFX3 35 is no longer available new — whatever's still floating around is old stock. If you want the direct equivalent of ours, it's the CFX5 35L. The CFX5 keeps the compressor, the app, and the build quality, and the sizing carries straight across, so nothing in this review transfers badly to the current line.
Dometic also sells a cheaper CFX2 line below the CFX5. It's the value option — fewer features, still a real compressor fridge — and worth a look if the CFX5 price is the thing stopping you.
CFX5 25L
The smallest of the line. Good for a solo build or a very tight galley bay where 35L simply won't fit.
CFX5 35L
The direct replacement for our CFX3 35, and the size we'd buy again for two people over a long weekend.
CFX5 45L
Worth it if you routinely run a week out or cook for more than two — but check your bay depth and your amp-hour budget first.
Other Compressor Options
Dometic is not the only game anymore, and the gap has narrowed a lot. Two brands worth putting on your list if the Dometic price makes you wince:
When an Ice Cooler Still Makes Sense
We're not going to pretend everyone needs a compressor fridge. If you camp a handful of weekends a year, or you're towing without a battery bank worth speaking of, a good rotomolded cooler is the smarter buy — no wiring, no amp-hour math, nothing to fail, and a fraction of the price. Modern rotomolded coolers hold ice for days, not hours, and the good ones are effectively indestructible.
The honest math: a quality 30–35 quart cooler costs roughly a quarter of a comparable compressor fridge. Buy a lot of ice before you catch up. The break-even is less about money than about how often you camp and how much you hate ice runs.
YETI Tundra 35
The benchmark, and priced like it. Bear-resistant certification, excellent ice retention, and a resale value that softens the sting. The Tundra 35 is the size match to our CFX3.
RTIC 32 QT
The value play. Very close performance to a YETI for meaningfully less money — the Ultra-Light version trims weight, which matters on a teardrop camper.
ORCA
Made in the USA, lifetime warranty, and a cult following for ice retention. A quieter name than YETI, and worth a look if you want a rotomolded cooler that isn't the one everybody already has.
Pelican Elite
Built like the case company it is, with a genuinely good latch design and a press-and-pull drain. Heavier than the others, but nothing about it feels fragile.
Shop This Post
The current versions of everything above. Our CFX3 35 isn't on this list because it can't be bought new anymore — the CFX5 35L is its replacement.
Sizing the Battery For It?
A compressor fridge is usually the load that sets how big a battery bank you need. Run your own loads through the builder and get wire gauge, fuse sizing, and a parts list to match.
Open the Wiring Diagram BuilderBuilding Your Own?
Our CNC kits arrive with the galley bay already cut for a fridge slide — tell us which cooler you're running and we'll size the opening to it.
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