The good folks at Adventure Trailers who patiently answered my many questions also sent off my NL Weekender 50, which arrived today. It was nicely packed.
Posting a few pix so folks here can get a sense of its size and accessories. The included stackable baskets were a nice touch I hadn't seen on the website. That plastic cover on the fridge covers the smaller freezer compartment.
Angled AC cord (nice!), DC cord and the adapter (which seems to be like the powerlet ones) were included, along with hinge covers in case I decide to have the lid open on the side.
A veiw with the optional jacket installed. You can see the mesh area which allows venting and viewing of the panel. The jacket was well made, with reinforced seams along the plug and handle openings. A decent zipper mechanism too. Quality stuff!
The Weekender initially seemed much larger of a unit than the specs hinted at (the blanket makes it seem bulkier), so I brought my trusty Coleman cooler for reference.
Stowed in my Ecamper (Honda Element with the Ursa Minor pop top), it takes up a chunk of space. I can't fit it lengthwise without flipping up one of the rear seats, and since I have 2 kids usually in the back, I am going to have to rethink my chuck box, or store the chuck box in the dirt bike trailer.
So far, I am pretty impressed with the quality of this unit. It runs VERY quiet. Using the baskets means that I am going to have to shop for some juice/milk containers, and other food storage boxes (or use a vacuum sealer). This would be a smart accessory for NL to offer, but I am already liking the idea of having this unit. It was sure pricey for a fridge (almost $1800 shipped to the PNW with the jacket and a mounting baseplate), but I justified it easily with the SO. How? We needed a fridge for our den, and a halfway decent unit was itself several hundred dollars, so I figured the extra $$$ was not so bad to get a mobile unit as well. Plus, it consumes such little energy, which is a huge consideration for the Element's wimpy battery.
I am already realizing the investment is not finished. The wimpy car battery will need to get replaced, likely with a Diehard Platinum. Space is a premium, so I am likely installing the second aux AGM battery in the dirt bike trailer's nose box. I have two options: rig up the NL dual battery unit (see related post in the trailer sub forum), or go for a solar option that will power the aux battery.
One thing I had read but didn't recall: the DC connector supplied with the NL is a powerlet style connector. I had Ursa Minor add a dedicated direct Aux power to the battery, but it uses a standard cigarette receptacle. I may replace this with the NL's supplied powerlet receptable, unless anyone here knows of a simple adapter.
Also, Ursa used 16 gauge cable direct to the battery: is this sufficient to plug the NL into, or do I want to just rewire a totally new power cable using larger gauge? It's about 15 feet to the front battery.
I'll post up my power solution once I figure it out. Leaning towards a solar panel mounted to the roof Thule rack, with a quick release and some mechanism to angle it as necessary, either mounted on the Thule or better, on a pole mounted to the trailer.
Posting a few pix so folks here can get a sense of its size and accessories. The included stackable baskets were a nice touch I hadn't seen on the website. That plastic cover on the fridge covers the smaller freezer compartment.
Angled AC cord (nice!), DC cord and the adapter (which seems to be like the powerlet ones) were included, along with hinge covers in case I decide to have the lid open on the side.
A veiw with the optional jacket installed. You can see the mesh area which allows venting and viewing of the panel. The jacket was well made, with reinforced seams along the plug and handle openings. A decent zipper mechanism too. Quality stuff!
The Weekender initially seemed much larger of a unit than the specs hinted at (the blanket makes it seem bulkier), so I brought my trusty Coleman cooler for reference.
Stowed in my Ecamper (Honda Element with the Ursa Minor pop top), it takes up a chunk of space. I can't fit it lengthwise without flipping up one of the rear seats, and since I have 2 kids usually in the back, I am going to have to rethink my chuck box, or store the chuck box in the dirt bike trailer.
So far, I am pretty impressed with the quality of this unit. It runs VERY quiet. Using the baskets means that I am going to have to shop for some juice/milk containers, and other food storage boxes (or use a vacuum sealer). This would be a smart accessory for NL to offer, but I am already liking the idea of having this unit. It was sure pricey for a fridge (almost $1800 shipped to the PNW with the jacket and a mounting baseplate), but I justified it easily with the SO. How? We needed a fridge for our den, and a halfway decent unit was itself several hundred dollars, so I figured the extra $$$ was not so bad to get a mobile unit as well. Plus, it consumes such little energy, which is a huge consideration for the Element's wimpy battery.
I am already realizing the investment is not finished. The wimpy car battery will need to get replaced, likely with a Diehard Platinum. Space is a premium, so I am likely installing the second aux AGM battery in the dirt bike trailer's nose box. I have two options: rig up the NL dual battery unit (see related post in the trailer sub forum), or go for a solar option that will power the aux battery.
One thing I had read but didn't recall: the DC connector supplied with the NL is a powerlet style connector. I had Ursa Minor add a dedicated direct Aux power to the battery, but it uses a standard cigarette receptacle. I may replace this with the NL's supplied powerlet receptable, unless anyone here knows of a simple adapter.
Also, Ursa used 16 gauge cable direct to the battery: is this sufficient to plug the NL into, or do I want to just rewire a totally new power cable using larger gauge? It's about 15 feet to the front battery.
I'll post up my power solution once I figure it out. Leaning towards a solar panel mounted to the roof Thule rack, with a quick release and some mechanism to angle it as necessary, either mounted on the Thule or better, on a pole mounted to the trailer.
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