The Bushman Original SC35-52

I persevered with ice boxes for decades. That included a couple of decades living, camping, fishing and hunting in the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea. They worked fine but did need good planning and management with the ice supply. In recent years, my buddies all moved to car fridges, and I could appreciate the convenience of that. It was time for a change. Most of its use would be for the results of my hunting. But there would be day trips, camping trips and just doing the shopping. It would also be useful at home, as a second refrigerator, holding desserts or beverages for occasional functions. The fridge would be used at least a few times per week. I did a lot of research, both online and asking folks’ opinions on their car fridges. My search narrowed down to a Bushman car fridge. Apart from the technicalities, they have a wealth of highly complimentary reviews from happy owners.

Bushman Australia provided Australian Hunter the ideal set-up in the ‘Original Bushman SC35-52’ car fridge. It is expandable from 35L capacity to 52L with the addition of an extender collar and domed lid, and conveniently runs from both 240V and 12V power systems. This Original Bushman has been in production for more than 20 years, won many design awards along the way and amassed a small army of devotees. The Original Bushman SC35-52 carries a 5-year warranty too.

To run a car fridge effectively, especially out bush for days at a time, requires some auto-electrical work on a 4WD. The sparkie wired my car with a heavy-duty, deep-cycle, second battery and set that up to charge from the car when running. A solar charging connection was also made, for those periods of days when the vehicle is not in use. While he was at it, an inverter was also installed to enable GPO 240V devices to be used, like my vacuum sealer for bagging game meat in the field.

The fridge runs a German designed Nidec Danfoss BD35 compressor. The cabinet is made of steel and there are heavy-duty tie-down points at each corner (that should be used). A transit cover of tough, insulating material was also fitted. That provides additional insulation and protection from knocks and scratches. The control panel is simple and intuitive. On the inside of the lid the table of temperature settings to suit different food requirements is most handy. With its 52L volume and ability to run as a fridge, fridge-freezer or freezer the Original Bushman means we can easily be off-grid for a week, or more, and enjoy our choices of food and beverage. It also means I can conveniently bring home a load of prime game meat.

For me, it has made my meat harvesting much easier. I can place the meat in the car fridge without the need to scurry home and get it in the home fridge. That gives me useful hours, or even days, to enjoy other aspects of the great outdoors. My processing of game meat, be it bunnies or venison, has evolved to the point where I now do all my processing in the field and just bring home vacuum-sealed bags of meat ready for consumption. The car fridge is the key element that enables that process.

The essentials for an extended camping set-up consist of the following:

• Bushman Original 35-52L fridge/freezer
• Solar panels to charge a 120Ah deep-cycle battery
• Auto-electrical installation for a 120Ah battery, inverter and solar charging.

The Bushman car fridge has now been in the vehicle for over a year. Operation has been flawless and glitch free. It has endured being bounced about on the roughest dirt tracks and cross-country venison retrievals. After only a short time with the Bushman we wondered how we had done without a car fridge-freezer for so long. Like so many other happy users, we totally endorse it. Bushman car fridges are available from major retailers. Retail pricing for the Original Bushman 35-52L, with all the trimmings, is $1495.

Visit bushman.com.au.