Dometic CFX3 55IM Powered Cooler with Ice Maker, 53L

Dometic CFX3 55IM Powered Cooler with Ice Maker

A track day in July means a hot paddock, warm drinks, and a driver who needs to actually stay hydrated between sessions. The Dometic CFX3 55IM is a powered cooler with a built in ice maker that runs off your tow vehicle, a battery, or paddock AC, so the ice you packed at 6am isn't a puddle by your second session. It holds 53 liters (83 cans) and freezes hard enough to double as cold storage for anything you don't want cooking in the sun.

What It Is and Why It Works

This is a compressor fridge freezer, not an ice chest. Dometic's VMSO3 variable speed compressor pulls the cabinet down to -7F and holds whatever temperature you set on the display, whether that's 38F for drinks and food or full freeze. It runs on an R134a sealed system, the same basic technology as the AC in your daily, so there's no ice to buy and nothing to drain.

The part that matters at the track is the Rapid Freeze Plate. It's a separate ice maker section that makes ice even while the rest of the cabinet stays set to refrigeration. You drop the two included silicone trays in, and you've got fresh ice in about two and a half hours without warming up your food. Pack drinks the night before, plug it into the truck on the drive out, and you roll into the paddock already cold.

Power is the reason this works out of a race hauler. It runs on 12V or 24V DC, 110 to 240V AC, or a solar setup, and it draws less than a 60 watt bulb (about 0.84 amps at 120V). The 3 stage dynamic battery protection watches your voltage and shuts the cooler down before it kills a starter battery, so you can run it off the vehicle overnight in the paddock without walking out to a no start in the morning. If you're running a dual battery setup in your tow rig, you can let it draw deeper.

The CFX3 app connects over WiFi or Bluetooth so you can check and set the temperature from your phone without walking back to the trailer, and it logs temperature and power history if you care about that. The ExoFrame construction with protected edges and spring loaded aluminum handles is built to get thrown in and out of a trailer weekend after weekend.

Specs

What to Know Before You Buy

This is a single zone unit. The cabinet is all one temperature, and the ice maker plate is the only part that runs independently. If you want to freeze in one half and refrigerate in the other at the same time, that's a dual zone model, not this one. For most track weekends a single zone is what you want anyway, since you're mostly running drinks and food cold, not trying to keep ice cream frozen next to your water.

You need a power plan. This is a compressor unit, not a passive cooler, so it does nothing sitting unplugged. Running it off your tow vehicle's accessory circuit works fine thanks to the battery protection, but if you want it cold in a static paddock spot with the truck off for hours, plan on a portable power station, a dual battery setup, or paddock shore power. Plenty of people run these off a small lithium power station between sessions.

At 53 liters it's the tall one in the CFX3 lineup. Measure your trailer cabinet or truck bed spot before you buy, especially the 18.9 inch height. If you're tight on space and only running a one day event, a smaller CFX3 might pack easier, but the 55IM is the one that holds enough for a full crew and a two day weekend.

Grab the insulated protective cover if you're storing it outside in the paddock sun. It cuts how hard the compressor has to work in the heat, which means less draw on your battery. A fridge slide is worth it too if this lives in a truck bed or a fixed spot in the trailer, since you're not lifting 47 pounds out every time you want a drink.