716: ICECO VL45 PLUS: World’s First 3-Way Access Portable Freezer
Snail Trail 4x4 Offroad Podcast · Jun 15, 2026
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Term
upper frame bracket
It’s a metal bracket that bolts to the truck’s frame. It’s where suspension parts attach so the suspension stays in the right position.
Term
lower link bracket
This is the bracket where the lower suspension link attaches. It can also include a built-in bump stop to prevent the suspension from compressing too far.
Term
integrated bump stop
A bump stop is like a safety cushion for the suspension. When the suspension gets fully compressed, it helps prevent hard metal-to-metal contact.
Term
cartridge joints
These are strong, serviceable joints used in suspension linkages. Instead of replacing the whole link, you can often rebuild the joint internals.
Term
rebuildable Johnny joints
These are special suspension joints that can move through a lot of angles. The key benefit is you can rebuild/replace the worn parts rather than buying new ones.
Term
hymes
Heim joints are strong ball-and-socket style joints used in suspension. They help the suspension move freely, but you should check them for wear.
Term
offsets
In suspension hardware, “offsets” usually means offset joint/link components that change where the link sits relative to the bracket. That lets builders adjust clearance and suspension geometry (like how the axle travels) without redesigning the whole kit.
Term
Aluminum links
These are the suspension arms/links made from aluminum. Aluminum can be lighter than steel, which can help the suspension respond better over rough terrain.
Term
link suspension kit
A link suspension kit is an off-road suspension upgrade that uses link arms and joints. It helps the wheels move more freely and keeps the axle positioned better on rough trails.
Place
Rubicon Trail
The Rubicon Trail is a well-known tough off-road trail in California. People use it to test how well their 4x4 and suspension can handle serious rocks and climbs.
Car
Wrangler Rubicon
The Wrangler is a Jeep made for off-road driving. It’s commonly used on trails where you might need to do maintenance along the way. The podcast is also mentioning a partnership that supports people who use Wranglers on routes like the Rubicon Trail.
Car
Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a rugged SUV designed for off-road driving. Owners often take them on trail trips together, which is why you hear about “FJ runs.” It’s meant to handle rough terrain better than a typical everyday car.
Term
carbon exhaust
“Carbon exhaust” usually means parts of the exhaust are made with carbon fiber. People do it for a lighter feel and a nicer look, not because it instantly makes the truck dramatically faster.
Brand
Magnaflow
Magnaflow is a company that makes aftermarket exhaust parts. People buy their mufflers and exhaust pieces to change sound and improve airflow.
Term
suspensions
Suspension is the system that connects your wheels to the car and helps it handle bumps. Off-road suspension upgrades help the tires stay in contact with the ground over rough trails.
Term
OHV
OHV means “off-highway vehicle.” It’s basically anything meant for driving on trails, dirt roads, and off-road areas—not normal streets.
Topic
Surf and Turf
“Surf and Turf” is the event name they’re talking about—surfing in the morning and then doing something else later the same day.
Term
compressors
In a portable freezer, the compressor is the core refrigeration component that circulates refrigerant to move heat out of the box. Its efficiency and power draw (watts) largely determine how long a battery setup can run the fridge.
Term
energy efficiency
Energy efficiency means the freezer uses electricity in a smarter way. A more efficient freezer can keep things cold while using less power, which is helpful when you’re off-grid.
Term
wattages
Watts tell you how much electricity the freezer is using. Less watts usually means it drains your battery more slowly.
Term
voltage
Voltage is the electrical “push” coming from your battery or power system. If the freezer and your power source don’t line up well, the freezer may not run as efficiently.
Term
45 liter
“45 liter” is how big the freezer is inside—how much it can hold. Bigger freezers often need more energy to keep everything cold.
Concept
factors that play into what will happen with the compressor
How much power the freezer uses changes depending on the situation. Hot weather, direct sun, and opening the lid often make it work harder, so it draws more electricity.
Term
power usage
Power usage means how much electricity the freezer uses. Lower power usage usually means you can run it longer on batteries.
Term
pre-cooling
Pre-cooling is when you chill the cooler or fridge before you head out. That way, it doesn’t have to “catch up” as much while you’re driving, so it uses less battery power.
Term
draining your batteries
“Draining your batteries” means running down the battery that powers your fridge. If you use too much power, you can end up with less battery left for starting the vehicle or running other gear.
Concept
off-road
Off-road means you’re traveling on rough terrain where you can’t rely on normal services. That makes gear like portable fridges more useful because you can’t just go buy ice or food easily.
Term
UTV
UTV means Utility Task Vehicle. It’s a side-by-side off-road machine that can carry passengers and gear, and people use it for trails, rough terrain, and longer trips.
Concept
rock crawling
Rock crawling is off-roading where you go very slowly and try to drive up rocks and obstacles. The goal is to keep control and traction instead of going fast.
Concept
overlanding
Overlanding means taking your off-road vehicle on longer trips to remote places. Instead of just driving out and back the same day, you plan to stay there for a while and bring the stuff you need.
Term
electric
Here “electric” means the fridge uses power to keep things cold, not ice. That’s what makes it practical for longer off-road trips.
Car
Polaris
Polaris is a company that makes off-road vehicles like UTVs. The point here is that the electric fridge setup can work in Polaris UTVs too.
Term
250 watt hour battery pack
“Watt-hours” tells you how much energy is stored in the battery. A bigger number usually means the battery can run the fridge longer, depending on how cold you set it and how often you open it.
Term
100 watt solar panel
A “100 watt” solar panel is how much power it can make in strong sun. In camping, it’s used to recharge the battery so the fridge can keep running.
Term
blue eddy
“Blue Eddy” is a brand of portable battery power. Here it’s the battery that runs the fridge when you’re camping.
Concept
ecosystem where it's constantly being powered or charged
They’re talking about setting things up so the fridge battery keeps getting recharged. That way the fridge can keep running longer without you having to manually power it all the time.
Term
cigarette lighter
The “cigarette lighter” is the 12-volt power plug in a car. People use it to power or charge camping gear while they’re driving.
Term
battery charger
A battery charger is what takes power from your car (or solar) and turns it into the right kind of charging for the battery. It’s how you refill the battery pack safely.
Term
power or consumption load
This is basically how much electricity the fridge is using. If it turns on and off a lot, it has to work harder to cool back down, so it uses more power overall.
Term
car charging to the battery pack
It’s a setup where your vehicle charges a battery, and then that battery runs the fridge. So when you shut the car off, the fridge can keep running instead of restarting from scratch.
Term
red arc system
Redarc makes power-control gear for off-road vehicles. The point here is that some fridge setups need more complicated wiring and controls, while this one is meant to be simpler.
Term
magnetize
They’re talking about attaching the battery pack using magnets. Some fridge materials don’t work well with magnets, so certain models have a steel spot designed for the magnetic mount.
Term
steel plate
This is a hidden metal backing inside the fridge. It’s there so the magnetic battery pack can stick securely where the outside material might not work with magnets.
Term
cutout, embossed into the steel
That means there’s a shaped area in the metal so the battery pack fits in the right spot. It’s designed to match the battery’s shape so it mounts cleanly.
Car
Toyota RAV4
The Toyota RAV4 is a smaller SUV that many people use for daily driving. Some versions can handle easier dirt roads and light off-road conditions. The podcast is likely pointing out that not everyone shows up with a big off-road truck—some people have something like a RAV4.
Term
drawer system
A drawer system is a built-in storage layout with sliding drawers for gear. The hosts are saying this fridge setup is easier than installing a whole custom drawer system.
Term
fridge slide
A fridge slide is a tray or rail system that lets you pull your cooler/fridge out for easier access. It helps keep the fridge stable while you’re driving, but still lets you reach it quickly.
Car
F-150
The Ford F-150 is a big pickup truck. The hosts are using it as an example of how this fridge/tray concept can work even when the truck bed is set up with a platform.
Term
3-way access
It means the freezer is designed so you can open it in three different ways. That makes it easier to grab what you need without digging through everything.
Car
Jeep Willys
The Jeep Wrangler is a vehicle designed for off-road driving. The podcast is talking about a specific paint color style that’s inspired by an older 1941 military look. It’s basically describing how that Wrangler is finished and themed.
Term
water resistant packaging
It means the outside is made to handle some moisture or light splashes. It’s not meant to be fully waterproof or submerged.
Topic
Baja 1000
The Baja 1000 is a well-known off-road race with very tough terrain and long distances. The host mentions it to show that heat management can be important when drivers are out there for hours.
Car
Ford Torino
The Ford Torino is an older performance car. The podcast is bringing it up because it has a history of being used in big, tough races. It’s mentioned as part of the car’s racing background, especially for long-distance events.
Topic
Mint 400
The Mint 400 is a well-known desert off-road race. The host brings it up as an example of an event where heat can be a big deal for driver focus.
Topic
Dakar
Dakar is a brutal, long-distance rally that goes through tough environments. The host mentions it to highlight how important staying cool can be when conditions are punishing.
Term
compact cooling system
A compact cooling system is a small device or setup that helps keep something cool in hot conditions. The host is saying these can cost a lot because they’re built to work reliably off-road or in races.
Term
ambient temperature
Ambient temperature just means how hot the air is outside. If it’s extremely hot where you are, cooling systems have a harder time keeping things cool.
Topic
King and the Hammers
King of the Hammers is a very tough off-road race with extreme obstacles. The host is saying if a product can handle that kind of abuse, it should hold up on regular overland trips.
Concept
overland trail
An overland trail is a long trip where you travel with gear, often camping, and usually on rougher routes than normal roads. The host is saying the same cooling benefits should help on those trips too.
LIVE
Four wheel underground is making some big changes.
They really are. What's really cool about what they're doing right now is they're
kind of changing the way the business is set in the sense that you get to now buy things
all a cart.
Absolutely. So if you want the upper frame bracket, you can just buy that.
Yeah. If you want the lower link bracket, because it has the integrated bump stop and
it's super stout and it looks really good too. You can get just those before you would
have to buy the whole kit. Now you're going to be like, that's the bracket I want.
He's also brought joints in house.
So now you can buy those all a cart from cartridge joints, rebuildable Johnny joints,
hymes, offsets, all sorts of different ones.
Do you know what else he brought in house?
Aluminum links, that's pretty rad.
He found a way to source aluminum links so that there's no extra charge on the suspension kits.
They now all come standard with aluminum links.
I know I'm totally jealous.
And thanks to the all a cart system, you can also order aluminum links if that's all you want.
So if you want to move your Toyota from Lee Springs to a link suspension kit,
check out four wheel underground.
We want to check with you guys today about on X off road.
Definitely one of our favorite apps for off roading.
Yeah, what's better is not only their software, but they also are doing a lot to be a part
of the off roading community here in the country from the trail revival program,
which I actually got to be a part of and use to do some maintenance on the Rubicon Trail too.
They have an elite partnership.
So if you are an on X off road user, you can go to any of their 40 plus partners on there
and you get discounts with any of those partners.
So from bringing the people to the brands to the listeners to everybody involved,
it sounds like they really want to be a part of our community.
So let's be a part of theirs.
Go download on X off road from your favorite app store.
Oh, welcome one.
Welcome all to the snail trail four by four podcast.
If you like going off roading into it is wrenching on to it is camping into it is maybe even
poking a little bit of fun at Toyotas.
And of course you're in about how fantastic refrigeration is in Toyotas.
Then this is the podcast for you.
That's right.
Ladies and gents, my name is Tyler joining me for another episode of the snail trail
four by four podcast.
The one and only Jimmy Jett.
How are you doing?
I am.
Sir, I am good.
You are good.
I am.
Nice.
That is good.
It's good that you're good.
Thank you.
Yeah, you're not well.
I mean, you're typically good.
Okay.
All right.
I'm well and good.
You're okay.
You're good and well.
Yep.
What is the good and tight?
Good and tight.
Good and tight.
How the Germans like their ladies.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Anyways, welcome to the show, everybody.
This is a Monday episode.
Yup.
Yup.
We got a fun interview for you guys today and it went a little long.
So we're going to keep the intro here pretty short for you so we can hop right
on in with David from IceCo.
Just remember that this month is IceCo month where we have a giveaway going on
with IceCo.
Yes, we do.
A really fun interview with them.
I'm good to learn a lot about what's going on behind the scenes at the companies.
Some of the cool things they do.
Some of the technology behind the refrigerators.
Some cool stuff that David does, which is a lot.
They've got a lot of stuff going and David has his little fingertips and a lot
of different things.
Yeah.
I'm going to start calling him DJ David.
Yeah, I like it.
DJ D.
We need to get him and factor 55 Justin together.
That would be funny.
So anyways, yeah, we got David Adame here from IceCo.
We'll get in and chat with him in a little bit.
We have the monthly giveaway.
So if you guys want to get signed up, oh, I was I need to get that up and running
this week, hopefully.
I think I have some time this week to work on it.
So getting the payback subscriptions up on pay on discord.
Discord.
Yep.
Yeah.
So hopefully I'll get that up and running actually this recording week.
So as of the time this episode airs, it'll be ready for you guys.
Okay.
And I'm going to, I'm going to say that.
So it forces me to do it.
All right.
We're going to do this.
Yeah.
Just like our movie studio.
Exactly.
Right.
And all of our, all of our license plates on the wall.
Anyway, so we'll get that done for you guys.
By the time this airs, we should have the subscription sign up options over on
discord, as well as I rate four by four.
Really cool forum board that has a ton of information about off-roading
technology, different ways to do things, food setups at camp.
And I'm sure some information options about fridges too.
So go check out irate four by four.com.
Scroll down to the snail trail four by four forum and all your set up options
will be there for the monthly giveaway.
And then is the monthly giveaway, the monthly giveaway.
We have it all confirmed.
Yes, we do.
It is an ice co.
APL 20.
Yeah.
It's a really nice fridge.
It is a really nice fridge.
I was actually really cool stuff.
I was looking at getting one of those for the trailer,
instead of the Dometic that I have.
We're just really are still trying to find a dual zone.
But after listening to everything that David talked about,
I think I'm going to be looking at the drawer systems that they have.
Their drawer systems are fucking sweet.
Yeah.
For sure.
So I've been wanting to build a drawer system in the back of a vehicle.
And put a drawer refrigerator in it.
Right.
And I just haven't got around to it because I haven't found a vehicle
I really want to do it to yet.
Sure.
I think I really need to get like a truck to do it.
That makes sense.
Yeah.
But the APL 20 was the fridge I was looking at
when I was considering upgrading the one in the teardrop trailer,
which is a fantastic fridge.
I think the price point, it's over 500 bucks, I think is the price point.
Yeah.
Which is easily our largest, most expensive giveaway that we've done this year.
I don't know if it's the most expensive we've done ever.
No, not ever.
But it's up there.
With the Ironman 4x4 awning was 11, 1200 bucks.
True.
Yeah.
So I know that one.
Then the tool month giveaways, we had a few of those,
gets a big dollars, yeah.
But this one's definitely one of the most expensive ones we've done
in a long time.
So big thank you guys, go for that.
And if you're a listener, if you're listening to this podcast,
you could probably use a refrigerator.
Absolutely.
Your chances are you're probably an outdoor enthusiast of some sort.
And a refrigerator would be very nice to have.
You can find a way to fit it into your lifestyle.
And so yeah, I think one of the interesting things that came out of this interview for me was
not really thinking of fridges as a recreation tool, but as a lifestyle tool.
Yeah, for sure.
I've never really incorporated a fridge into a lifestyle tool before,
but I'm like, there's so many fucking uses for a fridge in a lifestyle setting.
Absolutely.
And I think some of the new products that David talks about in this episode
is going to change the way that most of the listeners think about it.
I do too.
I agree.
So we got that really cool interview.
We got that fridge giveaway with IceCo this month.
And a lot of really cool stuff coming up on the horizon with IceCo too,
which we talk a little bit about some of them in the interview.
Some of the other things we got to talk off air with David about,
and we're not allowed to talk about them, but it's some pretty fucking cool stuff.
It's rad.
Yep.
They're doing some big things.
Yeah.
We'll jump into that here.
Let's go right now.
Well, you guys know the other stuff that we do got giveaways for reviews.
A lot of different things kind of tied to reviews.
So go leave a review of the channel over on Apple podcasts,
and you get entered automatically into all that stuff.
I think that's it, man.
Yeah, sounds good.
Just make sure to check out the Discord log on there.
We will have, hopefully have Tyler said so.
So we'll have the new sign up options there.
You can also get the access to the tokens,
and maybe we'll get David to join us over there too, if you guys have any questions.
Yeah.
Red, all right.
Grab your favorite drinks.
I'm going to down some of my sprite here before we get David here on the line,
and we'll be right on back with today's interview with David Adame from IceCo.
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All right. Welcome back ladies, gentle ladies, everybody out there,
all you wheelers, campers, hikers, whatever you're doing out there in the outdoors.
And we love it. We love hearing about it.
We are here for you today with David Adami here from IceCo.
So how the hell are you, David?
Dude, I'm doing well. I'm super stoked to be here and I've heard a lot about this show.
So I'm excited to just chat it up with you guys.
I'm sure everything you've heard has been just amazing stuff.
We like to say we're the best off road podcast in western Sacramento,
California that focuses on rock crawling.
Nobody can beat us.
And I feel like there's not enough of this, right?
So I love that there's platforms like this for you guys.
So just like, you know, chop, chop, and like kind of mess around.
And this is awesome.
So props to you guys.
Thanks, dude.
So you obviously, you work with IceCo,
which does a lot of refrigeration products in outdoor lifestyle, outdoor recreation.
I found out from talking with you at Overland SoCal
that you guys do a lot of OEM contracts too,
which is pretty cool.
What do you exactly do with IceCo?
What's your job here?
Why are we talking to you today?
Sweet.
So yeah, I am the marketing director for U.S. operations.
But we do have like a lot of other things going on around the world globally.
So a week has passed now.
So there was a big show in Germany,
which we've worked with a few, a few of those guys out there, Genesis Import.
You know, we've got Japan and a bunch of other areas that we work with.
So, but my general focus is relationships and partnerships,
activations with some of our like larger marketing campaigns.
So yeah, just kind of help us steer the boat in the right direction
and make it exciting for the brand and the fans in the community that we have.
So I really just focus on making this fun and authentic.
That's cool.
Yeah.
How long have you been with IceCo now?
It's been about two years now.
Previously, before this, I was actually with a rooftop 10 company.
So, and if we want to even dive a little bit further back into that,
I was a big like DJ artist before that.
So this was all pre, pre COVID.
So after COVID happened, you know, I was just like, you know,
got to figure out a different lane.
And because there was no, there was no music events happening anymore,
you know, during COVID, right?
So everything shut down and, you know, my pops was a mechanic.
And, you know, I never thought about getting into the car world.
I just always love cars.
And then, you know, met a buddy that had an FJ just like mine have an FJ cruiser.
So started doing FJ runs.
And he was like, Hey, dude, like have this business.
And I'd love for you to kind of help me, you know, just start it up and get it going.
And that's a long story shorter, which you can ask me any questions about.
But that's how I ultimately got to IceCo from the rooftop 10 company that I was working with for,
I don't know, about 34 years.
So, yeah, that's pretty cool.
I mean, the whole world fucking changed with COVID, man.
Everything shut down.
And the only thing we really had to do got to do was go outside, right?
I think that it opened up a lot of doors.
I think it changed a ton of lives.
Sounds like it definitely changed yours.
And it took advantage of more of the gas prices.
You know, it's like the gas prices were like two.
It was like almost $3 or less than $3.
I wish I would have went further, you know?
So, you know, we could have, could have done a Montana trip, maybe go to Yellowstone or,
you know, I wish I did some longer trips at that time.
Where do you live? Where's home for you?
So currently I'm sitting in New York right now, but home is actually in California still.
So I live in Long Beach area.
So not too far away from our current office, which is stationed in Brea, California.
That's like Orange County, Orange County area.
So yeah.
That is a lot of really cool automotive aftermarket accessory companies and
renters and manufacturers based out of Southern California.
It's a nice little hotbed.
I call it Tornado Alley.
It's like, there's just like a little lane of like from like Irvine down all the way up to
like where we're at, but there's just a mixture, like Riverside has a huge collection of like
these different manufacturers, like, you know, icons up there, icon dynamics.
I think, uh, got like carbon exhaust.
You got like even I think Magnaflow's down there, total chaos.
You know, there's just a bunch of dudes that are I bought suspensions up there.
So got a bunch of guys that are just kind of in that area.
Do you think that's more due to how much off-roading and, uh, OHV
recreation is in SoCal or is it just accessible?
You think so?
I was thinking maybe it's more, I don't want to say more.
It's also due to the, the easy access to the LA ports.
That's just everything comes in right there too.
And you guys are right there.
That's true.
That's true.
I mean, but we have so much, right?
Like in our back door, we have Big Bear, you know, you, uh, it's ironic.
We're going to be doing a, an event coming up with, uh, Super Winch and, uh, Weston and Xcomp.
Oh, cool.
It's called Surf and Turf.
So, um, you know, you can literally go to the beach and then go golfing in the same day.
So that's what that is about is, you know, getting, getting some of the, the lead industry
guys together and go surfing in the morning and then go golfing in the afternoon.
And that's the epitome of what like California has to offer, you know,
especially with like our off-road community, you can go out to the desert, you can,
you can go out to the desert and then go to the snow in the same day.
You know, during the right season, of course, but it's a, that's what's really awesome about
what's available in our backyard.
Yeah.
Up here in NorCal, we, you know, we're from the, the Sierras to the coast is about two,
three hour drive or so.
And so I always kind of joke around the, when I was doing a lot of white water rafting,
I was able to go skiing, um, white water rafting and, and at the beach all in one day.
Oh wow.
You still do that?
White water rafting?
If I get the opportunity to, I will definitely go out.
I haven't been in maybe a year, year and a half now.
It's, it's like, I think like one of the highest percentage, uh, like,
like, uh, dangerous sports, right?
Like our dangerous activities, like death rates are pretty high in water, white water rafting.
It's, it's, it's a very, it's a much more risky outdoor recreation, um, uh, activity
than compared to a lot of others for sure.
Yeah.
There's a, there's a spot, um, I think it's, uh, oh my gosh, um, it is current Kern river.
You ever done Kern river?
I have not done in the current river, but I've heard a lot of stories about Kern river
and that's a really dangerous area.
There's a massive hole in the current river that at high flows, um, you, they closed the,
I don't know if they closed the river, but like all the raft companies like are like,
we're not doing any trips at this time because this whole will literally take a four or five
thousand pound, uh, gear boat and flip it end over and 15 to 20 foot gear boat.
And it's, I've seen it happen, um, videos of a guide in the company I was working for
was doing a trip, a guided trip and, uh, endowed a 4,000 pound gear boat, uh, 18 footer, um,
just end over and like it was a toy in that hole. It's impressive. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
And the person gets shoved to the bottom.
Yeah. It's a, uh, he held onto the boat underneath it and waited until it kind of
worked its way out. But yeah, it was a, uh, yeah, I've swam a tunnel shoot, which is a famous,
a rapid up here on the middle fork of the American river.
And it's essentially, it should be named shoot tunnel, but, um, you come down this shoot and
it's a eight foot drop at the end of it. After really narrow, it's barely wide enough for a
boat to get down and it makes this kind of like cockey turn at the end. And if you don't hit that
properly, you go over this eight foot drop and the boat goes all skew. Um, well, I came in one
time and got launched over the eight foot drop and went down into the drop and got recirculated.
I don't know how many times three or four times when I finally popped out, I was in the tunnel.
That's like 50 to 70 feet downstream of the shoot. So wow. It's, uh,
that's extreme. It's a, it's fun. It's, it's, if you like doing that kind of stuff.
I mean, uh, lakes and rivers, I love, you know, I'm not much of a water guy. I'm a really good
swimmer actually, ironically, uh, but I will never do the ocean. Um, but you know, uh, and I,
you know, some of the white water rafting has a lot of those currents and
not that it's a trauma, but you know, growing up, I had an incident where, um, I think I was
like Huntington beach area or around that, that area. I don't, I was too young to remember,
but I do remember that, um, I went out and I got sucked in by a riptide when I was young. And just
from that moment on, I just never really liked going to the ocean. And you know, the, like some
of those white rod water rafting, you know, those carry the same kind of forces with those currents.
So those things are pretty gnarly for sure. So yeah, riptides are, are in my opinion,
so much scarier than a white water, um, in rivers just because you get ripped out to the open ocean.
At least if a river you can kind of, if you know how to deal with the white water and swim and
survive in white water, eventually you'll pop out into a pool or get hung up on a rock or something
and be able to get yourself to safety. Oh, if you're going out to the ocean, you're fucked.
Just break a leg on a rock. I'd rather break my leg on a rock or my hip on a rock or something
than get dragged out to the open ocean, man. Yeah, exactly. I get eaten by a shark or something.
That's always one of my fears. But yeah, I was a, I was a collegiate swimmer and I was
in a riptide one time when I was younger, probably in high school or something. And I was just head
down full force. Let's go as fast. Like let's get to the ocean or to the beach, you know, just
power through it. And I got to the end, you know, and I got to the beach and everything,
the lifeguard came up and he's like, man, I've been watching you for like an hour,
swim against that riptide. He was like, you know, if you just turned 45 degrees like in a river,
right? You just, it's, you swim out of it. And I was like, yeah, you know,
in the moment I was just like, I got to get to the beach.
That is true, right? Like I think swimming on a 40 degree angle away from the, the beach
gets you, gets you closer, right? Okay. Yeah. It gets you out of the riptide while minimizing,
getting pulled out by the riptide, right? Right. And this is information I wish I knew,
which is why we're here, right? We're here to share this kind of like important lifesaving stuff.
Totally do. When you, when you really need to know it and save your life, this is what you need
to remember is that 40 degrees when you're in the ocean in case, you know, same with grass and
river. And not quite the same as keeping our beer cold, but you know, just as important.
Absolutely. Absolutely. But I just go as tools for that. So we got, that's why we got you here.
Right. And we do that. We do that really well. So we've been, we've been doing that for about
20 plus years now. So nice. How did, what was, I mean, what, what was the, the genesis behind
Isco? Was it just having a portable refrigerator for drinks and food and stuff? Or was there
something else that kind of started it? And the refrigerators, I guess the recreation refrigerators
kind of morphed out of it. What started Isco? You know what? I don't know if I know that full
story now that I'm here, but what I do know is that, you know, what we do, we manufacture, right?
So we have the ability of manufacturing and for quite some time we have been, there's, I like to,
I like to kind of classify it in like three stages of Isco. We've gen, when I say 20 plus years,
we have started in the 20 plus years of manufacturing. When we started in OEM, kind of
like, you know, what we had talked about. So, you know, we started working with big car manufacturers
and working with it being implemented directly into OEM and OEM appliances. Some of the cars
are different overseas and they are here. So some cars feature different accessories or products.
So the second layer though is, you know, we've done quite a bit working or collaborating with
other brands like white labeling, essentially. So we've done that for quite some time.
As in you guys are manufacturing the white labeled products that other brands are buying
from you and putting their brand on it kind of thing? That is correct. Okay. Yeah. Cool. That's
correct. And then on the third side of that, or the third layer, we have Isco, which is essentially
been an accumulation of everything that we've learned over the 20 years of working in the industry
and being able to just deliver the best possible product that we can, right? So,
you know, we looked at a bunch of different things, you know, the actual quality of the
shells that we're using. So we have done plastic in the past or even rotomolded,
which I'm going to hint to something later down the line. So, you know, there potentially will
be something coming in the near future that you guys can expect this year. I'll talk maybe a little
bit more about it afterwards, but so essentially we've worked with different finishes and different
qualities. But essentially what you see now in Isco is going to be that, you know, aluminum or
stainless, there's three materials that we really use in our line. It's going to be aluminum. It's
going to be 304 stainless steel, or it's going to be essentially sheet metal, which is also steel,
but you'll see a mixture of those three materials across the board with all of our products.
But then, yeah, there's just a bunch of different things that have really
made Isco a standout product when it comes to what's also inside, right? Because
not only are we delivering the quality outside, but we're also delivering the quality on the inside.
So we're using a pretty well-known and famous product on the inside, which is called the C-COP
compressor. The C-COP compressor is made in Germany. We're one of C-COP's largest
patreons when it comes to purchasing that particular product, and that has to do with
like a lot of the OEM that we work with. So either way, what that really means is the actual
name and the quality has been tried and tested. We've actually produced and working on making
our own, but right now we've found that that one's really awesome. So we're finding ways to
continue innovating, optimizing, and just pushing the industry and pushing what these fridges can do,
which is exactly what I want to talk about is those C-COPs. I've personally grew up doing
like racing, camping at every single level. I've had the little tents that you run the
little tubes through, and now we have the gazelle tents, and you don't have to do those anymore.
But I've done every single level of camping where we've had just a little soft bad cooler,
and you bring out your little one burner stove, and we didn't have all this crazy
overland stuff like how we had before back in the days. So we just had a little Coleman,
and we just figured out our camp situation, and we just parked on the side of a road somewhere.
So we didn't have capable vehicles yet. So these fridges are really awesome
with being able to keep things capable. So the compressors have this special ability
of a few different things. It has a special ability of being able to articulate up to 40 degrees
while in operation. So you can see how this can be really important or essential when
guys are trying to push their vehicles to the extreme and going into these different places,
whether it's rock crawling or whether it's overlanding or even racing. I've had the opportunity
of working with a couple of guys at the King of the Hammers or even the Ultra 4 side of things.
So shout out to one of our guys, Crossland Chuck. He's in the 4400 class. So we've thrown like one
of our APL 20s on his truck for the actual race. So he's pre-ran with that refrigerator and been
able to put that through the test for the last few years. And it's been working awesome. So
he's actually, yeah, I don't want to give him credit because he's been kind of the grandfather
to some of the ideas that we've had recently, like one of the ones that we've done with PRP.
We've done a PRP XISCO release and that was essentially, he won't, he will hate me for
saying this, but he was the grand, granddad or grandfather for that. And he's like, don't say
idea to do the racing inserts and being able to essentially bring a fridge to the racing market
for like the UTV guys and the guys are trying to push it a little bit further without having
to take a cooler, right? Because, you know, when you got ice in a refrigerator, the ice is great.
So when it comes to when I talk about different products, I love everything for different reasons.
Even like our competitors, I think they make different things for different reasons and
it's more of like picking what's best for your situation.
What the priorities are, what you're trying to do, yeah.
Right, right. And so I think that we just focus and hone in on a few things that we know our
customers are looking for, but specifically with coolers, you know, coolers are great.
I still use coolers to this day, most times for just drinks, but I use my fridge a lot for food.
But the coolers, once they, you could take a 30 liter cooler, but essentially when you put ice in
it, now that's become almost like a 25 or 20 liter cooler, you know, because now you're,
you're filling that space and then you don't really get the same consistency throughout
the whole cooler because either the ice is on the top or it's at the bottom and then that melts and
then you get, you know. Doesn't that make it then essentially a dynamic zone ice chest? That's
really what that means, right? Right. That's how it gets marketed and advertised.
Exactly. So, I mean, it's just, it's just, yeah, to each their own, right? It's like,
what is it that you're using? So like for, for drinks, I think it works great, but for food
coolers have their limitations, I think. So, but yeah, I mean, there's just tons of exciting
things that we're trying to push the limit to when it comes to racing, rock crawling.
So real quick, I want to get back to the compressors.
Yeah, sure. When talking with you down at Overland SoCal, I didn't realize that,
I just thought a refrigeration compressor is a refrigeration compressor. I didn't realize that
there's different things, different features, different kinds that, that they do different
things. And so you were saying, we already mentioned the Seacop has an articulated up to 40
degrees, which is amazing for off-roaders. Can I interject right there? I have a competitor
fridge. I loaded it up into my truck the other day and I plugged it in and it told me error.
And I was like, is it because I articulated it so much to lift it up into my off-road rig?
And I think, I don't think so, but I don't know, but it's possible. But you know, like,
there's a few different things, right? Cause you think about like your home refrigerator,
you're not really supposed to be tilting that while it's running. So some of these
compressors have different levels of capabilities. So specifically like the one I'm talking about
is a one that's commonly used in a lot of the bigger brands that we all know. I won't mention
all of them, but essentially the bigger brands are all using this. The only problem with this
particular compressor is that it's really expensive. So it costs a lot for, you know,
for this to be inside of those. So some of the bigger brands that you notice have like really
high price tags can be kind of an indication that it may be using that, but you know, do your
research and make sure you're looking at things. A lot of things have changed over the years,
you know, with people, different companies trying to save costs and money on different
things where we have been very steadfast or, you know, we've held our ground in keeping the
quality and the price point for our customers. So they get the quality, they get a price point
that's affordable with the warranty that they can trust. So we've tried to stay true to that
on our side and while still innovating and pushing the limit. So those compressors,
I haven't really even talked all about the compressors yet. I mean, the compressors have
a few other, you know, features. That specific one is really special in the energy efficiency
section or division. So out of all the compressors that we've had or ever tested,
this one just seems to have the best efficiency rating. So if you're one of those guys that,
you know, you're wanting to maximize your trip and get the most out of your fridges,
doesn't have to be ours, but I'm just saying like the C cop specifically is one of those special
for compressors that just does really well with energy consumption when it comes to voltage or
wattages. Yeah. Do you know the wattage ratings of those compressors compared to other popular
compressors and how much more efficient it'd be running kind of thing? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we've,
like I said, we manufacture and we test our own in house. We've tested others. Like I said,
this C cop one seems to be one of the best ones we've tested, but I can give you some like general
wattages for ours. And then you can kind of compare some other ones too. But for example,
like a 45 liter VO let's say a VO pro 45 liter would generally draw around that like 40 to 50
watt range. It could even go a little bit lower. It just depends. So there's going to be a few
things I'm going to discuss here or mention. There's a lot of different factors that play into
all that, right? Cause it depends on where you have it is it's sitting in, in the middle of the
desert and baking sun, right? Or, you know, is it in a cool spot? Are you opening and closing it a
lot is, you know, it that all depends on how much the compressors having to work, right? So,
so those are some different factors that can play into what will happen with the compressor
and how much it's drawing. 40 to 50 watts is pretty good though. I think most, most other
compressors, I'd say fridges that are in that 45 liter kind of range are usually pulling upwards
of 55 to 70 watts running. So you're looking at a 35, 40% reduction in power usage.
I would say, I would say when I look at different wattages between other fridges,
I would say we're consistently about easily 10 to 15 watts lower consistently. But I do want to
mention something very important to, you know, like our audience that is also watching that,
you know, what the wattages that I'm talking about are, are sort of running wattages, right? So
not startup wattages. So startup wattages are always going to fluctuate depending on what
temperature you set it to, what ambient temperature is inside the refrigerator. So if it's already
hot inside, the refrigerator is going to have to work really hard to get it down to the temperature
you set it to if it's like 20 degrees or 30 degrees and the ambient temperature inside is like
70 degrees or something. You know, that's why we always recommend before people go out on their
trips, put it in your house like next to your kitchen before you start loading up things and
plug it in. You know, we always recommend like a pre chill process or a pre cool process. So
just get the refrigerator down to temperature so that, you know, when you actually remove it from
your house and put in your car, it's already down at that level that you needed at. And once you
plug it into like your, you know, your portable power station or whatever you have in your car,
it doesn't have to, you know, continue draining so much from your battery packs. So
that's always an important like little tip I would love to share to people whenever they ask is
do a pre chill before you go out. Both of us do that. I go in the night before as we're packing
for all of our food. That's one of the last things we kind of put together, but we'll put it all in
the fridge and have it sitting connected to the house to get down to that 34, 33 degrees
before the morning of, then we move it to the vehicle kind of thing.
And I'm pretty sure Jimmy has a similar process for.
Yeah, I do. The day that I'm packing, I usually, it's the first thing I bring into the house and
I park it right next to my fridge and there's another outlet, a house outlet right there.
So I plug it in and let it cool before I move anything in. And I do want to say, I know that
we're on, you know, refrigeration topic, but that is still an excellent tip. If you're just using a
cooler is throw a few ice packs in there. Let bring it down to temperature. Take those used
ice packs out and then put your food in new ice packs in. So, but yeah, it's funny because it's
like a lot of these things that I had are tricks and trades, you know, that I was doing with a
cooler, I'm still doing with the fridge and it totally carries over. It just is making it
more optimal. It's not wasting power. It's not making, you know, you're not draining your batteries
in any way because you're pre-cooling. Yeah, you know, I think you're just getting some of those
luxuries, right? That you would, you know, you're starting to, I think we're all starting to get
used to, right? When we're going out is like, how much longer can we stay out on trips? How quick
can we get from point A to point B, you know, when we're coming in and out of different camp
grounds throughout the weekend, you know, I think speed and efficiency is the name of the game when
it comes to what we do. None of us want to be out there like spending like an hour or two tearing
down a campground. We just want to get to the next spot, you know, so I think that is one more step
that makes things more efficient. You don't have to go back to the store to get ice, you know, you
know, ice is going to melt into your food and the cooler. So it's just one of those steps that
makes it a luxury, you know, when you're going out. I will say it seems like we, Jimmy and I had a
listener call in and ask us about what kind of food we liked to eat out on trips. And Jimmy and I
aren't big foodies when we're out on trips, you know, we're going out there to rock crawl and get
to a lake and just relax. We don't, we don't like to sit around and cook all the time, but we've
definitely noticed over the past few years that that is like probably the main activity
that people love to do when they're going out and camping out in a forest or out by a lake or
wherever they are out in a desert and being able to get to these really fucking cool environments
and know that your food isn't going to spoil. It's not going to be all soggy wet.
And you can really enjoy having this really fun opportunity that a lot of people like to
enjoy of cooking a pretty badass meal out in the middle of nowhere. I think that that's,
that's one of the, the biggest things that impacts that I've seen from refrigerators in
the, the overlanding or off-road world lately is that it allows people to, to, to go out and
go on more trips, longer trips and have these really fun adventures cooking and around centered
around being a foodie out in the environment. So yeah. And I mean, just even touch on a little
bit of that, put that topic, you know, I've noticed a lot of new sort of like subcategories popping
up. Like, uh, like we call it like, um, like adventure, um, event, like, and I'm specifically
talking like in UTV, the UTV world, uh, adventure writing. So like, um, got a couple guys like
at PRP that are going to like the Rubicon and doing like rock crawling, but essentially it's
just like rock crawling, but overlanding kind of thing, right? Where it's like rock landing, right?
It's like, you know, that's a new thing now. It's like, you're not just day tripping anymore.
You're getting to the, the destination, you know, especially with a trail like the Rubicon
or when you're going out to some of those, those are kind of like multi-day trips. Uh,
you're not just, uh, you know, back when I was starting off my off-road journey,
you know, we would, we would go hit those like off-road or even rock crawling
trips or trails just for the day and come back home, right? Uh, but we are seeing a lot more of
those like rock landing or, you know, adventure riding kind of situations where, um, you know,
we have guys that have, you know, a full razor platform, like a, uh, you know, a pro r platform
that's a force eater and they specifically bought that one just to delete the rear seats and put
their refrigerators and storage and, you know, it's like we're seeing a lot of this changing,
you know, in the industry right now. So, um, yeah, you know, and, and that's something that I also
want to make obvious, you know, because I know that we even have like a rock calling community
here with you guys, you know, what ice code does is an overland fridge, right? It's, and I think
people will sometimes get a little intimidated by the fact that it's like not a cooler because
they're like, they've never wrapped their head around something that's not a cooler, right?
Yeah. Because that's all they've known, right? They've only known a cooler. So when they look
at this as like, well, how do I use it? Like, what would I, where am I putting this? And I'm
like, well, it's like a, it's, it's like you're cooler, but it's just electric, right? So, um,
you know, it still can be used in your rock crawlers. It can still use in, in your Polaris
and go racing and jump off the dunes, whatever you want to do with it. So, um, it's, it's something
that we're seeing a lot more and those are a lot of the channels that we subtly see people use our
products in. Uh, and we're going to be doing a lot more effort to promote that to people, to
let people know, like, Hey, you can use this for rock crawling and you can use this for fishing,
boating, hunting, you know, go to the beach with your kids, whatever you really want to do. So
we've got some pretty new, exciting products that are coming out this year that I think will help
promote those ideals or ideas for those people. Tailgating, tailgating is another huge tailgating,
yes, for tailgating. Yeah, I have three fridges. Uh, so, but we have a really small one, uh,
that came with a trailer that we purchased and we pulled out every once in a while and
put it in my wife's car so that when she goes to the grocery store, she can put the cold goods in
there and she's not limited to being like, I have to make the grocery store my last stop
so that I have to go home. It could be her first stop and then the fridge is going to keep everything
cold the entire time while she's out running all of her other errands and then she can come home.
So it could be more of a, you don't have to worry about freedom of schedule or, you know,
because it's in a, it's in a fridge, you know, I bought it from the store, I put it in a fridge
and now I can go do whatever I need to do. I can't tell you how many times I've heard,
you know, uh, like my friends or close partners have told me like, whenever we've like gifted them
fridges for their, their like specific builds for shows, they're like, yeah, my wife stole my
fridge and now I need another one. Yeah. So I've heard that, I don't know how many times now where
the wives kind of catch on and they see how cool this is. They can do their grocery run
and then go to the, you know, the makeup store or clothing store and not have to worry about
running back home, you know, to throw their stuff in the refrigerator because everything's
inside the car. So seen it more times than not for sure. So it can go, and I think that's such
an awesome thing to touch on is that it can go as far right or far left as meaning that the extreme
or the even like, you know, the entry level of it. Yeah. Digest daily life, right? It's,
it's, you know, you can use it for pretty much anything you need to. So we're going to definitely
be having some new product there that will help with that like daily life stuff. So yeah, yeah,
I think it's one of those things where you don't realize how much you like it or need it until
you actually have it, right? Everybody has had coolers or has coolers today, right? And goes like,
yeah, I know how to use a cooler, but then once you get this thing that can, it plugs into your
car and it can always keep things cold. You're like, Oh wait, I could always have cold water in
my car. Like I could always have a chilled soda or whatever. I can just throw my groceries in there.
I can, it ends up being a part of the car, which is actually kind of neat that you guys
sort of started at OEM applications with some of these features. And then now you make these
coolers for the outdoor community, but it seems like a lot of the outdoor community
is now putting them back into their OEM vehicles. Exactly. And you know, we have such a high
percentage of people who own multiple fridges, like you mentioned, right? Like when I look at
some of the numbers, it's commonly or an average of two or more fridges that they own per customer.
So, you know, people just like having, having their, you know, they like having their snacks
nearby. So, you know, we offer some, you know, and sometimes that could be a little bit intimidating
when you're looking at our line. Cause we have, I mean, it's like, I think over like 40 SKUs that
are on the, on the website, you know, you're like, well, which fridge is for me? And it's like,
that's so hard for me to tell you which fridge is for you. Cause I have to like ask you about what
your rig is and like what you want to use it for. You know, where are you planning to take it? Do
you need dual zone? Do you need single zone? You know, what, what is it you need? So, you know,
we, we've noticed as people start to like get a little bit more, or they build up their confidence
in what they're doing in their hobby. Um, as they start getting into like the more advanced levels,
they start figuring out how they can use their, their fridges and their builds. Cause you know,
we have some of the guys who have been here for a while and we're noticing a trend where people
are starting to use our RV fridges for their overland builds now. You know, they're, they're
using the like upright, upright drawer, um, like, um, almost like the mini fridge style into their
like drawer systems and starting to build it that way. So it's like sky's the limit, you know,
which when you come to how you want to build it out, that is also something that we have is, uh,
our RV line as well. So building into those RVs and doing those like cabinet style fridges,
we have those available. So, and we also have like our IPT 20, which goes directly into the,
the, uh, F 150 models. So that will keep you from having to get out of your truck. So while
you're driving, you could just reach back and grab what you're looking for, uh, in your back seat
and not have to go to your fridge in the back and the back of your truck. So that's why we've seen
a common trend of people having multiple fridges, uh, with their setups. So that's pretty cool.
Yeah. What kind of stuff do you guys do in the OEM applications?
Um, that one I don't know as much of, and I don't know if I, I don't know if I have the liberty
to talk about too much of that. Um, but I don't have too much information to show you the way,
uh, on the OEM side. So like, um, so we, we work in different departments. Like I said, my general
focus is going to be North America, at least for me. So I work in Canada. Uh, I work in,
of course, like our general U S, um, like, you know, United States and then even a little bit of
like, um, below that, you know, some of the South America stuff, but, uh, mostly North America
is my, my general focus. So even Hawaii, Alaska, those are all places that we're, uh, expanding
to and having more support there for some of the people who may be interested in that. Uh,
because Hawaiian Alaska is generally a hard place for most, uh, brands or manufacturers to
support. So we're, we're going to be having some more support there very soon.
That's cool. Um, what about like, uh, some of the, the new stuff? You guys have kind of been
launching quite a few different products this year, and I've seen a lot of kind of add teasers
for more products coming out. Um, you know, some of the ones that have kind of caught my eye, and
I'd like to, to have you talk a little bit about it. Cause I think they could be really cool for
the day trippers out there, people that are, you know, go and park somewhere, then they're
going on a hike for a couple of miles out to a lake or something. Um, is the refrigerated backpack.
Right. What's the story behind that? I'll be honest, you know, I've been, I've been a little
overwhelmed with how much new stuff we have, which has been, it's super exciting, right? Like
there's, there's so much coming. So for, you know, our iceco, you know, community and fans,
there's a lot coming this year and even next year is already planned out. So, um,
there's a lot of great new products and collaborations coming, which, you know,
I could touch on a little bit later. Um, but yeah, this new go pack is, uh, essentially,
it's called the go pack 12. So it's a 12 liter backpack refrigerator. Um, and I, I don't want
to say it's a backpack necessarily. That's just what I've always called it, but it's a soft bag
fridge. So, um, essentially it's our very first soft shell fridge that we've ever introduced
into our line. Uh, we've mostly been known for doing hard shell, which is, you know, of course,
like aluminum, stainless steel, all those things. But this is really going to open up the doors for
us to be able to kind of, um, expose ourselves and cater to a new audience. Uh, kind of like what
we've been talking about where might have those like soccer moms or, you know, the, the wives
that need to just kind of running gun and they can't carry a big fridge like that. Um, this is
something that's going to be extremely portable. It's going to fit for like those ones we just
talked about, like tailgating, beach trips, park trips, fishing, like taking this onto the boat
and, you know, taking it to, you know, like to a lake and doing fishing trips. Um, I just see so
much potential for this everywhere. Um, and it's got such a narrow form factor, uh, that it fits
right behind like a lot of the seats in all cars. So a lot of people have been super stoked on our
IPT 20 model, which fits into the Raptors, but it's just too big for sort of the larger markets.
Yeah. You know, like, you know, we got the Tacomas, we got the, the four runners, um, you know, the
Jeeps. And so that model is a little bit too wide for those back seats, but this new model is going
to be completely universal to really your imagination, wherever you want to put this. So, um, yeah,
there's going to be some pretty cool things. It's, I can talk about what's going to be in the box,
so that people can be prepared for that. So it's going to come with a shoulder strap,
already in the box. So you'll be able to, um, disconnect it quickly. Did you get a chance to
see it? Okay. Yeah. So that was, um, and it was the black version, right? That you saw. Okay.
Cause we had two versions, but the one you saw was essentially the final, the final version.
So that one will have the shoulder strap and you did see the backpack part. Yes. And the backpack
part will be sold separately. So, uh, that won't be included in the box, but people have the ability
of purchasing that if they need it, if they want it. Um, and then that also has the ability to
work directly with the PP250. So people need to like take this in and completely be portable.
Just slide in that PP250 and now you just rock and roll for like this, the next 68 hours
with that fridge. So pretty awesome. And that PP250 is essentially a battery pack, right? Okay.
Yes. It's a, uh, the magnetic battery pack that is essentially our patent battery pack that we use.
So that's a compatible, but pretty much every single fridge in our line, uh, you could just,
you know, magnetize that to the side. Um, and I've got some other exciting stuff to share
as well that there, there's potentially a bigger one, not potentially, there is a bigger one coming.
So a bit, a bigger, a bigger battery pack, a bigger magnetic battery pack. So, um,
so a lot of people have asked us about like our PB 1000s, which are like the, the bigger sort of
like jackery style looking ones. And we've, we've discontinued those and we're not going to be
exploring any of that, but the magnetic style is something that we are going to continue offering.
It's pretty much essential. Um, and in a lot of ways that I look at our setups,
just having that like small little running gun battery pack just makes the biggest difference
with a lot of trips because it just keeps everything, um, really small and compact and out
of the way. Cause then you don't have to like lug around this big, you know, 1000 battery pack,
you know, or 2000, you know, so it's, it's pretty awesome. If you can be very creative in how you
set it up, you can go a long way with that battery pack. So, uh, I say 68 hours just because
I want to be on the safe side of letting people know information. Uh, that's also another one
that's like, depending on how you're using it, what the temperature is set to. Yeah. So we've had
people report 36 hours of using that battery. So on, on that 250 watt hour battery pack, we've had
people report 36 hours or more. Um, that's not something that we promote, but it's something
that's achievable of a hundred percent with our fridges. Um, so you can imagine with a bigger one
than the 250, which is coming soon, you know, we can get even more than that. So that'd be nice to
have it, um, be able to physically attach to the refrigerators. Cause right now, um, I really
like, you know, wheeling to a location, setting up camp in that location, then being there for
two to three days, right? Um, so typically what I'll do is I will, first thing I'll do when I get
to camp and set up tent, but then I'll pull the fridge, my, uh, battery pack out, which is essentially
like a blue eddy, uh, 55 I think it's a 600 watt hour, um, a battery pack and solar panel,
100 watt solar panel and just set them kind of off to the side in the shade somewhere. Um,
solar panel in the sun and that's kind of the setup. It kind of runs itself, but that's,
that's a big old battery pack. I got to find out, get in and out of the car. And if there's
something that just attached to the fridge and I could just plug the solar panel directly into
the battery pack, you know, it's simplify a lot of that process. Absolutely. And, and that is
another process that I always love to share to people is, uh, especially with that one,
you know, if you create like an ecosystem where it's constantly being powered or charged, you
can really maximize that thing, you know, cause like essentially like you're saying, you know,
you, you get to the, the part where you're loading up your truck and then you are going to hit the
road, you know, plug in in the battery charger. So from your cigarette lighter to the battery pack,
the charger, charging cable to the battery pack, that's charging up the battery while you're driving.
Right. So then when you exit the car, you're going shopping or whatever you're doing,
you know, uh, maybe you're at camp. Now the fridge is not turning off when the car turns off,
you know, cause a lot of people would just plug directly into the refrigerator, into the car.
But like I said, that turns off the car. Now that there's nothing wrong with that. I think a lot
of people ask, well, is it, is it bad for your fridge is to continue turning off and on? It's
not. Uh, it's just, you're creating more, um, power or consumption load, right? So now it's
going to take more time and more power for it to get down to that temperature again. So we just
try to eliminate as many of those times that, that happen and it'll keep things as efficient as
possible. So keeping a system like that, where you've got from your car charging to the battery pack
and the battery pack charging the fridge so that when the car turns off, the battery pack is still
staying on. And then when you get back in the car, it's still charging up the battery pack again.
It just creates a very easy, um, very entry level experience for someone who's just getting into the
game here, um, that they don't need to have this complex, like red arc system or like, you know,
it's something that is a little bit more on the next levels of, of the stages that of getting
into or off-roading and overlanding. Um, this is an easy way for them to get started on that.
Yep. So how does it magnetize if your fridges are aluminum or stainless?
So, um, on some of the fridges, um, so for example, like our APL 20 or I'm sorry, not APL 20,
you know, right? It's, uh, just to the left of the ventilated section on the front of the APL 35.
So if you're looking at it, this is the vent and on this side, there's a small section you wouldn't
know, but, um, we do, we do explain it on the website where it is. There's just like a steel plate
that's behind that. It's, uh, discreet so you don't know and it doesn't affect the appearance of it.
You just stick the magnetic battery pack on the, on the bottom left and now you got a place for it.
Uh, for stainless steel, um, that, uh, correct, that doesn't magnetize on the back of our APL
35, which is, I'm sorry, APL 55 is the only stainless steel model that we have in our line.
There's a specific section. You can't miss it. It's on the back of the fridge and it has a cutout,
uh, embossed into the steel that is the shape of the PB250. So you just, stick that
right there. There's also a sheet, uh, behind that and that's where you got the magnetic battery pack.
Cool. But on the other, on all the other fridges, you can pretty much stick them anywhere. So,
that are, that are just the sheet metal. So that's all VO, uh, all VO models. So that I'm talking
about VO the first gen, which is the big green boxes that we've had, uh, which ironically are
still really good and popular. Uh, so that's why we haven't discontinued those. Uh, but those are
pretty much like, those are like tanks. So those are all sheet metal. Um, we have a fish tank at
our, at our, um, office that is a, what is it? I think it's a 40 or 60 gallon fish tank that's
sitting on top of that. So it's, it's got, it's, it's gotta be over like, you know, 600 pounds
sitting on that refrigerator. Um, that thing's awesome. So we, you know, we have fishes on
display at our webs at our office on top of that fridge or on top of that fridge. So, uh,
but yeah, all VO models and then VO pros. So VO pros is going to be the second gen of the VO.
So VO pros, VLs, uh, JP pros also it will work with. And then of course, like I mentioned,
APL 35, APL 55, I think the only one it doesn't really work with is APL 20.
We don't have any steel sheets in the APL 20 currently. Gotcha. Have you ever thought about
putting the battery inside the fridge somewhere? I know it, uh, make the fridge bigger or lose
internal space, but, um, yeah, it's not then another thing that you have to concern yourself
that's exterior. It's a good question. We've got asked this plenty of times and, uh, like I said,
um, luckily for us, we've been on the front end of being able to try every single, um,
sort of potential when it comes to what the options could be, what we could do,
and there's some reasons why we haven't done that. You know, um, we've tried it before.
Um, you wouldn't know, but we've tested them, but, um, essentially the battery pack does a
few different things when it's internal. First big thing is that it creates a shipping hazard.
Um, when, so it creates some logistical, uh, complications, uh, when we're, when we're bringing
them though, or making them. So when we have to ship them, like even FedEx has kind of cracked
down on their like lithium ion sort of shipments. So it just creates certain complications and a
longer logistical process for us to be able to get batteries and boxes to places for some reason. So,
um, that's one reason. And then the second reason is we would have to make a massive
refrigerator that would house a battery big enough for you to even consider using this battery pack
in, in the, you know, in your daily or in your off road trip. Because for example,
like having a battery pack and a lot of the competitors that you see, you might only be
able to get about four to six hours on a battery pack. And that's a pretty battery,
pretty big battery pack that yours, um, essentially giving up internal space for and also added weight
on the battery pack. Uh, having something external, you know, removes the need for having
it this like added weight. You could just easily take it off. Also removes like a sort of, um,
troubleshooting, uh, sort of situation. So if something happens electronically inside the
fridge, that's another thing that we just have to like troubleshoot and look through, um, to be
able to ensure like it's not the electronics or if it's the compressor or it's that. So when we
keep it very simple, and I think that's like, uh, something that we love about most of the
products that we all use here and, and the like off road industry or just even daily consuming
life is like not overthinking it, right? Like it's just, let's just make it really awesome,
simple, easy to use and make it, uh, reliable. And that's something that we're pushing very
strong, uh, with our brand is, is reliability and being able to have that confidence that this
is going to be reliable and you can use it for whatever you need to. Nice. Okay. Cool. Yeah.
I'm a big fan of modularity stuff. It allows people that want it to get it and still as long
as it's integrated in a, in a really neat way, such as being able to automatically attach to 99%
of the SKUs. Um, and it also allows people to like, yeah, I don't really need a battery pack. I'll
just plug directly into whatever I have or I already have a battery pack I can plug into. Um,
it helps keep the price point down for those people too. So yeah. Exactly. I think you nailed it
there. Right. We, we noticed a lot of people have just completely different setups every single time.
Which is why we, we try to keep things, um, simple, like I said, and modular to what most
people will have because everyone has just different, different setups. And as like,
like I said, as you're growing, you just start to build out different things and you have different
needs, which is why we keep everything separated when it comes to what's inside the box. All you're
really going to get is a AC and DC cable, which would be compatible with pretty much everything
that is on the market. Um, and yeah, he'll be ready to rock and roll, but we do offer,
you know, options of people need them. Nice. Um, get it dive into a little bit about the, um, the,
the X coolers. So like the, the Isco and PRP coolers are the different kinds of collabs you
guys have been doing because I think those have been really fun. And I think it's a really neat
way to show the, um, camaraderie, the creativity, um, behind Isco and some of the cool things you
guys are doing within the industry. Yeah. I think this is a neat story for me to share. So, um,
this ties a little bit back into my history that I was mentioning about music. So, you know,
obviously a very common thing to do in the music industry is collaborate with
different artists and be like, Hey, you know, let's get you featured on this track.
And so that was just something we just normally did. Um, and so I took a lot of the essence of
that and brought that to what I'm doing here. And so, um, this all started off with Baja designs.
And so, you know, those guys, you know, really close to those dudes love what they do. Obviously,
they make some really great products, really, really highly respected. Um, and like a lot
of our brands here in the industry, they're all constantly doing shows. Uh, and I think Baja
probably has one of the highest, like, um, like, or craziest schedules, you know, in the industry,
I think, I think they're doing like, I think they have like 80 to 90 shows that they attend a year.
Which is insane. I think, I think Isco, we've only, we only do like five or seven shows a year. So,
they did 90, you're pretty much out like multiple times a month. Yeah, I was talking with, I was
talking a little bit with Wes and he goes, I'm on the road 40, 45 weeks a year. And I'm like,
what the fuck? It's insane. You're on the road constantly. So, you know, of course, you know,
those guys need refreshments. They got, they got a pretty big team too. So like they get guys that
come in and out of, out of the trailer, especially for like, for example, like King of the Hammers,
I think this is where this all came, came to fruition. Um, you know, you're out there for
three weeks at a time, you know, you 100% need refreshments while you're out there to keep your
team going and, you know, possibly even to hand out drinks for your customers who are hanging out
and spending time in your booth. So, the idea came from, from that, you know, so I talked with
Kyle down there, which is pretty much show lead for all the guys. And, you know, I told the,
I told Kyle's like, look, dude, let's get you guys a fridge and, you know, get you guys taken
care of. But instead of doing just something generic where I just give you a fridge, you know,
why don't we, why don't we do something cool for you guys where it makes sense why the fridge is
there in your booth. So, you know, let's get it branded with Baja, like let's do a custom one
off Baja fridge, you know, why don't you send me some lights and let's, let's make this really
cool because then now your product is integrated into this, into our product. So it's basically
like you're already promoting, you're promoting your brand while having this cool piece of art
or a cool functional piece of art in front of your booth that you can use. So that's exactly what we
did. So, um, you know, myself and, you know, I give a lot of credit to Hayden. So shout out to Hayden
on our team. He does a lot of our customer support and warranty side of things, but he handles a
lot of things on the dealer side. So a lot of our listeners are out here. If you get a chance to
talk to Hayden, he's super awesome and he's definitely going to take care of you. But he's
just super, super handy when it comes to everything, everything that's like custom in our, in our
facility. So he's not paid to do it, but he loves to do it. So, so we, you know, me and Hayden,
I'm more of the idea guy. So I've been like, Hey Hayden, like this is what I'm thinking. How can
we do it? How can we, how can we make this come to life? And it's almost like a, like what are those
shows, right? It's like a, it's like a West Coast, like chopper situation, West Coast customs, you
know, it's like, you know, or even like, you know, gas monkey garage, you know, I'm like, you know,
like, yo, like this is what I want to do, make this crazy idea come together. And he's like,
yeah, all right, cool. And he starts welding things together. And so, um, yeah. So, you know,
we, um, we made a custom, uh, we cut, we custom welded a trolley. It's, it's on 14 inch casters.
So it's like a monster truck fridge. And the reason why we did that was because, you know,
for events like King and the Hammers are rolling this fridge through this big open desert with
these huge rocks. So, you know, we wanted it to be portable, but still functional, but, but really
cool. So we custom wrapped it, um, with a partner of ours called, uh, beyond wraps. So shout to
Marvin. And, um, we got the, we got rock lights all over it. So there's four rock lights on the
top and there's underglow on the bottom two rock lights. We custom plumbed that through
the insulation of the fridge took, took weeks for us to do that. I think out of all the, uh,
out of all the fridges that we've ever done, that one's been the most intricate and time consuming
fridge and have had constant, uh, sort of, um, troubleshooting or hiccups from the electrical
cause we have to get the wire so thin that it can plumb through the, uh, plumb through the
insulation, but, but not too thin to where it can't handle the circuit or handle, you know,
handle the Watts that are going through there. So, uh, it's been a constant, constant like,
um, you know, struggle with that one, but we have two current ones in existence, uh,
three total Baja fridges. So one is an APL 35. So if you ever see that, that one's extremely rare.
But that one's sitting, I think in their office somewhere. Uh, that one's a beautiful, beautiful
fridge. Uh, but then the other ones that are taken out to shows are going to commonly be the
big boys, which are the VO 75s. So the custom one off fridge and we've kind of, that's sort of
snowballed into like what we've seen today and what you guys have all, uh, what you're kind of
mentioning, we've had a collapse like King shocks, where we've done like, you know, reservoirs on the
side of the refrigerator and piped in the, you know, the reservoir tubes into the fridge, just
no, just to make it look cool. Um, you know, we got, got stuff with Warren and
factory 55, but we've got a winch coming out. Um, you know, I've got some pretty cool ones.
And I mean, this is just the name of few of like all on concepts, carbon exhaust, we got a full
exhaust kit coming, a dump kit coming out of the ventilation. It's fully functional.
Yeah. So, you know, the idea, the idea has been to like throw a keg in there, uh, and having like
dispense out of the, uh, how to dispense out of the exhaust tip. So we're, it's a project we
haven't got back around to, but, um, yeah, we've, we've, we've just thought about doing some cool
things. And, um, I've got some more cool projects. I've got a whole list right here in front of me on
the, on the, uh, on the desk here of like pending like projects that are still going on. So there's
a queue for, I think, you know, we, even you guys, you know, we're working on something, um, for Morph
late. So, um, yeah, we've got tons of pending projects here and they've been just super exciting
and they're just more for fun. They're not for sale, uh, which I think a lot of people have
been super stoked about trying to get something like that, but maybe in the near future, uh,
there'll be opportunities, uh, which can lead into the next section, which we do a lot of licensing
now. So that's been a big part of like my, um, my main focus and a lot of, uh, new things that
are coming for IceCo is we've seen just a huge excitement for our brand with other, other brands
that are in the performance world. So, um, you know, bridging the, the gap between performance
and lifestyle has been something that we've been working on with other brands. And so
won't touch on too many of the brands that are coming, but I can mention some that, uh,
one that is coming very soon. So, um, we do have something coming for the Jeep guys, um,
coming very soon for, for that. Um, hopefully by the time this interview airs, we should be
pretty much ready to launch. Um, but yeah, we've got a full Jeep X IceCo refrigerator coming out
for those dudes. Um, and then later this year, teas, teas were coming out with a full licensed
project with a big tire brand is all I could say. So you have to take your pick on which one that
will be, but it's coming soon. Nice. That's pretty rad. It's fun to see, um, when companies
like to do these collaborations within the industry. Cause I think that we're in a very unique
industry. Jimmy and I talked about it all the time where it's, it's a really fun industry,
but it's, it's the biggest little industry out there. Absolutely. I think market cap for
off-roading is, is a huge part of outdoor recreation industry. Um, and, but like everybody
is just here to kind of have fun and make cool products and, and hang out and go wheeling
with each other. Right. And so these brand collabs on the fridges side of stuff, it just kind of
exemplifies that. And I think it's a, it's really cool to see that in action, knowing about the
industry and, and how the customers like to interact and seeing that really the people
behind the brands are just like the customers where they just want to hang out and have a good
time and goof off and, and go wheeling and play around. Right. Um, it's, it's fun to see companies
exemplifying that demeanor as well. So it's exactly what you're saying. It's, it's, it's an
epitome of the relationships that we have. Right. So it's, it's our, our brands, it's like
literally us just like sitting around a campfire and having a few drinks or just meeting up at
a bar while we're at different shows and we're just like, yellow man, I love your
shit. Like let's do something cool together. Like let's do something together. You know,
like we're doing some cool stuff. Um, you know, like let's just, let's just do cool things.
You know, that's essentially the whole idea of this and why we, why we do this is to be able to
deliver something exciting for our customers and, you know, they're
enthusiast about all these different brands. They love all the brands and just being able to
make that connection. It's just like that wow, aha moment for them where they're like, wow,
that's so cool. I really want to get something like that and support both of the brands
that we will have working with. So, um, yeah, we're just super stoked about keeping that creativity
and just keeping the partnerships rolling and, you know, yeah, just working together. And I
think that's exactly it's that big, small brand or big, small world, right? We, it's such a small
community that we have, but it's, it's a tight knit one. And I think it's very different than
anyone, any other community I've ever experienced in, in my professional career. Like it's very
different from the music industry. It's different from like the clothing industry. I think that
like off-road industry has been, it's been one of the most friendliest and awesome and supportive
industries I've ever got the chance to experience. So that's something I've been super stoked on
and why we continue to do this. Yeah. So I agree. It's a really cool industry to be a part of.
What other kind of fun stuff are you guys looking at coming out with? Anything you can tease the
listeners? Well, you got a Kickstarter program that's going on right now with, what is it, the VL45
Plus? Correct. Correct. Yeah. That is a new product that we are launching here or it has been
launched at this point. So that's a, it's a new fridge that has been gaining so much excitement.
I think I've been very surprised about how much people have been wanting this. And I didn't really
know that people needed something like this, but you know, because we've had, we've had drawer fridges
before in sort of our RV, RV line, but we've kind of meshed those two ideas, you know, like a drawer
fridge and a VL45 had a baby and now we have the VL45 Plus, you know, so, you know, and it's been
like a mind blown for people. And they're like, Oh my God, you know, like this is exactly what we've
been waiting for. So we're super pumped that, you know, we've had so much support already for
the excitement around this refrigerator. So I could talk about, of course, like some of the
details of it and why we got around to doing something like this, of course, from popular
demand and sort of the excitement of having a drawer pool. But I think we've all been there,
right? Like I've explained, we've all been in the situation where we've had a very basic setup.
We didn't have all the knickknacks that we have nowadays. We've all been in a place where we've
thrown our refrigerator or thrown our cooler into the back of our cars or our trucks. And then we're
just stuffing things anywhere that we can find a space, right? You know, we're tossing sleeping
bags, we're tossing, right? And I'm sure we still do to this day, right? You still do that to this
day. You know, when I'm trying to pack up, I'm just finding any spot that I can find. And so,
you know, sometimes we get to a point where there's stuff on top of our refrigerator,
or on top of our cooler, we got to pretty much move everything out of the way
to be able to get to that, right? So the great thing about this new model is that it keeps a
lot of the essence of what people already originally loved about the VO45, which is the
double opening lids, right? You can open it from the left or you can open it from the right or you
can take off the whole thing, which is great. But now you have the front door access, right?
Because now, let's say you are stuffing things all over the place, you still have the ability
of still accessing your fridge from the front. So definitely, definitely kind of more geared towards
our general consumer market, our entry-level peeps out there. You know, maybe they got like
a RAV4 or just like something very small and they're just getting into the game and they don't
have like a crazy expensive drawer system or, you know, even a fridge slide, right? This is like
combining that, the ability to do that is like you could just throw this in, drop down the door
and this whole tray slides out. So it's like having a built-in fridge slide inside of your fridge.
So it's just being able to tackle a few of those like essential needs, right? And we're seeing
those needs and we pay attention to our listeners, our fans and our community to see what is exactly
like going to solve solutions or solve problems for them when they're out road tripping or they're
doing things. How can we better address those things? So that's an answer. This is an answer to
something that we found. So very cool. Yeah. It's a, it's that one. I saw the advertisement.
I don't know if it was just being teased somewhere. I don't remember where I saw it, but I was like,
Oh, that's fucking clever. That's a, that's, that would be amazing because I always have to
use up my whole backseat for the fridge because I need to make sure that I can still open the top
of it, right? And I'm not going to stack up a ton of stuff in the backseat right next to the kid.
So I just put the fridge there. Now with this, you can kind of put the softer stuff there next to
the kid, the sleeping bag, the bags of clothes and stuff, and then have the fridge in the back
and still pack shit around it and just open up the front of it and pull your integrated fridge
slide out of the fridge to get access to your drinks and your food and stuff. It's a, it's
pretty brilliant. It's been awesome. I think like there's a few situations that I see this
being heavily used in, you know, of course, like you mentioned, like let's just say we have,
I don't know, like a full size truck, like an F-150, maybe you have like a platform
in the back of your truck. You know, if you open up your door, you still have the ability of being
able to access that from the side of your door and being able to drop down the door and pull out
the whole tray. Or if you're inside your car, right? Like your passenger can still access it from
the top, the side lid. So you're not limited by the orientation or the direction or, or wherever
you place it. Now you have three access points on this refrigerator. And especially once we're
starting to even get into the more experienced guys, like let's say you got like a GFC or
one of those like tune campers, you know, where you have access to the wing, like
gold doors or gold wings on the side. This is extreme. I see this speaking heavily to those
guys already because, you know, for the guys who would just throw this right on the tailgate,
you don't have to jump into your, your truck anymore to access your fridge, right? You,
you could just access it from the front. Pull the slide out. Yeah.
Or like you're saying from the gold wing. So you could just open the gold wing from the side
and jump into it through the top. Or if you're at the tailgate, you don't have to jump in,
you just pull down the front door. Or if you're inside the car and you're camping in it,
you still have access to it from the inside of the, the camper. So you've got three ways of access
on that particular setup. You throw it on the bottom left or the bottom right of your camper.
And that's going to be like the best way to maximize that fridge for those dudes. So I see it
being heavily, heavily used in that market. But yeah, of course, very, very common. I think it's
going to be a real problem solver for like our entry level consumers too. So yeah, it's really
cool. So that's is out on Kickstarter. It went live. Let's see. This is airing on Monday. So last
Wednesday, June, June 10th, June 10th is when it went out on a Kickstarter. So if people want to
get in on that, it's what, what do they search on Kickstarter? VL 45? VL 45 plus. I'm sure you
can find that on our main website as well. So if you jump onto our main website, you'll see the
Kickstarter. I'll be honest, at the time this airs, I don't even know if there will be any
availability. We're seeing, we're seeing a heavy traffic for this, and we're potentially going
to sell out of those, those spots for the Kickstarter. But the other way of being able to
potentially purchase this would be through a dealer. So if you go to like your local dealer
or distributor, we have some really awesome ones on different sides of the country here. So we've
got, okay, forward drive on the East coast. We've got iceberg. We've got Rhino Adventure Gear.
We've got Capit up in Canada. So we've got, we've got some really great guys down here that can
really help us this with being able to get, get you a refrigerator, but you can reach out to
your local dealer. I'm sure they can, they can find a way to access it. Nice. That's really cool.
Any other fun projects you guys got coming out you want to tease everybody with?
Yeah. So like I mentioned, we have V045 plus. That'd be the first order of business.
The next thing behind that is going to be sort of a stack of different things. And I don't know
the order yet of when they're coming out, but it's going to be a lot of exciting things in
almost like one month. So we've got Jeep, XISCO coming up, and that's going to be based off the
APL35 platform. And it's reskinned essentially to pay homage to the heritage of Jeep. So it's
based off the 1941 Drab Green Willys colorway. So the old army, army colors from the old Willys.
We paid homage there and you're going to see that. And it's really clean and
it's got a rustic premium feel to it. So it's got leather accents that are on it too. So it's
green with a little bit of leather like offset. It's a really beautiful fridge.
Even some of our Toyota guys who've got some sneak peeks of it, they're like,
dude, that thing is beautiful. I'm just going to stick a sticker on it.
Yeah, they're just like, because it's just a beautiful color. It's like a flat green
colorway. So it's super awesome. New one coming down the pipeline here in the next,
I would say month or two. So people can get excited for that one.
GOPAC is also on the heels here at some point in this timeline as well. And within the next
month or two, we should be able to see some information about the GOPAC coming out. So yeah,
that one's water. It's a water resistant packaging or essentially skin. It's not waterproof
just because the compressor, but essentially it is a water resistant packaging that you get
with that guy. And like I said, it comes with a shoulder bag. Even on the inside, it has a multi
layer organization system. So it's not like just throwing everything into just like an open shell.
Like I think you might have saw it. It didn't have, it was just an open container, I guess.
Now it has a multi organization system in there. So you'll be able to essentially have two layers
of organization in that. So it's almost like a steel wire organizer. It's like a platform inside
there in the middle. So you'll be able to put drinks at the bottom and put your foods on top
so that your drinks aren't getting crushed by things. So yeah, you'll be able to organize in
that one pretty well now versus just an open basket. And then there is something I will tease.
I will give everyone a heads up on it that there is an even smaller and potentially even our lowest
offering when it comes to price point coming in this year. So it should be around that 20
liter price range or 20 liter size, but we'll be at a very, a very, what's the word, like eyebrow
raising for IceCo, right? For IceCo. Because when we talk about IceCo, IceCo is a premium
offering that we do here. It's meant to be the most premium refrigerator that we can build.
So anytime we talk about it, we're using the best of the best when it comes to the quality,
the internals. So for me to even see what I saw, it's very eyebrow raising. I think it will
generate a lot of excitement for people who want to just take things out for like sort of small
day trip, a small day shipping fridge. It's a different fridge. Like I said, it's going to be
a different material. So we can see some excitement for that one this year. That's all I can say.
It will be in the, it will be in our Go series. That's all I can say. It's going to be in our Go
series sort of like skews. So we have APLs, we have VL pros, we have Go series and we have JP's.
So it'll be in that category. Cool. When are you guys doing a refrigerator fanny pack?
I mean, I feel like the Go pack is the closest thing to that.
But yeah, I don't know. I want something for one beer. I just want one beer to stay refrigerated
around my waist. You know, ironically speaking on that, there was, so I'm a very creative guy,
you know, even when it comes to a lot of things that I do here with IceCo, I try to take the lead on
being creative and presenting new ideas and even doing a lot of the R&D myself in a lot of ways.
There's been just like some interesting things that I've been wanting to test and wanting to get
into. Like I said, I have this upbringing and racing. I feel like racing started a lot of things
for everything. It was sort of like the universal starting point for everything, right? Like racing,
birth, everything that we see now. Everything's a subcategory of what racing was, you know,
like overlanding, rock crawling, you know, pre-running, all these different things have
generated from the idea of taking a car and modifying it and being able to take it to the
extreme, right? So we've seen these subcategories come from that. And so I have a really strong
sort of like belief and excitement to be able to continue supporting our racing community. So
there's been some ideas that I've been kind of like pitching around to be able to
get a refrigerator small enough to where it's essentially just the compartment
of the refrigerator. It's just a small box, essentially. The compressor is still there,
but it's not big enough to have any sort of drinks or any big drinks or food. It's meant
to just be a cooling compartment where we can then pipe cold air to like our racers.
Oh, interesting. You know, that's something that I'm working on, sort of like exploring the ideas
of. A Firesuit AC system. Some of our racers have been like, hey, can we drill holes in the lid
and pipe cold air into our racuits or even to our cars? Because they're like, you know,
they're trying to take advantage of everything they have on board. We've got this refrigerator
that has cold air. It's got cold food and drinks for the day when we're pre-running,
but how do we get that air to us? Because we need it on these hot race days.
You know, because a lot of these more and this is not going to just be for like
ultra four guys. This could be for like UTVs, working with PRP to find solutions on what we
can do there, whether it's through the seats or whether it's through helmets. So yeah, working
on different solutions, that's going to take a little bit more time for me to iron out, but
just to give you guys an idea of like what's processing in my head where I'm going with
things. That's actually pretty freaking clever. If you think about it, I mean, a lot of racing
technology nowadays, we have a ton of performance stuff, but a lot of the technology nowadays
comes down to elongating the driver's performance, right? So the leaps and bounds we've made in
suspension in the past just 10 years. Yeah, it has a lot to do with performance, but it has a lot
to do with keeping the driver comfortable so they can last longer and pay more attention and react
quicker, right? If you can take like the Baja 1000 or the Mint 400 or Vegas Torino, these long
wrist and distance races Dakar in hot harsh environments and make the drivers cool and,
you know, more clear with their thinking because they're cooler temperature. That's a massive
advantage, I think. Right. I didn't realize that this was a big deal, but some of these
accessories or these parts are pretty expensive. To have a compact cooling system can be thousands
of dollars for people. I'm talking like three to $5,000 when it comes to some of these more
intricate systems, or even if it's something a little bit more simpler, sometimes it's either
just air that's being fed to you and it's just the ambient temperature outside, which can be hot,
or sometimes they're used with ice cubes, right? They'll put ice cubes into like a canister that
is able to feed or pipe air, but like I said, it's just- Just close the air over the ice cubes,
essentially, yeah. Yeah, but that will only last for so long, right? So I've seen some need to be
able to support guys and I'm constantly testing things here and there, so yeah, that's the cool
thing. I think with my position is I get to physically go out to some of these events and some
of these different races or particular situations where we can take it to the extreme. Essentially,
if I can prove that this thing is working at a race as extreme as King and the Hammers,
it's definitely going to work on an overland trail or wherever you're taking it with your family.
That's something that we want to prove is that a lot of what we're doing holds up to the quality
of what we say we're going to- what we are manufacturing and producing and showing the
extremes of what it's actually capable of. And I think that's what those races are meant to do,
is like, it's like a stage for the manufacturers to prove that their quality actually speaks to
what they promote. So that's exactly why we are part of these different sponsorships or
collaborations is to continue showing that we're innovative and we're staying true to the quality
and keeping that relationship with our customers and our racers. So something super awesome,
I've been excited to be a part of. So that's pretty cool, man. Thank you so much. We're
pretty far into the interview today. It's been a lot of fun chatting with you about different
stuff. If people have more questions, I don't want to say concerns, but questions in general
about Isco, about some of the product stuff, where should they go to get those answered?
Yep. So of course, if you're going to purchase anything, you would love, I mean,
you're going to have to go to iscofreeza.com. As far as customer service, we do have our customer
service line that's attached to that as well on the website. But if you do need a more personal
experience, working with our dealers actually tends to be really efficient and a little bit
quicker. So go and support your local small businesses that are around. Work with our
dealers and then we will get a little bit more tailored support because it's a part of our job
to help support them. So there's a little bit of a larger catch-all when it comes to the website,
but we do a really good job of being able to cater to everyone. But yeah, go and support
local businesses around us. That's something that's essential for our well-being here in the
United States. So yeah, hopefully that answers everything. If you ever need to reach out to me,
you can find me on Instagram. I've got my personal FJ Gypsy. Come follow what I do,
I sometimes tease out little things as well. But yeah, I'm an avid off-roader myself. So
I've got my FJ, own page and I share things on my side. But yeah, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you guys. Yeah, thank you. If people have questions you want to route them through us,
we have the voicemail listener line. We can get them over to David and maybe get him back on for
to answer some of the questions. If people want to reach out on Instagram, Jimmy, how can they do
that? Yeah, you can find me over at snail trail four by four and Tyler's over at four by four
Toyota Tyler. You can also email us Jimmy or Tyler at snail trail four by four.com. Cool.
So we'll wrap this guy up here. I like to kind of put everybody on the spot at the end of shows
and be like a what's your, your closing last words here? And it could be
one word. It could be what you had for lunch. Could be what your favorite drink is on the trail
something, whatever you want to leave the listeners with the last thing,
Jimmy's used to it. So make him go first. So first of all, I want to say thanks, David,
for taking the time out of the day to join us. It was a lot of fun chatting with you and learning
about iceco. One of the things that came up in the conversation though, that kind of just made me
realize or I just sort of came to the realization is that with a cooler, you're always worried about
your ice, right? And you're like, do I have enough ice? Is my ice gone? Is it just water?
Yeah, ice stress. That's a great, you gotta, that's marketing 101 right there.
You know, and now with fridges, it's not a concern. Maybe there's the, you know, like battery,
like you have to concern yourself with the battery, but there it's not ice anymore. And you
know, it's a concern and that concern has been wiped with fridges and I didn't really have that
realization until this conversation. So yeah, it's just a thing that you no longer have to worry about.
Sweet. I mean, to look to your point, it actually triggered my, it's a very PR thing for me to say,
but you know, you saying that you're stressed, you know, eliminating that stress. I think the
last words I'll leave it off is one of our new slogans now, which is stay relaxed, stay reliable.
So that's essentially, essentially what we're talking about, right? You know, it's like,
we just want to be able to make a product that keeps you relaxed, keeps you going
while keeping the same reliability and continue to push the innovation. So stay relaxed and stay
reliable. I like it. I like it a lot. And with that, my friends, keep crawling.
I got one for you. Okay. Why is it dangerous to do math in the jungle?
Why is it dangerous to do meth in the jungle? Math. Sorry, Freudian slip.
Why does the family do math? Why is it to do math in the jungle?
Uh, because 789 Sort of close. Okay. You're kind of on track. Because
I don't know. Because when you add four plus four, you get eight.
Got it. Okay. You get devoured. I was thinking of some kind of like four by four joke. And then
I realized, no, it's the eating joke is what the joke is on. Yeah. All right. Okay.
About this episode
Snail Trail 4x4 Offroad Podcast episode 716 dives into IceCo’s portable refrigeration lineup, centering on the ICECO VL45 PLUS and its “three access points” for easier off-road packing. The conversation covers compressor tech (including a C-COP unit made in Germany that can articulate up to 40 degrees), power draw and efficiency, and how pre-chilling helps reduce battery drain. Along the way, hosts tease IceCo giveaways, discuss modular power/battery setups, and connect the fridge concept to overlanding and rock-crawling culture.
Original notes
It’s ICECO Month, and they brought in the right guy for it. David from ICECO says that after COVID changed everything. Like a lot of people, he went outside, went wheeling, and ended up pivoting his whole career around it. Now he’s working with a brand that started in OEM refrigeration — manufacturing the internals that go inside other companies’ products — before expanding into the outdoor and overlanding space. That OEM history matters because it’s where the technology comes from. ICECO runs SECOP compressors, which articulate up to 40 degrees without throwing an error — something Jimmy can personally relate to after loading a competitor’s fridge into his truck and watching it fault out.
The conversation goes well past compressor specs. David and Tyler get into the framing that stuck with Jimmy most by the end: a fridge isn’t a recreational product that you also use at home — it’s a lifestyle tool that you bring with you. Jimmy’s been using a small fridge for grocery runs with his wife. She loads the car fridge first, doesn’t have to make the store her last stop, and comes home when she feels like it. That’s not overlanding. That’s just Tuesday. And it opened up a whole line of thinking about how the technology is circling back to everyday life after coming through the outdoor market.
From there the episode covers some of the new product stuff: the refrigerated backpack (cold drinks on a day hike — the gap between “car camp” and “pack everything in”), the VL45 Plus front-opening drawer fridge that launched on Kickstarter June 10th (Tyler’s take: this solves the “I have to keep the whole back seat clear to open the lid” problem), and the ICECO x PRP collab coolers. David also teases some upcoming product lines he can’t fully get into — racing cooling systems among them, including what sounds like a wearable air conditioning system for fire suits. Tyler’s response: he wants a refrigerator fanny pack for one beer.
ICECO
Website: https://icecofreezer.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/icecofreezer/?hl=en
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iceco/iceco-vl45-plus-the-first-3-way-access-portable-freezer
SnailTrail4x4 Discord: https://discord.gg/yFyFFkQbuy
Come hang out with us on the SnailTrail4x4 Discord — it’s the easiest way to connect with Tyler and Jimmy directly, chat with fellow offroad enthusiasts, and get first access to Group Buys and Treasure Hunt token drops.
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Snail Trail 4x4 Offroad Podcast
Tyler and Jimmy: Off-Road Enthusiasts
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87:27