A car fridge is one of the essentials of a memorable self drive safari in Uganda more so if you are having your safari in the dry months of July, August, September and December. You will need a cold drink besides you all through your safari. Whether it is just a mere sip of water, or some local fresh juice or soda; regardless of the drink, it will better taste cold on a sunny day.
Not many self drive car rental agencies offer their car with fridges. And most of the budget cars such as the 3 door Rav4 and the 5 Door Rav4 often have no configuration for the fridge. It is usually the land cruisers that come with the option of a fridge. Therefore you might have to take a long search to land on a car rental agency in Uganda that offers a car with a reliable freezer. In most cases, the fridge is charged separately from the daily car rental rate depending on how long your hire tenure is.
There are mainly three misconceptions that come with hiring a car with a fridge. Some people do not differentiate between a fridge and an electric cooler box. Others do not differentiate between a chiller and a cooler box. It is therefore important to get clear details of what you are getting and what it cannot do for you during your trip.
Chillers
A chiller is simply a box that can keep cold things cold as long as you have ice in it. On its own, it does not have the capacity to keep things cold. Therefore you will have to stock it with piles of ice blocks. It is built to hold ice for a few hours while keeping your items inside at a relatively similar temperature. Many at times, when people ask for cooler boxes, they mean chillers.
Electric Cool Boxer
The electric cooler box has the capacity to keep items either warm or cool as long as it has been plugged into power for at least 3 hours. Many people who hire a car with an electric cooler box get disappointed. They often think they will get the results of a chiller even without adding ice blocks which is never the case.
It is often recommended to put some ice blocks in your chiller to jump start it to the desired temperature. It holds ice for a longer period than the none electric chillers do. They commonly used electric cooler boxes are 25 liters which can draw their power from the cigarette lighter port.
Electric Car Freezer
The electric car freezer will give you the effect of the cooler or even more without any need of adding any ice blocks. They usually come in two configurations; those which draw their power from the car battery and those which use their own portable batteries.
Self drive car rental agencies in Uganda such as 4x4uganda offer freezers that directly draw their power from the car battery. For this reason, they can only be used when the car is running. Though some cars can have a battery designated for the fridge, it is not very common for a car rental agency in Uganda to offer such unless you are hiring a hilux which is typically built for camping.
Cautions for hiring a car with a Freezer
- The first thing most of the people who hire a car with a freezer do; is to stock their freezer with beers. It should be noted that it is illegal to drive in Uganda under the influence of alcohol. For this reason, it is always recommended to only drink while at the campsite. Alternatively, if you are not a lone traveler, you can have one of your colleagues who does not drink keep on the wheels other than exposing yourself to driving under intoxication while in a foreign land.
- Ensure that the fridge is powered of when you turn off the ignition. Sometime the freezer goes off with the ignition while on other instances, you might have to turn off the freezer yourself. Keeping the freezer on might earn you a direct appointment for a jump start the following day.
