The Bushman DC85-X 85L upright fridge is one of those bits of gear that's easy to review with confidence, because we've lived with ours for years rather than a couple of weekends away.
We don't just have one either. We've got two Bushman 85L upright fridges, one in our RG Colorado canopy setup and another in the back of our Y62 Patrol.
The first one went into the Colorado and has now been running pretty much non-stop for around four years. After having such a good run with it, when it came time to set up the Y62, we bought another one.
That fridge has now been running non-stop for around two years as well.
So this isn't a review after a couple of weekends away. Both fridges have been permanently installed, permanently powered and used in real touring and 4WD setups for years, including our full-time travels around Australia.
Why We Chose the Bushman
We originally wanted an upright fridge for the Colorado canopy rather than a chest-style fridge.
For us, an upright just works better. You can open the door, see what's in there and grab what you need without pulling half the contents out to find something buried at the bottom.
The 85L capacity also hits a really good middle ground. There's plenty of room for food and drinks without taking up a ridiculous amount of space in the setup.
After running the first Bushman in the Colorado for a while and being happy with it, there wasn't much of a decision to make when we built the touring setup in the Y62.
We went straight back to the same fridge.
Living With the Bushman DC85-X
The Colorado Bushman lives permanently in the canopy and has been running for around four years without really being switched off.
It's been through plenty of camping trips, 4WDing, dirt roads and corrugations and just keeps doing its job.
The second Bushman is permanently mounted in the rear of our Y62 Patrol. That one has been running for around two years non-stop and has travelled with us on plenty of 4WD trips and rough roads, and now on our full-time travels around Australia.
Both get used properly.
They're not sitting in the shed for most of the year and getting switched on for the occasional weekend away. They're powered up day after day, and that's probably the biggest reason we're so happy with them.
Storage & Layout
The upright layout is one of our favourite things about the Bushman.
Everything is easy to get to and the shelves make it simple to keep food and drinks organised. When you're travelling and opening the fridge multiple times every day, that makes a bigger difference than you'd think.
There's no digging through layers of food trying to find something at the bottom.
Open the door, grab what you need and shut it again.
It's simple, but it works.
Power & Performance
Both fridges run off our 12V systems, and power draw has never been something we've had to worry about. The DC85-X uses a Secop Danfoss BD35HD compressor with a low draw, averaging around 1.25 amp hours over 24 hours, and we've happily run it for days at a time off our dual battery setups.
It's tropical rated to 43°C ambient, and through dust, heat and corrugations both of ours have just kept doing their job without missing a beat.
Reliability
This is probably where the Bushman has impressed us the most.
Between the two vehicles, we've now got years of continuous use behind them.
The Colorado fridge has been running for around four years and the Y62 fridge for around two years, and both are still going strong.
They've lived in 4WDs, travelled over corrugated roads, dealt with dust, heat and plenty of kilometres, and neither has given us any reason to replace it.
When you're travelling remotely, that's exactly what you want from a fridge.
It's one of those pieces of gear we don't really think about anymore. We expect it to work, and it does.
What We Like
The 85L size works really well for touring without taking over the entire setup.
The upright design makes everything easy to organise and access, particularly when you're using it every day.
But the biggest thing for us is simply the reliability.
We've had such a good run from the first Bushman in the Colorado that we were happy to spend our money on another one for the Y62.
What We'd Change
After years of using two of them, there's honestly nothing that stands out as something we'd change.
They suit our setups, they've been reliable and they've done exactly what we've needed them to do.
That's really all we can ask from a touring fridge.
Would We Buy One Again?
Absolutely. We already did.
The first Bushman proved itself in the Colorado, so when we needed another fridge for the Y62 we bought exactly the same one.
After around four years of almost continuous use from one and two years from the other, both are still going strong.
That's probably the best recommendation we can give them.
Our Verdict
It's easy to talk about specifications when reviewing a fridge, but for us the real test is what happens after you've lived with one for a few years.
We've now done that with two Bushman 85L fridges in two different 4WD setups.
The first has been running almost non-stop for around four years. The second has been doing the same for around two years. They've travelled rough roads, been used day after day and haven't given us any trouble.
We bought the first one, liked it enough to buy another, and we'd happily buy a third.
If you're building a 4WD touring or canopy setup and want an upright fridge you can set and forget, this is the one we'd point you at. It's the fridge we chose twice.