Geofkaye,
I already wrote the check for the Sunfrost RF12, so I am committed. It has separate freezer and refrigerator sections with separate doors which is a design efficiency improvement over a single door. The biggest problem with a top loader chest design is access. Everything ends up piled on top of each other which is a problem when the thing you need is at the bottom of the pile.
I also think you use your fridge differently than I will use mine. By your own admission, you are loading yours with drinks or mostly keeping frozen things frozen. I would guess that you don't have a lot of fresh meats and vedgies in there. In my case it's more like normal home use with milk, and eggs, and fruits and vedgies, etc. You say you don't cook much on the road. I am no chef, but I do cook most of my own meals and it saves a ton of money over eating out.
I think there is a common misperception about the efficiency of a door front refrigerator/freezer. Everyone assumes that when you open the door all the cold rushes out with that wash of cold air. Certainly some cold air does come out, and a chest design avoids that, but most of the thermal mass inside a refrigerator is made up of the contents and the inner materials of the refrigerator itself. That's why these refrigerators are at their most efficient when run full. (Geofkaye, I know you know this, I am speaking for the benefit of others.)
I do like the cost benefits of your proposed chest freezer. It is WAY cheaper than what I am doing. If I were doing this project from the starting point of being near broke I would do something like what you are suggesting. That, or I would buy a big ice chest, wrap it with super insulation and duct tape, and then load it with block ice.
The pattern here is that I am willing to spend money in the short term to save money in the long term. This whole entire project will probably cost me under $50K, and for the rest of my life I will be living rent free. My energy costs will be minimal, food costs low, entertainment cost low. The actual living expences will be pretty cheap. It's the fixed costs like health care insurance, vehicle insurance and registration, etc. that will eat me up. It annoys me that these things are mostly mandated while offering no direct benefit. No wonder so many people thumb their nose at the law. Those that comply pay for those that don't and they all feel entitled... It's from each as much as he can't hide, to each as much as he can lobby for...
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