Coolers, am I right?

BBsGarage

Looking to replace our el-cheepo ice melter cooler.
Whats a decent brand that will keep for more than a day that I wont have to mortgage the house for?

SueBHunny

I have good luck with my 5 day Igloo coolers from Wally World . Pack them with block ice and they hold really well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-52-Qt-Quantum-Roller/50035716

Michigan_Mike

I have used the Coleman Extereme cooler with good results, but IMHO and if you plan to camp and travel for years to come (if it were me) I would recommend that you consider purchasing an ARB frig/freezer unit. I know, they are spendy but when you consider and look at these units as "a long-term investment" to comfort, that you will eliminate the need for ice, will no longer have to look at floating lunch meat, mustard, mold, etc. you will realize that this is a beautiful and worthy thing! No joke here either as Verna bought one and I didn't immediately jump on board. It took me a few years and once I started using my 50 quart unit I wished I'd done this long ago..... Absolutely love it and it is something I take along on every trip! You can use it at home too..... Just sayin'

SueBHunny

Boondocking without power is an issue. So is lifting really heavy things. I can buy a LOT of ice for $900. I'll stick with my Igloos for now.

OutdoorEd

We're on our second Coleman Extreme over 15 years, mostly because I can't bring myself to drop hundreds on a cooler. But, I'm not all that impressed with the Extreme. We've had our current one about 2 years. I've heard and read the RTIC is about the best in the biz for half the cost of a Yeti. So, there's that.

BBsGarage

I have the Norcold and a larger 100 qt coleman 5 day, we are looking for a smaller maybe 70qt or so. I guess we'll stick with what we know and get a smaller coleman

TomD

I’m with Michagan-Mike as regards the 12V/120V coolers (ARB or Norcold) when it comes to cool . I was totally over the ice chest my first week out with a Norcold.

mgreen2

The ARB 50 is just a larger version of the Norcold, correct? I’m happy with the Norcold 30 in the T@G as we can use it as either a freezer or refrigerator. For weekend trips we use it as a refrigerator and for longer trips it is set as a freezer for meats that we plan out to cook. We take a 55 qt Esky cooler on those trips for fresh foods and drinks and use refreezable ice packs in it. The Norcold can refreeze the packs so we never buy ice and don’t have stuff floating in water in the Esky.

tagurit

Last month we spent over three weeks on the road with our T@G with the stock Interstate group 24 battery, we have the Norcold wired as it came from the factory. I installed a 7-pin receptacle on our MINI Countryman which allows the alternator to keep the battery topped off while we are motoring. During the trip we stayed at a combination of electic and non-electric campsites. Although we have a generator and a 100 watt solar suitcase, we left them both home, electing for more storage space for other things. We brought a Canyon 35 quart cooler (under $200!) which rode in the back of the Countryman for drinks and snacks and used the Norcold for perishables. I set it at 37 degrees; we would buy frozen meat for three or four days at a time and rotate it in the freezer side and keep eggs and cheese and such in the "tray". The only issue we had was I had to defrost the Norcold twice during the trip, the humidity was terrible. I have a plug in voltmeter and kept regular track of the Interstate; there were a couple of mornings where the voltage dropped to 12.3 - 12.4 while the compressor was running on the battery, but the fridge never skipped a beat and we always had cold, fresh food.

HellFish

RTIC...same as Yeti but for FAR less $. Whatever you get, think about how heavy it will be when full of beer and ice.

OutdoorEd

Good point about the weight, HellFish. Those coolers are fairly heavy when empty.

We use RTIC's steel koozies, and they're excellent. And I would expect they invest way more engineering resources in their coolers.

Lightningdon

I only use ice and coolers for our drinks. Anything you don't want to be soggy and wet can go in the cooler. Anything I am willing to get warm when the ice runs out can go in there. I love having the fridge. Everything is cool and dry.

TomD

The higher the efficiency along with the smaller storage when it comes to the “high end ice chest”. I can’t justify the expense of a cooler priced at $ 300 or more when all I want is a simple tasty cool beer..

Michigan_Mike

@SueBHunny said:
Boondocking without power is an issue. So is lifting really heavy things. I can buy a LOT of ice for $900. I'll stick with my Igloos for now.

As I noted above, it's a "long term investment" and if you can afford one, travel cross country a lot and your future is in exploring, camping, travel, etc. it's worthy of the consideration. But agree, if you have no issue looking for ice and emptying out melted water you certainly can buy a lot of ice. Been there, done it and have moved on.

The ARB units draw less amperage than the Norcold coolers and do have a digital setting that shuts the unit off before draining the car battery.

I was like most people commenting, suspect of the cost, was satisfied with an ice cooler, wasn't convinced it was for me and waited a few years before looking into the ARB. And true, they are not lightweight but they are efficient and hold the temperature (mine's set at 33°) well, even in the desert heat. No regrets!

Michigan_Mike

One thing that does help the ice coolers in extreme heat is to wrap a blanket or sleeping bag around it and keep it opposite the sun in the shade. Another trick you can incorporate is to either line the interior with reflectix insulation or construct a reflectix cover for your cooler and use the aluminum adhesive style tape to keep it together and possibly Velcro so that the reflectix can be stored, etc. One of my buddies uses the reflectix insulation this way and is pleased with it.

BBsGarage

@Michigan_Mike said:
One thing that does help the ice coolers in extreme heat is to wrap a blanket or sleeping bag around it and keep it opposite the sun in the shade. Another trick you can incorporate is to either line the interior with reflectix insulation or construct a reflectix cover for your cooler and use the aluminum adhesive style tape to keep it together and possibly Velcro so that the reflectix can be stored, etc. One of my buddies uses the reflectix insulation this way and is pleased with it.

This is a great idea, I used this on top of the canvas of our old pop-up and it reduced the interior temp noticeably.

Michigan_Mike

There are variations for use that work fine with the reflectix material.

Jumper

RTIC makes a great cooler, but they are heavy. The 65 cooler is about the biggest you can handle with just one person. I have the 45 and it works great.