Cooler vs Fridge

[sarguy1941]

So all the posts I find are powered fridge/freezers. Does anyone still use a cooler ? We have couple trips planned this summer where I want cold drinks and can't seem to find any good info on a good cooler. At this point I'm having a hard time justifying a powered fridge for 1 maybe 2 trips. We have a 35' Motorhome we normally use but this trip will be the JT only. I had purchased a Pelican cooler last year (multiple) and did not have good luck with them regardless of the reviews I read online. Last summer we had to put ice in the large one daily and it sat inside the MH with the AC on all week.

Anyway for those with coolers only what are you using that works well. We will be in the JT for about 2 weeks.

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[Deadeye]

Yeti is definitely the best. I can camp for a weekend on the beach in OBX and the cooler will have some ice left. The trick is to pre cool it the night before, then drain out the melted ice and fill as desired.

lots of online comparison videos though. RTIC definitely seems to be the clear 2nd best, and at a very good price break from the yeti. Good luck.

 

[GOCAMPN]

I use a cooler still but I think a fridge would be a great future addition. I fill up on ice as needed, but if my stuff gets hot, it gets hot I don't really mind. I currently use a cheap but big beach cooler I found in Costco. The ice lasted 3 days last Spring from Virginia to Utah before I threw another bag in.

If you really need cold stuff go for the fridge. I'd also suggest a dual-battery setup and a hood mount solar panel/trickle charger.

 

[Free2roam]

Sorry.....I had coolers. Not willing to pay for a yeti at 300+ dollars when I just got an Iceco VL60 dual zone fridge freezer for 631 delivered. No more soggy wet food worries. No more purchasing ice. Yeah I know I could buy a lot of ice for 300$.

 

[Beewdawg]

Coolers seem to be good for weekend excursions but for anything longer than that, I'd say a fridge would be a better option.

 

[just_another_guy]

I went to a fridge and never looked back. We just spent a week camping and never had to think twice about soggy food or managing the ice.

 

[CMac]

Bought an ARB fridge.... I'll never own another cooler again. Not ever.

 

[Free2roam]

@sarguy1941 how much did that pelican cooler cost you? What size is it?

 

[Hooptie64]

For weekends, I use a god old Igloo cooler. If I was going to be out longer or more remotemI would need to reconsider.

 

[bowtiejc]

We use an ozark trail from walmart . We used it on our pontoon boat in the summer and always kept ice all day . We had a snow storm a month ago and i filled it with ice and left it in the garage and it kept ice for over a week , yes there was melted ice but still had a lot of solid ice left when i emptied it .

 

[sarguy1941]

@sarguy1941 how much did that pelican cooler cost you? What size is it?

Have the 30Q and paid $299 for it. I also have the 20Q for work that cost about $175 for. At work we use pelican cases for everything so ordered from our supplier. Probably paid a bit too much but as said its a work deal. Neither work well at all. I take the 20 every week and same thing daily feeding with ice.

 

[sarguy1941]

Looked at the ARB but at over $1000 we may as well just stop for every meal ! Like I said its a 2 week trip so not sure. Any other time its not critical as we have a motorhome with a huge fridge freezer. We will also be in some national parks on the route and no power for 3-4 days so worried about powering a cooler 24/7.

Been debating on the Yeti vs Rtic actually for a couple years. In reality most of the cooler will be drinks. Maybe some snack stuff like veggies or something. Probably getting to worked up over it. But be nice to have a good cooler if needed.

 

[BumbleBee]

None of the 'high performance" coolers will hold ice for as long as stated by the company in real world conditions. The reason for this is they pre-condition (as stated earlier) the cooler, fill with ice, and then ONLY open them to check the ice level. If you actually use the cooler, the ice will diminish much faster. I have an extensive background in this area and would recommend taking a look at ORCA. Still pricy, but better than YETI. ORCA's 58qt is the best cooler I have tested. Pelican has a great name in the case industry, but their coolers fall a little short of the competition, but they are trying to fix that problem.

 

[dirtlimo]

FWIW, Dometic is having a sale now on fridges.

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/lp/longerdayssale

 

[sarguy1941]

Agree on pre cool. We did that for a week on the Pelican before we left on the trip. My 20Q during the summer has ice for months but under the truck cap I guess just can't keep up so its a bag a day just to keep water cool.

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