How big is your cooler?
The topic of my Birthday (November) and Christmas presents came up today (they like to shop early). So I was putting together my list...Collapsible garbage can, gaitors, and a cooler. I have many coolers that my Dad and I have used over the years that we got from garage sales or wherever. They are getting old, grungy, and they don't keep the ice long.
After reading about these 5 day coolers I have come to the conclusion that it is time to spend some actual money on a cooler rather than spending a buck or 2 at a garage sale. Cabela's has the COLEMAN EXTREME for $50-$100 depending on which one.
My dilemma is what size cooler. Most of the coolers I have are 50 quart and one smaller 30 quart that I use for "beverages" :cheers: If I had a lot of food I just put the beverages in a larger cooler with some food or grabbed a second food cooler. My goal is to buy 1 cooler and bring 1 cooler.
I am thinking I want a 70 quart at least (50+30= 80....close enough). But, will I want the 100 quart and never have to worry about cramming everything in the cooler? My fear is that the 100 quart will wind up being too heavy or the 70 quart will wind up being small.
Also, what do you think about the wheels on the cooler? I have 1 cooler with wheels that frankly.....I just pick up and carry most of the time. But that is a 50 quart. Also sometimes I find that with the axle and wheel wells in the cooler food and beverage placement can be tricky.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
We currently have a 50 quart with dual lids, slide up handle (like luggage) and wheels. We keep all our food in the camper's fridge and use the cooler for water and sodas. The cooler works pretty well -- I load it with a 10-pound block and 20-pound bag of ice. Depending on the temps, we have to buy another bag or two of ice but always come home with a good bit of the block. What I don't like about are the dual lids -- they seem like they have little insulation, they don't seal and have no latches. I like the handle but don't care for the wheels at the back.
We've been looking at the five-day coolers after reading the recent article in Camping Life magazine and will probably upgrade later this year. Most likely go with something larger so we don't have to refill the cooler as often, especially with bottled water. I want something this time with real latches (two-year-old grandson!) and wheels located so it can be rolled from the end. We haven't settled on a brand. We've looked at several and each one has one or more features that we don't care for; drains poorly located, axles intruding too far into interior space, etc.
Perhaps the perfect cooler, for us, hasn't been made yet, but we hopefully can find one without compromising too many of the things on our want list.
John
I used cheap coolers for many years and bought a 6 day about 3yr ago. The cooler conditions with the first ice applied and then last 5-6 days on ice. Saves $2 each day I use it because I don't need to keep buying ice and less hassle. I think its 60qt.
Con: I have dig thru ice to find the food. It use to be there floating on water.
We do carry two coolers, one for food and a smaller one for drinks. The drink one is on wheels but hard to drag thru rocks and the woods.
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We use 2 Igloo "5 day" coolers. The 70 quart is for drinks; IE water, soda, beer and the 100 quart is packed with all the food. We did a 2 night camp last month and loaded 60 lbs of ice around all the food and came home with ice because I made interior liners for the coolers from Refectix (probably not spelled right) and used Gorilla tape to seal the Refectix edges. ;D But I didn't dry the liners after we came home and while they are extremely discolored, :thumbdown: it's not mold and the coolers aren't discolored.
pockets, can 1 person pick up the 100 qt cooler when it is loaded
Joe, I look at diggng through ice as a side effect of the cooler. But at least you don't have to worry about your food swimming. I have cooked some soggy food in the past :'(
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
We've got a wheeled 50 quart coleman extreme. Just picked it up before our last trip and it worked quite well. I wasn't specifically looking for wheels but it was the one on sale. I like the wheels and the big handle, easier to just pull it into the shade then to lift and carry. This one seemed to be a good weight when filled with ice and drinks. I've had bigger ones but found that we never really filled them up completely. Our food stays in the pup fridge.
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I know the 50 quart will be too small. I want to keep my food and drinks in one cooler. I do not have a fridge so I could easily fill up the 70 quart cooler and probably do a good job filling the 100 quart.
I really need to actually look at these coolers. I think I may take a field trip to Cabellas :dance: to visualize the coolers.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
Since there's just two of us to keep food cool for, well a can of dog food too, I've been using a Coleman Extreme 70 Qt. Most of our trips are usually 2-3 nights so a block from home always covers the trip. I'd like to pick up a Engel cooler (http://www.engel-usa.com) but wow! the prices are pretty steep. I have to see what the long term savings would be; a $3 bag of ice times how many I wouldn't have to buy it to make the cost of one pay-off. It would really save some ice on longer trips.
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