Best Cooler For Camping?

We put our camp food in the Coleman cooler which came with our 550. We keep our Dometic 35 in our tow vehicle with the food which needs to stay cold. In camp, I run an electrical cord to the Dometic through a small gap in the window. Never had a dead battery when boondocking long as we run the vehicle everyday.

 

While driving, you might consider storing the second table in the cabin of the camper. I throw the comforter halfway over it so it doesn't bounce around and damage the inside of the cabin. Just a random thought. We never store anything on the bed, until we realized that it's a pretty good place to store stuff. Wish we had tie-downs inside!! (We don't store anything that is "dirty" on the bed. That's just gross. )

 

As someone else said, the galley is a particularly bad spot to store anything sensitive to heat (i.e., cold things; a refrigerator that prefers cooler air than hot air to breathe). If we don't take the electric fridge with us in the SUV (which we do on any long drive), we put the fridge on a plywood board that we place on the bed/mattress. Much cooler air in the cabin than in the galley. (so ice lasts longer as does your TD battery)

-Al

 

Everyone told me to get a Yeti. I never did because of the price. The price is ridiculous on all YETI coolers.

Anyway I bought Tundra 65 one day of which I had to pay full price once I looked around. Anyway once it arrived I loved hot it looks and was so excited to test it on the field. However the weight of the ice cooler is just huge. It is empty but weighs as if I had 20lbs of ice and it was full of soda. They are so heavy and do not slide well on carpet.

I certainly don't recommend them for older people or anyone who is out of shape and can't lift anything more than 30lbs. I'd suggest to get something with wheels in case you have 6 Best Cooler with Wheels [Buyer's Guide] (Apr. 2020)
This prticular model don't have wheels either which at the time of purchase those were sold out. The baskets in it I found very useful. Haven't taken it to the boat yet because of the weight We will have to put it on a dolly and not put ice in it until we get it on the boat. We will have to leave it in the boat.

I was always wondering why the farmers leave their yeti's in the back of their trucks just like that and the people are no where to be seen and coolers don't get stolen. They are to heavy to move especially if they have ice and drinks inside.

Sorry guys. Your stuff is just too high priced for me to buy one again.

 

Yeti's are nice, but very pricey. I bought a Grizzly, and the quality is comparable in every way. Half the cost. Made in Iowa, available from their website, shipped direct.

 

We've been very happy with our Orca 26 (fraction of the price of a Yeti), and I might get a larger one to keep in the back of the Outback so that we don't need as many trips to the store. It doesn't seem to fit quite as much food as the Coleman that came with our camper, but it definitely keeps it colder for longer.

 

We've got (2) Yeti's. A 75 and a 35. Had them for several years and couldn't be happier.

We specifically purchased the 75 as that was the largest size that would fit in the back of my Scout 800 and wife's Jeep Wrangler. The 35 is great for a short weekend outing when we don't need that much.

 

I have 2 coolers. One is the Jeep cooler they released Genuine Jeep Cargo Management System Cooler - 82213723 | JeepsAreUs. Bought that for off-road activities so it won't slide at the cargo and also have the Coleman with wheels.

 

So of the rotomolded coolers, which ones fit in the galley area? We are using the Dometic now but looking to move away from it to a standard roto cooler.

 

Yeti 35 fits. We run with it in the galley, and a larger cooler in the TV when needed.

 

Despite the hype, haven't been impressed with Yeti's ice retention. Discovered coolers are now made by Otterbox, the cell phone case maker. As sturdy as the Yeti but a bit thicker insulation so I bought their smallest hard sided model, 25L capacity. Been using in on a road trip down to AZ and am impressed with how well the ice is holding up.

 

Our Orca fits in the galley. The price has gone up, so the word must have gotten out that this is a good Yeti competitor.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J8KU3D2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I've already shared my opinion here (earlier) in this thread, but as I closely review a lot of the comments, it seems that some posters have issues with the Yeti's.

Just curious, have you experienced an actual problem with a Yeti cooler? Or just don't care for the pricing? Or maybe something else?

 

no actual experience with the other brands mentioned, but I suspect that there is probably a lot of truth in your comment in discussion of competition. I did, however, purchase a '50's/'60's vintage "Pleasure Chest" a few years back, and solely in the looks department, it has them all beat.

I've purchased several Yeti items myself, above and beyond the (2) ice chest mentioned above. I've owned them several years now, and I don't have any regrets over my purchase(s).

On one hand, I'm a stubborn old guy and generally set in my ways. OTOH, my general rule-of-thumb is that I feel I have something to learn from everyone, and from their experiences. I kind of felt my question had already been put forth in the undertow, I just nudged it up to the surface.

 

I’ve been looking at the various options and will likely be getting a Yeti Tundra 65. Although I think many of the other options are just as good and come at a much more attractive price I have a sizing issue. The cooler will sit in the bed of my pickup which has a hard cover. From the bed floor to the bottom of the cover it is just barely under 17". As I have a soft bed liner it’s actually a little less than that. The Yeti is 16" tall and fits snuggly as I test fitted it. The other brands all seem to be in the 17 inch or a bit taller range. At that height the hard cover wont close and lock. I haven’t test fitted the others. Just going over their published specs. If someone has a brand they like in the 45-70 qt size that is no more than 16" tall please let me know.

 

We just did a 3-day camping trip in the Pinetop/Lakeside area of Arizona. We took the stainless steel Coleman with the insulator cover that came with our camper and an Orca Cooler, which we bought because it was supposed to have superior ice retention and be bear resistant. The Orca cooler failed at ice retention, even though we pre-chilled it with ice for two days before we left and kept the coolers in our Outback and not in the back of the camper. By Saturday morning, the Orca had nothing but water left, but the Coleman still had full ice, and had substantially better interior space. My take is this: if you don't need a bear-resistant cooler, stick with the Coleman.

 

Arctic cooler, or Rtic?