• We’re Back – Thanks for Your Patience! We’re thrilled to welcome you back! After some time offline, our site is up and running again, though you may experience occasional instability as we work through the final steps of restoring full functionality. Your understanding and support mean the world to us – thank you for sticking with us through this!
  • Email notifications are being sent but may be blocked by spam filters. If you don’t receive an expected email, please check your spam folder.

How do you all only use 1 or 2 coolers and not 3?

rickdernberger

rickdernberger

Novice
I've seen several discussions about coolers, but I haven't found a thread that answers my curiosity of how you "manage" to use only 1 or 2 coolers to accomplish what I see as the three mutually exclusive functions needed in food and beverage management while camping:

1. A place for frozen things that you want to keep frozen. (Probably not important for 1-2 day trips, but important for longer trips.)

2. A place for things to stay cold that you don't want to get frozen OR wet. (deli meats, produce, cheese, etc.)

3. A place for your beverages that you want to be REALLY cold and its okay if they get wet.

I currently have a Pop Up camper and I use the internal 3-way fridge as the fridge for perishables. I use a cooler for beverages that is kept stocked with ice cubes but is constantly wet. And I have another cooler with frozen blocks of ice in 1/2 gallon milk jugs that I put all of my frozen items in. It doesn't keep things frozen, it more likely delays the thawing as long as possible.

I almost feel like I need one 12V fridge cooler on a frozen setting, another one on a fridge setting, and a regular cooler full of ice for my beverages. But, Holy Cow, I can't justify the expense or the space for all of that.

So...what do the rest of you do?
 
I did a two week trip this summer using only the 12v fridge. For me, I kept drinks in the cupboard and only had 1-2 in the cooler (replacing the ones I drank). I also sorted out my menu for the first few days and froze everything I could. I put all of that on the bottom (make sure you put all of your meats in plastic bags, as they will defrost and leak). Then I pack things up from there, based on the temp you need. In the fridge, the temps are colder on the bottom than they are on the top (heat rises).

I then eat the stuff as it defrosts, and restock through out the week. We try to eat really fresh. If I am going to be somewhere specific for a few days, I pack as much as I can in the fridge, and add a cooler, but that is if there aren't stores nearby, or I don't want to go out shopping.
 
This is good to hear, Sarah. It sounds like with some good planning, it is possible to live just out of the 12v fridge for an extended time period.
 
We had been using a cheap Styrofoam cooler to augment our Dometic AC/DC refrigerator. It was bulky and did a poor job. We have also been looking for something that would act as a backup in the event the Dometic did not have power or otherwise failed. The criteria were that it had to be small, fit in the space where the Dometic lived and actually keep stuff cold. For IRG we purchased a Yeti Tundra 35. It fits the Camp-Inn refrigerator space perfectly and it actually does work as a five day cooler. It even has the patented Mike and Sarah refrigerator handles. You can also sit on it. For most of the time the Dometic lives in the trailer and holds the food while the Yeti holds the drinks and lives in the back of the SUV. I can see going out for a weekend with just the Yeti. We don’t really practice any special food management other than laying food in the Dometic according to the temperature needed. Power is not normally an issue for us with the Dometic since I have it on a seprate AGM battery and can recharge that with a solar panel.

The down sides with the Yeti are that since it has so much insulation its capacity is only about what the Dometic’s is. Also, as they like to say over at the TNTTT form, it is spendy, very spendy.
 
Good to know about the Yetti. We get asked about them all the time. Generally people are asking about the larger ones which are far too large to fit. But, the 35 qt fitting is good to know. You are right though, that is pretty small for a ice cooler.

Cary
 
It is not a cooler I would recommend as someone’s only cooler. The Coleman’s would likely be more practical. As a supplement to the Dometic, with out taking up too much room in the TV, the 35 is just right. It holds all the wine and beer I need and would hold enough food for a weekend without needing the Dometic.

Did I mention they are certified as bear proof food containers? :cool:
 
Now that's a co-inky-dink! We just invested in our first Yeti, the 75 qt. size. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but we will provide a review after it's trial run, next month. It is good to know that the 35 fits in the Camp-Inn designated space, since we were thinking of that purchase, further down the road!
Now we just need to have a yard sale to sell the assortment of coolers that we have accumulated over the years! The proceeds might cover the sales tax of our big Yeti!!!
 
Parkinson's law seems to apply in our case:
Food expands to the coolers allotted.

We had two coolers then we bought the fridge.
Next trip we had all three.
We've since downsized to the fridge and one cooler for drinks.

Perhaps someday we'll attain to Sarah's level of simplicity. :)
 
I'm getting the sense that most folks with the 12v fridge are probably bringing an additional cooler with ice for beverages - Sarah manages to stick to just the 12v cooler by using a "Just In Time Inventory" system for her beverages.

Another question - does anyone with the 12v fridge ever use it on the "freezer" setting? Maybe to bring ice cream, or just to keep a bunch of pre-cooked meals frozen solid until needed?
 
I use the fridge at 4 degrees C for stuff that would get gross in the cooler

and I use a cooler to keep beverages icey fresh

the cooler ends up also taking other stuff that is in glass, such as jam, as it is recommended that you not use the fridge for glass stuff

I have not used it in freezer mode. I can barely manage my power consumption with the fridge at 4 degrees

I would just put the frozen stuff in the 4 degree fridge and let the frozen stuff do all the cooling of the fridge

but that doesn't work if you plan to be out fo a week or so, of course
 
Maybe Al would get longer run times from is battery if he ran his fridge at 32 instead of 4. :)
 
I do not have a fridge.
On a longer camp (more than a weekend) I easily get by with 2 coolers.
I always make block ice for the bottom of one cooler by freezing water in 3 loaf pans. It does requires planning ahead.
I find block ice lasts much longer and works better than freezing water in containers. 3 fit nicely side by side.
Above the blocks I place a rack, and on the rack I have a plastic bin with aeration holes. Here I stack perishables (sometimes in ziplocks or tupperware) so they stay dry and always out of water. On the end I pack tall things or pre-prepared frozen meals etc. I buy a 16 lb pack of cubed ice and fill in bottom gaps. This cooler only gets opened for meal preps so it stays very cold.
A second cooler holds drinks, and items that might be used often.

Although I used to bring along frozen meat/poultry in the cooler I don't any longer. I have recently read cautions about doing that and don't want the risk...Just my opinion.
 
I camp with one cooler, currently the Dometic. Like Sarah, rotate refreshments. Grab one, replace. Works well for one person.

Meat: double bag and put in froozen, then stack from bottom up.

Next week begins the first long trip, 9 days on the road.

All about management and how often a person desires to restock and visit grocery stores.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top