What types of coolers/fridges do you use on road trips?

Coolers that run of 12V probably won't keep your stuff cool for over a day. They generally cool down to a max of 40 degrees F below room temperature and will require your truck to be on in most cases. Plus you can't put ice in them for fear of ruining the electronics...generally ice blocks are alright though. A good 12V (like a Coleman) with some iceblocks might do the job). Here's a list of some of the best electric coolers if that helps you make your decision.

Unless of course you're willing to invest in an expensive one (we are talking $800+) that will act as a fridge/freezer off 12V power...these also work when your truck is switched off. Basically like having a mini fridge or freezer in your truck.

So unless you've got the big bucks the 12V electric coolers probably won't suit your needs.

Generally larger coolers keep ice longer, but you need more ice to make that happen. You can get cheap ones for around $30-$50 that'll do the job or you can get serious and buy something like a Yeti that's going to cost upwards of $300.

As other people have mentioned it really depends on your needs. I've found YouTube reviews are a great place to find out what is actually good, rather than just reading manufacturers descriptions which are obviously biased.

"I see cars with Yeti stickers"

LOL

You dont need to spend $800 to get a 12v freezer. If you can do with a smaller one (enough food for one for about 10 days or so), you can get one for around $350, maybe slightly less.

amazon.com/Dometic-CF-018DC…

I dont know why people think they need some massive 65L freezer for their van. If you can do with a smaller freezer, you can save tons.

For reference, I only have a 11L freezer. Yea, it's tiny. I can only get about five days of food in there, but it also only cost $280 and it only uses 30w while running. No ice and it will cool down to 0F if I need it to.

So pay $350 for an overpriced cooler and another $300 for ice all summer, and deal with wet food, inconsistent cooling, and driving around to get ice. OR get a 12v freezer for about the same, never buy ice, and dont worry about soggy sandwiches.

I've been through too many coolers to count.  Honestly, my favorite is probably Grizzly but they are as expensive as Yeti.  Recently I have became a pretty big fan of RTIC because they have the performance of the expensive Yeti coolers but for a lot cheaper.  I found a great comparison of RTIC vs. Yeti that lays out more details than I care to think of.  They chose Yeti as the winner but I still think RTIC put up a good fight and won in what I feel are the important categories (ice life and cost).

Anyways, I hope this helps you as much as it did me.

http://www.thecoolerzone.com/rtic-vs-yeti-cooler-ultimate-guide/

People always talk about how the Yetis are a waste of money and this is better or that's cheaper...
We bought a Yeti (our first shared purchase as a couple, barf) before starting out on a 8 month road trip. The beast is amazing. It would keep ice for a week in 90* temps, and even if the ice melted it would stay cold for another couple days. I can't remember if we ended up with the 35 or 45L (not getting up to check) but it  has plenty of room for food for two for a week+.
My main beef with the Yeti is that the amount of storage space vs. overall size leaves something to be desired, but this is a result of the incredible insulation.
It's also heavy and we were pickup truck-ing it, so moving it in and out of the truck was a chore but when we would stay somewhere for awhile I would cable lock it to trees/picnic benches so it could stay out and not get stolen.

RTIC

There is a reason that everyone says "Oh, brand X is just as good as a Yeti...".  It's because Yeti is the standard and it's the best.  Check out any rafting outfitter or fishing guide and 10 to 1 you will see a Yeti in the boat. 

I use a canyon cooler. 

Orca coolers.

Yeti fans - check the numbers

GilaShot wrote:

There is a reason that everyone says "Oh, brand X is just as good as a Yeti...".  It's because Yeti is the standard and it's the best.  Check out any rafting outfitter or fishing guide and 10 to 1 you will see a Yeti in the boat. 

The reason people say "Just as good as a Yeti" is because they were one of the first to market with the rotomolded cooler design and they have a mega ton of marketing behind the brand.  Yeti stickers and hats abound - its a status thing sorta like TNF jackets 15 years ago.  Anyone who's read in-depth objective reviews with data points will tell you, YES, Yeti makes a good, solid, high end product but they'll also say that you can do far better with your price / performance metric.  For one, nearly everyone out there will be better served and save a metic TON of cash by just getting a Coleman Xtreme Marine 70Qt for $50.  For those that REALLY do need the rotomolded setups, like river guides, Yeti was on the market for quite some time before all the other me-too coolers joined the fray.  I also wouldn't be surprised if Yeti marketing made an effort to get product out there to visible guides for "brand awareness"  Smart really.  There are plenty of other roto coolers that all vary a bit in design features so you can pick and choose exactly what you want.  You'll still pay a TON for the slight increase in performance.  In that segment, BY FAR, RTIC has the best value.  Yes, they're a me too product but they cost 50% less.  No brainer in my mind.

For what it's worth RTIC coolers is blowing out their old stuff for 33% while it's still available.

https://www.rticcoolers.com/

PaulMudd wrote:

For what it's worth RTIC coolers is blowing out their old stuff for 33% while it's still available.

https://www.rticcoolers.com/

Their three hard coolers are all out of stock. Despite what the web site says, you cannot back order them. And they will not have stock until May. I called and asked. Turns out that Yeti sued them and they have to redesign all their coolers. So I question if the quality will be the same and whether the price will go up. 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/02/03/yeti-and-local-cooler-competitor-rtic-settle.html

Might have to wait for another company to undercut Yeti's ridiculous prices for plastic. Or at least until someone can review their new coolers.

anotherclimber wrote:

Might have to wait for another company to undercut Yeti's ridiculous prices for plastic. Or at least until someone can review their new coolers.

The only Yeti option that I found that was cheaper was Canyon. All the reviews have them compare the same as well (usually giving the nod to Canyon since it is typically $100 cheaper).

anotherclimber wrote:

Their three hard coolers are all out of stock. Despite what the web site says, you cannot back order them. And they will not have stock until May. I called and asked. Turns out that Yeti sued them and they have to redesign all their coolers. So I question if the quality will be the same and whether the price will go up. 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/02/03/yeti-and-local-cooler-competitor-rtic-settle.html

Might have to wait for another company to undercut Yeti's ridiculous prices for plastic. Or at least until someone can review their new coolers.

keep checking back, they were out of the softpak coolers yesterday and my friend kept refreshing and they eventually updated their stock and he was able to get one. Not sure if they are updating their stock periodically or if people cancel their orders, but either way...

RTIC is great... they got sued because of their of coffee mug that ripped off yeti... the cooler re-design is because the coolers (yeti included) needs lots of improvements. 

To the person who posted about a closed cooler lasting 8 days... that is not relevant. All of these coolers, coleman included, will hold ice for 8 days, if you NEVER open it, insuluate them, and keep them out of the sun, and heat.

To the people hard freezing tupparware, and water bottles, you are on the right track. I have had a coleman extreme go 10 days with home made ice. I have also seen yetis with shit ice, left open and not make it 3 days.

Canyon coolers are the shit... my new prospector is the best cooler ever made (for river trips) but would be overkill for car camping climbing trips...

If you want more info go search the rafting forums (mountainbuzz is a good place to start)

As a former raft guide, and current river runner, and an avid rock climber... I Can definitely say, climbers don't know squat about coolers...

Another simple trick that works well and uses something you already have, is to wrap your sleeping bags around your cooler during the day.  I've found this adds about 50% to the longevity of the ice without buying foam insulation or some other rig.  

I used a Coleman XTreme for 6 days of 90+ weather.  I pre-cooled the unit with icy water for a day.  I then put a block of dry ice in the bottom, block ice on top of that, and cube ice to fill the space between my items.  

Once out in the field, I had a second cooler that was for the food for the day.  Each morning I would pull out the food and drink for the day and put it in the second cooler while temps were cooler outside. As I removed items I would fill the empty space with crumpled paper as mentioned in one of the cooler prep links already given in this thread.  I think I even wrapped it in a sleeping bag during the day while I was out climbing.  Still had cold beverages for the drive out.  It required a bit of planning, but in the end for this one trip where I was going to be car camping without access to a town it was worth it to save the money over the high end coolers.  

Haven't needed to use a cooler for this many days before or since so for me it wasn't worth the cost of the spendy coolers.  

I just ordered a Pelican, much cheaper than a Yeti but same idea. I got a great deal on it too. I do have a coleman xtreme, and I made a 'jacket' for it out of Reflectix and tape. It worked great for Creeksgiving, ice still in it after the week - it was tucked into a shady area too, though, which I'm sure helped. I got the Pelican as a weekend sized, might-have-to-keep-in-hot-car option. I'll also make a jacket for that, too. The Coleman is body sized, a bit over kill for a 3-4 day trip.

Not gonna lie, mind = blown with frozen two liters, especially that you'd have potable water when it melts and not nasty ass cooler swamp water.