Let's talk cooling

[MikekiM]

um... Ice chests, DC coolers and portable refrigerators.

I have about half a dozen old style ice chests.. aka beach coolers. Most are either too big or too small for my needs.. typically three to four days max camping out of the Jeep. The only one that is sized right, sucks.

Not looking to drop $300- $500 on one of the big Yeti or similar. I am soft top only and when traveling to and from trailheads the cooler is strapped to the tailgate basket. Things go missing a lot around here. If I did go the Yeti route, it would need to be something like the Roadie 15 that is sized small enough to fit in the bed between the rear seat tumbled forward and the InstaTrunk. I don't remove the rear seat because the TJ is my DD and I have the InstaTrunk. I am not about to lift the rear seat over the InstaTrunk every time I need to load for a trip.

The Roadie 15 is about $200. Looking for feedback on it or something similarly sized. I'd be ok spending $100 - $125. $200 is a mental stretch for me for a cooler. There are lots of imposters that claim to be as good or better than Yeti.. I have to believe they aren't the only game in town.

Alternative is a small DC fridge. I have considered a dual battery setup but am not ready to dive into that yet. I do have a small Jackery 250. It's perfect for my needs. Not sure if it could handle the draw of a DC fridge. Admittedly, I don't know much about them the fridges.

I need to carry a few beverages on ice. Maybe some proteins, fruits, snacks... enough for just one person.

 

[rasband]

My long term plan is to get a fridge because I want to reclaim the space lost to ice (granted it's not 1:1 with the fridge components) and not have everything wet all the time. But for your case my guess is I would likely favor the off-brand yetis due to risk of loss. However, I cannot speak to how comparable they are so I am following along to see what you land on and hear what others have tried out.

 

[MikekiM]

My long term plan is to get a fridge because I want to reclaim the space lost to ice (granted it's not 1:1 with the fridge components) and not have everything wet all the time. But for your case my guess is I would likely favor the off-brand yetis due to risk of loss. However, I cannot speak to how comparable they are so I am following along to see what you land on and hear what others have tried out.

Just had a Roadie 24 in my hands and if playing the game of Tetris we all play loading stuff up, it won't fit in the only spot I have for inside (other than than the passenger seat or footwell). Not sure about the Roadie 15.

Also looked at the soft Yeti's.. The Hopper line. The Hopper Flip 8 is advertised to fit 8 cans. Not enough capacity me thinks. Although it will fit where I want to put it. The Hopper 12 might fit and has a borderline capacity... but hard to stomach $200+ for a soft sided cooler.

Starting to look at the Amazon DC cooler/fridge units. I suspect they are all going to have physical dimensions that will make them no bueno.

 

[MikekiM]

Found a Yeti knock-off rotomolded Camp-Zero 12 cooler on Amazon. Dimensions might work. I'll have to mock something up to test it or just order and return if it doesn't work. Bonus that it has lock holes that could be used to lock it to the cargo basket. And $139. Points deducted for the rigid handle.

Looks Like there is (or was) a smaller Camp-Zero 10 as well.

 

[Mike_H]

For soft coolers, I’ve been impressed with the two Rtics I have. I have a 42 and 20 can sized cooler. Bought the 42 first and it’s great for the motorhome, but it’s big for just me. The 20 is a really nice size.

I also bought a larger rotomold cooler from Walmart of all places. It’s a moose jaw, and I like it quite a bit. The drain is large and has a chunky plug that easy to manipulate, the latches are designed in a way that lets you prop the top open in storage to avoid that funky cooler smell and it came with a nice “package” tray that sits in the top of the cooler and keeps that stuff out of the water.

A few tips about using these types of coolers. Biggest thing you can do is pre-cool them. They have a lot of thermal mass, so if you put cold stuff in a warm cooler, you’ll burn ice trying to stabilize the temp.

I also like to freeze water bottles and jugs vs using ice cubes. The larger chucks of ice last longer and when it’s in a bottle, they don’t make everything wet.

Finally, use separate coolers for your food and drinks, if you can. You’ll be into the drink cooler much more often vs food, if you’re anything like me. That helps preserve the ice in your food cooler, longer.

 

[DaveC]

For hard sided, check out Canyon coolers.

https://canyoncoolers.com/

Made here in AZ, outperform Yeti, are very popular in the hunting world where we often have to deal with cooling or keeping meat cool for long periods in extreme temps and they're shaped with packing space in mind in that they don't have the odd graduated (wider at the top) shape of the Yeti and others.

I spent 2 weeks in the field last September on an elk hunt. I borrowed a buddy's Yeti and the buddy I was with brought his Canyon. His kept ice for the entire 2 weeks. The Yeti did well but fell about 4 days short of the Canyon. I've been on many hunts with him over the years and am always impressed with the Canyon.

They have a whole lineup of soft coolers too. Check out the B stock (scratch and dent) section on the website. You have to poke around a bit but it's there and some great deals can be had.

 

[Terry Tiemeyer]

Lifetime makes some well made coolers at a fair price they work well.

 

[LukesfirstJeep]

Wal Mart has several rotomolded style coolers in various sizes at reasonable prices. Coleman, Igloo, RTIC, and Lifetime are some of the brands they carry. I recently bought an Igloo model that works great.

 

[B1Toad]

One thing to consider with the smaller ice chest, they won't hold for near as long as the bigger ones simply because there is less ice. While the big Yetis may go a week, you won't get anywhere near that with a 15.

I've been considering a small 12 volt unit for a while now but like you mentioned, unless driving a lot I'd need some auxiliary power for it. I could always take along a Li battery.

 

[macleanflood]

I bought a cheap Amazon fridge a couple of years ago. F40C4TMP.

Slightly newer model available...

https://www.amazon.com/F40C4TMP-Por...-Compressor/dp/B0B1J2RK19/?tag=wranglerorg-20

We've struggled to get it to work correctly on the TJ ... and am ultimately the answer is probably a Jackery or equivalent battery device.

I put an Optima Yellow Top in my 97 but the charging system doesn't put out a high enough voltage and shuts down charging long before the battery is fully topped off.

Lots of solutions to this ... reprogramming the PCM .... manipulating the resistance of the battery temperature sensor... DC to DC charger and a second battery.

So when the fridge runs with the TJ off the battery quickly drops to 11.7v and the fridge shuts down.

Fridge fits perfectly between the front seat and roll cage...with the top off you can rotate the unit to get things from outside and with top top on flip it around and again, easy access.

The fan has been problematic. I was not kind to it ... our dog ran off in a thunderstorm while we were out camping and I ended up doing a lot of mudding finding her...I learned the hard way that the unit isn't well sealed up and the fan got dirt in the bearings. A few smacks and a liberal spray of WD-40 usually quiet it down.

-Mac

 

[B1Toad]

I bought a cheap Amazon fridge a couple of years ago. F40C4TMP.

Slightly newer model available...

https://www.amazon.com/F40C4TMP-Portable-Refrigerator-7-6℉-50℉-Compressor/dp/B0B1J2RK19/?tag=wranglerorg-20

We've struggled to get it to work correctly on the TJ ... and am ultimately the answer is probably a Jackery or equivalent battery device.

I put an Optima Yellow Top in my 97 but the charging system doesn't put out a high enough voltage and shuts down charging long before the battery is fully topped off.

Lots of solutions to this ... reprogramming the PCM .... manipulating the resistance of the battery temperature sensor... DC to DC charger and a second battery.

So when the fridge runs with the TJ off the battery quickly drops to 11.7v and the fridge shuts down.

Fridge fits perfectly between the front seat and roll cage...with the top off you can rotate the unit to get things from outside and with top top on flip it around and again, easy access.

The fan has been problematic. I was not kind to it ... our dog ran off in a thunderstorm while we were out camping and I ended up doing a lot of mudding finding her...I learned the hard way that the unit isn't well sealed up and the fan got dirt in the bearings. A few smacks and a liberal spray of WD-40 usually quiet it down.

-Mac

Any particular reason you chose that one Mac? (I've been looking at Alpicool and BougeRV)

 

[freedom_in_4low]

My kids got me this for my birthday right before I left for my Colorado trip, so I was obligated to use it.

Frigidaire RED EFMIS129- CP4 Mini Portable Compact Personal Cooler, 4 Liter Capacity Chills Six 12 oz Cans, 100% Freon-Free & Eco Friendly, Includes Plugs for Home Outlet & DC Charger, standard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KZLJ7PB?tag=wranglerorg-20

Its small enough that it was easy to find a place for, but it only holds a 6 pack of cans and it only pulls down to about 35 deg below surrounding air, so it's good for drinks but I wouldn't trust it to preserve meat for 3 days in summer.

Basically I just turned it on in the morning to chill the drinks I would have for that day while I wheeled, and turned it off overnight, and reloaded in the morning. I didn't have to commit any space to drinks in my food cooler, which allowed me to bring a smaller one, and drinks that didn't need cooled yet went in my large ammo can with the non-refrigerated snacks and cookware. The micro fridge and cooler combined were smaller than the cooler I would otherwise have brought, and since they're two smaller items instead of one big one, it was easier to pack and the back of the LJ felt less crammed.

 

[macleanflood]

Any particular reason you chose that one Mac? (I've been looking at Alpicool and BougeRV)

It was cheap, on sale (at the time) and the right size.

-Mac

 

[MikekiM]

My update...

I picked up a cooler off marketplace... It was a Peak Series 20 liter Yeti knockoff. It sucked. Ice lasted less than 24 hours. And, it was larger than I need for a long weekend trip. It didn't fit between the rear seat and the InstaTrunk. Too big and heavy to put up on the carrier mounted cargo basket. Couldn't squeeze it in the passenger side foot well in front of the seat. I have already resold it for $5 more than I paid for it.

I bought a Yeti Roadie 15. Happy so far. I did an ice retention test.. loaded it with a half bag of ice and a bunch of beverages on Thursday evening and the last bit of ice melted late Sunday afternoon. Physical dimensions are smaller than the 20 liter and it does fit between the seat and the InstaTrunk.

 

[bucky]

Skip the 12v coolers. They need too much power and I’ve yet to find one that has decent insulation. The only plus is that some can be used as a freezer but again at the cost of high power consumption. My teardrop trailer came with one but unless I keep my generator running it is just a waste of space. It runs down the DC battery in less than 24 hrs. Also you need to have open space for air circulation for the cooling unit. There are just too many options out there for coolers and with their cost I don’t want to be unhappy with the performance of the one I buy. Over the life of a quality cooler the cost of ice will offset the initial cost.
My 12v cooler has an outside volume of 3 cu ft. The usable inside volume is 1 cu ft. Lots of wasted space. Ultimately I need one that will fit in the space available in the trailer.

 

[CMBD]

Have had this ARB for 20+ years. Its just a rebranded Engel 45.

I plug it in to vehicle power when driving, and run it off of a Jackery 240 and 60w solar panel when parked. It can run indefinitely with the 240 and solar.

Have not used a cooler with ice since I got that thing and will never go back.

 

[MikekiM]

Have had this ARB for 20+ years. Its just a rebranded Engel 45.

I plug it in to vehicle power when driving, and run it off of a Jackery 240 and 60w solar panel when parked. It can run indefinitely with the 240 and solar.

Have not used a cooler with ice since I got that thing and will never go back.

View attachment 558850

Had an ARB on my watch list for a while but I don't need something that large. Most of the camp locations here in the NE are under the green tunnel.. the never ending tree canopy so while solar makes so much sense it is a PITA to chase the sun through the slits in the trees.

What's the cross bar above your tailgate table? Looks like t-track...

 

[CMBD]

I have a lot of trees where I camp most the time. But probably not as thick as where you are. I chase the sun a little bit sometimes and its at 100% by sundown. And its at 70-80% in the morning.

Its a piece of .5" aluminum channel. That is how one attach the cheapest Amazon table for a TJ to the tail gate . The vertical parts were too short for the top and bottom holes to catch anything. So I used the top holes and that piece of channel to attach it.

 

[MikekiM]

I have a lot of trees where I camp most the time. But probably not as thick as where you are. I chase the sun a little bit sometimes and its at 100% by sundown. And its at 70-80% in the morning.

Its a piece of .5" aluminum channel. That is how one attach the cheapest Amazon table for a TJ to the tail gate . The vertical parts were too short for the top and bottom holes to catch anything. So I used the top holes and that piece of channel to attach it.

I don't know enough about solar to make a wise decision a panel that would work with the Jackery 250.

The tailgate table.. I don't have enough room in the Instatrunk to keep a table mounted to the tailgate full time. I have a wire table that I use to attach the table to the tailgate as needed. Was looking at a channel style mount like this...

 

[macleanflood]

If I recall correctly @CMBD charges the Jackery while driving. Can you charge it and run the fridge off it at the same time?

-Mac