Best coolers?

[ntimevan]

For me a Walmart 12 pack square cooler works best .... i have done the plug in types , the higher price types .... i just don't buy enough stuff to keep cold all the time ...
So i spent $15... got the square one ..use only when have some leftovers ... to operate it ... i refill my Pilot/J Big cup with FREE ICE a couple of times dump in cooler ...cost effective for ME ...

hauling freight from a Pond near you

 

[RoadTime]

For me a Walmart 12 pack square cooler works best .... i have done the plug in types , the higher price types .... i just don't buy enough stuff to keep cold all the time ...
So i spent $15... got the square one ..use only when have some leftovers ... to operate it ... i refill my Pilot/J Big cup with FREE ICE a couple of times dump in cooler ...cost effective for ME ...

hauling freight from a Pond near you

Yeah, it really just depends on what you need a cooler for.
For me, I store and eat 100% out of the van. so size, cooling time and convenience mater most. I have a grave yard of past coolers I've tried, but the only solution for me was the cube fridge.

 

[piper1]

My refrigerator/freezer is just too hard on the batteries. In the summer it runs nearly all the time (instead of 1/3 cycle like in a house) because it's so hot, and in the winter it runs all the time because the Espar is more or less blowing right on it.

I took advantage of the Load One Gold Rewards special and redeemed points for the 40 quart Dometic CC-40US Portable Electric Cooler Refrigerator/Freezer (1.3 cubic feet). It's powered, though (120-volt AC, 12-volt DC or 24-volt DC) and will draw about 3.8 amps from a 12-volt battery when it's running, but it's insulated well enough that it shoudn't run constantly like the fridge/freezer I have now.

I realize that "powered" is the exact opposite of the "non powered" that you're looking for, but I wanted to tell someone about my new cooler.

I have the 50 size Dometic (a design level or 2 behind Turtles)....they aren't cheap but, not having to fuss around with ice and draining water, never reaching in and pulling out waterlogged food, not having to do the smell test on food or dairy every time and, having cold but dry beverage containers sold me long ago. I tried the regular cooler route, tried the Koolatrton type thingy's (never seemed to cool as advertised or last) so 9 years ago I bought the Dometic. Ya...you need some batteries to keep it going but even in Laredo parked van heat, I can come back to the van after shopping or something and have a 33F beverage waiting every time.

 

[Turtle]

Here's a timely article. OK, it's 3 months old, but I just ran across it a few minutes ago.
The Best Coolers

 

[T270_Dreamin]

These look pretty decent for the money. Seems like you are just paying for the name with Yeti.

polarbearcoolers.com

Mines well get the real deal if you have a nice rig.

Engel MT35F-U1 AC/DC FRIDGE/FREEZER

 

[geo]

also put a bath towel over cooler and that help's keep thing's a little long to

 

[Treadmill]

Besides yeti is there any good non powered coolers that wont break the bank that will keep ice cold for at least a few days? I wanna start eating healthy and hitting the gym as often as possible as unfortuantely taco bell and mcdonalds arent going to help with that.

Just heard a radio ad for Gander Mountain going out of business sale. If you have one near you it might be worth it to check it out. 25% or higher discounts as they sell off inventory. They sell yeti coolers. Might find a good deal.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Besides yeti is there any good non powered coolers that wont break the bank that will keep ice cold for at least a few days? I wanna start eating healthy and hitting the gym as often as possible as unfortuantely taco bell and mcdonalds arent going to help with that.

Just heard a radio ad for Gander Mountain going out of business sale. If you have one near you it might be worth it to check it out. 25% or higher discounts as they sell off inventory. They sell yeti coolers. Might find a good deal.

Gander Mountain is closing 32 stores: Is yours on the list?

 

[ntimevan]

Stopped at a few of the Gander close outs .... even at Discount prices ... still too dang high prices ..

hauling freight from a Pond near you

 

[Worn Out Manager]

Stopped at a few of the Gander close outs .... even at Discount prices ... still too dang high prices ..

hauling freight from a Pond near you

Probably like the Sears close-outs, put everything back to full list price then give 10% off and people can't buy enough.

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[dc843]

anyone have any intel on the coleman xtreme cooler they have at Walmart they have two models one bigger one smaller (i don't remember the exact sizes) but one says holds ice for 5 days at 90degrees the smaller one for 3 days. 20 and 30 bucks respectively. i would like the bigger one but i think due to size id need the smaller one. anyone know if these are as good as the tag claims?

 

[dc843]

For me a Walmart 12 pack square cooler works best .... i have done the plug in types , the higher price types .... i just don't buy enough stuff to keep cold all the time ...
So i spent $15... got the square one ..use only when have some leftovers ... to operate it ... i refill my Pilot/J Big cup with FREE ICE a couple of times dump in cooler ...cost effective for ME ...

hauling freight from a Pond near you

smart. nobody ever questions you doing that? id think they would be thinking i was just filling up and drink and walking out.

 

[ntimevan]

smart. nobody ever questions you doing that? id think they would be thinking i was just filling up and drink and walking out.

Nope .. just show them Your cup of ice

hauling freight from a Pond near you

 

[DollarSign]

I'm sure they have tested there products to say what it will do.

 

[Worn Out Manager]

Pilot is still my favorite stop but they suffer from bad help at many locations, especially at night. They get 90% of my gas business and 99% of the free shower business.

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[Turtle]

smart. nobody ever questions you doing that? id think they would be thinking i was just filling up and drink and walking out.

If you use their cup for ice, even if you use it just to fill your cooler and then throw the cup away, you gotta pay for that cup of ice. Not only is there a cost associated with the cup, missing cups (from the register and thus from inventory) have a dramatic effect on the bookkeeping numbers regarding food costs and fountain drink syrup yields. It's the result of a quirky way that restaurants and convenient stores track profit and loss, as well as syrup and cup inventory.

Surprisingly, because of the quirk, and it's something they won't tell you, using your own cup for ice and filling it with a fountain drink, and then not paying for it, has a negligible, inconsequential effect on the above numbers. The actual syrup cost of an average fountain drink is between 7-11 cents, depending on the type of syrup. It's not high on their list.

I have one of those stainless steel, double walled tumblers. Mine is 64 ounces. It is a Rhino Zing brand, with the straw lid. When I fill it with crushed ice, I can add almost 20 ounces of liquid. Cubed ice I can put more liquid in there. But it keeps ice for 24-36 hours depending on ambient temperature.

The wire rack sitting there under the drink nozzles is something I usually have to remove in order to get my cup under there to get ice and to fill it with Diet Dew. After doing that, I will usually (not 100% of the time, but at least 99% of the time) also buy a couple of liter bottles of Diet Dew, because I don't quite feel right about just refilling my cup with ice and Dew and walking out, even though they don't really care. I did the same thing back when I used one of those big 64 ounce mugs you can get at the truck stops. I set the 2 bottles of Dew on the counter next to my 64 ounce cup, sometimes with my cup a little off to the side, they ring up the two bottles and virtually never ask me what I have in the cup. Once in a while they'll ask me what's in there, or ask "Hot or cold?" and I'll answer "Ice," which is technically true, since there is ice in it. They never charge me for the drink refill. I haven't paid for a drink refill in years.

I realize that I should feel bad about this, but knowing that I'm paying twice the cost for the liter bottles of Diet Dew that I would at Walmart or Dollar General, and knowing that I'm putting in about 20 ounces at a cost of about 5 cents, I don't.

 

[DollarSign]

Just buy you a cooler that works for you and that can last the amount of days that you need. Also you know what food your going to put in there. Buy the PFJ 64oz mug and fill it up with ice.

 

[RoadTime]

If you use their cup for ice, even if you use it just to fill your cooler and then throw the cup away, you gotta pay for that cup of ice. Not only is there a cost associated with the cup, missing cups (from the register and thus from inventory) have a dramatic effect on the bookkeeping numbers regarding food costs and fountain drink syrup yields. It's the result of a quirky way that restaurants and convenient stores track profit and loss, as well as syrup and cup inventory.

Surprisingly, because of the quirk, and it's something they won't tell you, using your own cup for ice and filling it with a fountain drink, and then not paying for it, has a negligible, inconsequential effect on the above numbers. The actual syrup cost of an average fountain drink is between 7-11 cents, depending on the type of syrup. It's not high on their list.

I have one of those stainless steel, double walled tumblers. Mine is 64 ounces. It is a Rhino Zing brand, with the straw lid. When I fill it with crushed ice, I can add almost 20 ounces of liquid. Cubed ice I can put more liquid in there. But it keeps ice for 24-36 hours depending on ambient temperature.

The wire rack sitting there under the drink nozzles is something I usually have to remove in order to get my cup under there to get ice and to fill it with Diet Dew. After doing that, I will usually (not 100% of the time, but at least 99% of the time) also buy a couple of liter bottles of Diet Dew, because I don't quite feel right about just refilling my cup with ice and Dew and walking out, even though they don't really care. I did the same thing back when I used one of those big 64 ounce mugs you can get at the truck stops. I set the 2 bottles of Dew on the counter next to my 64 ounce cup, sometimes with my cup a little off to the side, they ring up the two bottles and virtually never ask me what I have in the cup. Once in a while they'll ask me what's in there, or ask "Hot or cold?" and I'll answer "Ice," which is technically true, since there is ice in it. They never charge me for the drink refill. I haven't paid for a drink refill in years.

I realize that I should feel bad about this, but knowing that I'm paying twice the cost for the liter bottles of Diet Dew that I would at Walmart or Dollar General, and knowing that I'm putting in about 20 ounces at a cost of about 5 cents, I don't.

Wow, I get paranoid just getting hot water lol. I try to make it as obvious as possible for any onlooking camera or employee what I'm doing. Although, it would be pretty easy to just walk out with coffee or pop (even though I don't drink pop anymore) while filling my ice. I'd never have the balls to try that

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[Turtle]

Wow, I get paranoid just getting hot water lol. I try to make it as obvious as possible for any onlooking camera or employee what I'm doing.

More than once, several times, I've gotten ice and a refill while standing right next to an employee who is cleaning up around the fountain station, and then a few minutes later that same employee is the one who checks me out at the register. Still wasn't charged for the refill. More than once I've gone in and gotten ice and a refill and then walked directly to the register to pay for the refill (cus, you know), as that's the only thing I was getting, and have been told "Don't worry about it" and been waved off.

Every once in a while, with a brand new employee, they'll think they have to charge me for a cup of ice. They failed to mentally note the difference between "your cup" and "our cup." That's happened 4 or 5 times now, and every time it's happened I'll pay the 69 cents or whatever it is without objection. I do that because A), it aint that big a deal, B), I haven't paid for refills in years, and C), I'm not going to give a new employee a hard time over "my cup" versus "your cup" (especially since "my cup" really does contain more than just ice). But at least twice that I can recall, another employee saw what happened and said, "If it's their cup you don't need to charge them. Only if they use one of our cups."

Now, I'm not advocating that people bring their own cups to the truck stops and steal fountain drinks. I'm just telling you what happens with me. And what's possible.

Incidentally, with a 32 ounce fountain cup filled with an average ice fill (half a cup on average) and 20 ounces of soft drink (5.5 ounces of syrup used), along ith the cup, lid and straw (the cup, lid and straw actually cost more than the soda in the cup), at a register sale price of $1.49, it takes 12 free refills to break even on that one drink sale. It's why so many restaurants have free refills without batting an eye, and it's why the truck stops don't care about the odd free refill using your own cup.

Incidentally, incidentally, the food cost of a ketchup packet is currently about 1.5 cents ($21.68 per case of 1500).

 

[Steady Eddie]

In a little over 12 years l have never once purchased a bag/cup of ice. My refrigerator doesn't like it.

Coolers, the thickness of the lid is the key. I have a old Igloo with a 4 inch lid that will keep ice for days. I used it while camping or fishing. I would fill pots bread pans with water and freeze'em. Keep what I was going to place in the cooler cold as I could get it before filling the cooler.


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