Enthusiast III
Let’s talk Coolers:
- Thread starter M Rose
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Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
FINAAAAALLLLLY! An off brand cooler, that ships to me for a reasonable cost, and it has a verified user to boot! we are ordering one of these ASAP! I figure since you have to keep the pelitier inside the coleman free of obstruction, you get about 30 liters of true storage.
Off-Road Ranger I
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First off let me say, I really like your Bronco, I came very close to buying one back in 89’ but hey, my credit back then was not good. As far as coolers go? We went with ice coolers for decades, literally decades. When the fridge freezers came out they were way too expensive. Then not, so finally last summer we got a 63 qt fridge. We used to easily spend 50-60 bucks on ice each trip, no longer. No longer do blocks of ice swash around smashing everything in its path. No longer do we get to camp after a long day of hiking and wheeling to find that yogurt or chocolate mousse exploded. Hind sight is always 20/20 and looking back we should have gotten one a decade ago. If I were you I’d be patient, continue doing what you’re doing. 40 million people are out of work. There will be a lot of good fridge freezers on the used market very soon for peanuts. ( that’s how I got into really good digital camera and equipment back in 2010 ) peace out !
Off-Road Ranger I
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You guys out west have it made. Around here only one dry ice facility in the tri county area. and can’t even find block ice. Ask for either and you get an odd look as if you’re from another planet.
Enthusiast III
I'm in the same boat. I've got a big lifetime one as well. I typically only get out for a couple days at a time anyway. Harder to get folks in my area to go out and explore since we have to drive a good bit to do anything
Member III
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You're only an hour away from Holly Springs National Forrest. 154,000 acres. Looks like they have some decent Forrest Service roads, dispersed camping should be easy enough to find.
Enthusiast III
True. I'm kinda new to this. Everyone rages about Ozarks and lbl and that's a hump. I'll look into Holly springs
Member III
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Ozarks is nice. I'm about double the distance as you. A 3 hour drive out there would make it worth it to me for regular weekend trips. It's about 6 hrs one way for me and I'd want 3 or 4 days out in it to make it worth my while.
Enthusiast III
I day tripped it once but didn't feel comfortable being out solo with no cell reception lol
Member III
Orca for me. I've got two that typically turn into food (40qt) and beer (58qt... both to drink and that which is collected on the way) coolers that are absolutely fantastic.
Definitely second the aforementioned Cooler Shock packs as well for shorter trips or those where you intend to be in a hotel every other night. They will literally freeze things you put next to them... I tossed two in a soft-sided REI cooler over the weekend and 8 hours later, all 10 bottles of water (both cooler and water were room temp previously) had a fair bit of ice in them.
Only downside to them is that they take some time to freeze solid. Give them 48 hours prior to your trip, pre-chill your coolers, and refreeze them every other day for 8-10 hours and they will go indefinitely. Start stretching that to 3 days and you'll need to give them longer than a typical overnight (for me that's at most 12 hours) to re-freeze. For longer trips, I typically just use them to pre-chill the cooler and I can get 7 days out of bag ice without fail.
Definitely second the aforementioned Cooler Shock packs as well for shorter trips or those where you intend to be in a hotel every other night. They will literally freeze things you put next to them... I tossed two in a soft-sided REI cooler over the weekend and 8 hours later, all 10 bottles of water (both cooler and water were room temp previously) had a fair bit of ice in them.
Only downside to them is that they take some time to freeze solid. Give them 48 hours prior to your trip, pre-chill your coolers, and refreeze them every other day for 8-10 hours and they will go indefinitely. Start stretching that to 3 days and you'll need to give them longer than a typical overnight (for me that's at most 12 hours) to re-freeze. For longer trips, I typically just use them to pre-chill the cooler and I can get 7 days out of bag ice without fail.
Enthusiast II
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Hmmm, inexpensive....Well, I have dealt with this issue for years! Eventually, I just got tired of spending $$$$ on cheap styrofoam or “made in China” coolers and patiently hoarded monies until I was able to buy a cooler that shall last me a lifetime. Buying cheap coolers over and over again results in you sending more money in the end; and you will be back at square one with a busted up cooler in the end. Orca coolers are MADE IN THE USA and of a higher quality than Yeti! I am glad you intend to avoid Yeti - they are “designed” in the US but MADE IN CHINA!! Stop giving our dollars to them to that evil empire! ! Good man!
Advocate III
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So I can’t make ice... a bag of ice is 2.99, I need 2 bags of ice a day... so that’s $6.00 a day, for 30 days is $360 a month... 12 months in a year... that’s $4,320 a year in ice. I pay 1200/ year for my electricity.... the added savings buys me an electric cooler/freezer. If you read further down you see where I decided to buy an electric fridge due to the added savings and it’s not a camping only purchase for me.
Contributor III
I bought the OtterBox Venture 45 also and really like it as well.
Enthusiast III
Thats so awesome to hear!!! I plan on abusing mine for many years to come hahahaha.
loyotadisa
Rank 0
Contributor I
and the other two for perishables. However, going on this long of a trek, and not sure how often I will be able to find Ice combined with the limited room of my Bronco, I am in need of a larger cooler. I have a very tight budget for mo gear, so Yeti and ARB are out of the equation (my first two choices ).
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I roll with two coolers and a fridge. One is a high quality molded Kodi 20l that is distributed by HEB grocery stores. This is the best cooler I own (I have a Yeti Tundra as well). The smaller Kodi holds ice for at least 5 days if used as food storage. I guess my point is you can save $200 on something that would be good or even better an the high dollar coolers. Take the chance!
Advocate III
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Well I finally ordered it... it will be here Thursday, just in time for me to unbox it and throw it into the back of @KRose 4Runner and head out to the Cascades Trip. This will be the maiden voyage for her 4Runner.
