Pelican Cooler...

[PEIslander]

Our small but mighty Camplite 11FDB has a small not-so-mighty fridge. The fridge is adequate for our food but leaves little room remaining for our adult beverages. The fridge just isn't up to the task for >> margarita << & >> mojito << ingredients, canned cocktails, or fine German beers. The solution for us was to purchase a 45-quart marine cooler. Ours is a bear-proof >> Pelican 45QT Elite. <<  The cooler is tested for up to ten days of ice retention. We initially used it with ice but have since found those plastic containers with the blue ice stuff inside work well for us. With them you don't need to reach down into ice water to grab a beer. The 45-qt size is good for our needs. Any bigger and I wouldn't be able to move it by myself. The cooler itself is heavy and is indestructible. There are videos on youtube of grizzlies attacking these coolers without success. The catches are a really good design. I see no reason why this cooler will ever need replacement. As you may notice in the pic, I use a cable lock to secure the cooler to the trailer's wheel. The cooler can be hasped but I don't bother. (I think the cooler is more attractive to a thief than the booze -- and I'll share the refreshments with anyone).

[rideandfly]

Pelican quality is second to none. Have three of their cases on motorcycles and four more for storage/transportation of other items. When I break a latch, just call them, they always ship warranty (free) replacement parts without question and no proof of purchase required. We didn't know they sold coolers when we purchased the Engle Coolers, or would have purchased Pelicans.

We use two Engle Deep Blue 35 QT bear proof ice coolers. Found the cooler works better if pre-cooled for 24 hours before a camping trip. Use reusable  ice blocks to pre-cool. Have had ice to last up to 7 days during cooler times of the year.

http://engel-coolers.com/product-category/deepblue-coolers/

[PEIslander]

In putting together my posting above I learned Pelican are now selling suitcases too. Now I know what I want for Christmas! Apparently they have come up with a way to keep them lightweight but still strong and waterproof. Awesome styling too!

>> http://www.pelican.com/luggage/ <<

[rideandfly]

Here's a Pelican case installed on the rear rack our Vstrom:

[catmanriff]

I bought a Yeti 35. It's great. Sort of want their 65 now. The small one for food, the big one for ice and drinks...with a divider 2/3 of the way inside

[Merlin]

Pelican cases are wonderful. We have one for camera gear that PROTECTS it really well.

For a portable cooler, we went with an AC/DC plug-in WAECO (now owned by Dometic) 33 qt. It is just what we needed. There is plenty of room inside because no space is taken up by ice. It cools very efficiently with a quiet compressor and runs on either 120AC or 12-24VDC. It uses very little power on battery. There is either a DC or AC outlet in the cargo area of our vehicles, so we just plug in and go. It keeps things at any set temperature and because it's well insulated, things will stay cools for hours even when it's off. We haven't bought ice for years! Other companies like ARB and Engel make similar coolers and if you go this route, get a good one like any of these 3 brands. Inexpensive versions don't cool well, are inefficient, poorly insulated, and won't last very long.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-CF-035AC110-Coolmatic-Control-Refrigerator/dp/B0017YFDGO

[catmanriff]

that's nice. 40lbs though. But, I suspect that a Yeti, Grizzly, Peilcan loaded with ice, food and drinks might be similar, no? $600 seems high but a good ice chest, like the Yeti are $400


I looked at the Engel one. I'd have to figure out if I could keep it going somehow without hookups. I'm heading towards a dual 12v battery setup on the QS10, perhaps with a solar panel. But, that would be for a week type trips.

[abodyjoe]

the rtic coolers look nice too..  have been looking at those..  same as a yeti for half the cost..  i have an rtic tumbler and that thing keeps ice in it for a long ass time..

https://www.rticcoolers.com/

[Merlin]

that's nice. 40lbs though. But, I suspect that a Yeti, Grizzly, Peilcan loaded with ice, food and drinks might be similar, no? $600 seems high but a good ice chest, like the Yeti are $400


I looked at the Engel one. I'd have to figure out if I could keep it going somehow without hookups. I'm heading towards a dual 12v battery setup on the QS10, perhaps with a solar panel. But, that would be for a week type trips.

Yes! They are heavy. However, for me and my wife, moving a fully loaded cooler around by just one person is a distant memory. We always use both of us. The equivalent sized Yeti (in usable interior volume) is the Tundra 65 that weighs 29 lbs empty. Add some ice and you're not far off 40 lbs. The Yeti is $350, so much cheaper to start with (and ice is cheap). We've boon-docked with our Waeco while tent camping for almost a week on one good deep cycle battery.

[pjcd]

I'm sure these coolers are rugged and all, but the price is enough to keep me away from them. When dry camping, I rarely  have a need for a cooler, well, maybe I forgot about the beer, yes, got to keep the beer cold......8^)

[catmanriff]

I was resisting the idea of the Roto molded coolers. I had seen the Yeti coolers at Basspro and the price was just a non-starter. But after reading so many reviews and shootouts, it seemed as if there was something to them. So, after receiving a number of Basspro gift certificates for Christmas, I popped for a Yeti Tundra 35.

First rip I put ice, frozen water bottles and food in on a Saturday. By the following Thursday, The water bottles were still 75% frozen and the food safe..

So, my plans are to add a 65 size, have one for food, one for ice & drinks. We were buying ice almost every day for the Coleman

[pjcd]

I was looking at these, look similar to "Yeti" coolers, but less $$$$.

https://www.rticcoolers.com

[pjcd]

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/2016/03/ice-chest-throwdown-12-top-end-coolers-ranked-and-reviewed#page-4

Cooler shootout.....