Coolers are one option for keeping your food cold while living on the road. Most people who live on the road full time switch to actual refrigerators, but coolers are still a good option for a lot of people. It depends on your needs, your available power, and other factors.
Advantages
- Low initial cost
- No need to provide power
- Easy to find in stores
- Low weight (not counting food and ice)
- Portable
- Works for removable build and minimal build vehicles
Disadvantages
- Constant need to acquire ice (ongoing cost) or other frozen material
- Need to dispose of meltwater if using ice
- Loss of usable interior volume due to the space taken up by the ice or cooling packs
- Need to package foods in waterproof containers to reduce food loss and cross-contamination
- Not cold enough to keep most items frozen unless using dry ice
Cooler tips
To make your cooler more effective, store it out of direct sunlight and keep your vehicle as cool as possible; a cooler sitting in a hot vehicle will gain heat faster than one in a colder vehicle. Add insulation around your cooler if practical, such as a blanket or Mylar sheet to cover it.
If you have regular access to a freezer at work or elsewhere, rotate refreezable cooling packs in/out of the freezer and into your cooler. This removes the ongoing cost of buying ice but requires a number of packs so you can always have them in rotation. Having three sets of freezer packs in rotation allows each set to be in the freezer for 32 hours (24hrs + 8hr shift) rather than just an 8 hour shift. You may be able to harvest ice from trays or an icemaker at work. If doing this, remember to leave enough ice for others, refilling ice trays, etc.
Frozen bottles of water (leaving room for ice expansion) work, but do not stay frozen as long as freezer packs. However, you can drink the water from the bottles as the ice melts.
If using ice, block ice will last longer than cubed ice and is usually cheaper. Dry ice will keep things frozen, but it must be handled with care.
Use a cooler with a drain at the bottom. This makes cleaning/draining easier and may allow you to reclaim any clean water for washing or other purposes.
If it's below freezing outside, you may be able to make ice or refreeze packs outside for later use in your cooler.
Use waterproof containers
Store either your food or the ice in a waterproof container to keep your food dry. Note that most resealable food packages are often not waterproof after they've been opened the first time; a package of ham will most likely fill with meltwater if you leave it in your cooler. This food will need to be stored in watertight containers for food safety and to prevent spoilage.
When purchasing eggs for scrambling or baking, crack them all into a water bottle (or similar sealable container) and throw away the carton and shells.
Buying ice
Many fast food restaurants sell bags of ice, though it is rarely listed on the menu. Prices are often cheaper than ice at grocery stores and gas stations. Warehouse clubs like Costco often sell large quantities of ice at a relatively low cost.[1]
In some places with high camping tourism, ice vending machines are available.
Most hotels have ice makers for paying guests, but may disallow filling a cooler with ice.