Dry bags

Dry bags may be a useful tool for nomadic living or vehicle camping; it's handy to have a waterproof collapsible bag whenever you need it! Their most common use is for keeping your valuables dry when participating in water sports or other activities where you may get wet, but they have plenty of other uses too.

Use in coolers

You can use a dry bag in a cooler to keep your food dry, either by putting your ice in the dry bag and your food loose in the cooler, or your food in the dry bag and the ice packed around it in the cooler. Keep in mind that the dry bag provides some insulation, so if you put food in the cooler that's not already cold, or if the cooler isn't already cold, the food could stay in the "danger zone" temperature range for a bit longer. Food in direct contact with an icewater bath gets cooled down very quickly; food in a warm cooler that has a dry bag full of ice on the other side may stay warm for too long.

Laundry

If you have a small vehicle and can do your laundry frequently, you might opt for waterproof dry bags to store laundry instead. These rubberized bags are designed to keep things dry when boating, but they work well to keep all smells locked in. Be sure not to put any wet items inside unless you will be doing washing them very soon!

Carrying water

If you have a clean dry bag, you can use it to carry water from a water source back to your vehicle or camp site. It doesn't have a spigot or screw top like most water jugs, so it may not be the best tool for the job, but it is a good backup method.