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E1
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2013
Posts: 6532
Location: Westfalia, Earth
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 Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 7:23 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| djkeev wrote: |
I am guessing (being an Eastern boy) that your intended camping area has food lockers which are removed from the sleeping area where you will keep your ice chest?
And doing so forces you into using an ice based system rather than use a "better. 12v compressor system?
Dave |
With apologies if missing your point, but I see bear protection as a valid advantage to "bear-proof" ice chests over DC fridges. Even a yearling bear would throw a party if finding an ARB or Engel, as most places we go do not have bear boxes.
When we do Alaska, I plan to "lock" our Yeti with a wing bolt and wing nut. Don't want to risk losing the key and testing what it takes to break into our own food!
That should be fine. I'm not convinced grizz are adept mechanics, but if they are I might invite them onboard.
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bluebus86
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Joined: September 02, 2010
Posts: 11075
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 8:56 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| djkeev wrote: |
| llilibel03 wrote: |
I know the topic has been beaten to death but I couldn't find info using the search function.
Getting ready for summer camping with the new Westy. We will be in bear country so I'm not planning on using the fridge.
Ice chest best bang for the buck? Those Yeti et al are so expensive...
Ice or Ice substitute?
Placement and securing ice chest? |
I am guessing (being an Eastern boy) that your intended camping area has food lockers which are removed from the sleeping area where you will keep your ice chest?
And doing so forces you into using an ice based system rather than use a "better. 12v compressor system?
Dave |
I dont know about you easterners, but out west many of our bear lockers are right smack dab next to the sleeping area. We are a tough breed out west.
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32584
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 2:47 pm Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| bluebus86 wrote: |
| djkeev wrote: |
| llilibel03 wrote: |
I know the topic has been beaten to death but I couldn't find info using the search function.
Getting ready for summer camping with the new Westy. We will be in bear country so I'm not planning on using the fridge.
Ice chest best bang for the buck? Those Yeti et al are so expensive...
Ice or Ice substitute?
Placement and securing ice chest? |
I am guessing (being an Eastern boy) that your intended camping area has food lockers which are removed from the sleeping area where you will keep your ice chest?
And doing so forces you into using an ice based system rather than use a "better. 12v compressor system?
Dave |
I dont know about you easterners, but out west many of our bear lockers are right smack dab next to the sleeping area. We are a tough breed out west. |
OP mentioned camping in bear country, nothing about seeking advice on a "bear proof" ice chest.
Honestly, I didn't know they exist, it must greatly narrow down the possible product choice list.
Bears in the East are by and large a non problem.
Dave
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TopBud
Samba Member
Joined: February 28, 2004
Posts: 1111
Location: Flagstaff AZ
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| Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 6:18 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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Nobody mentioned Canyon coolers. They are a Flagstaff company. Pretty awesome. Still expensive but worth it. I have several of there coolers and would like 1 more. I use them for multi day rafting trips on southwestern rivers
http://www.canyoncoolers.com
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riceye
Samba Member
Joined: March 09, 2006
Posts: 1661
Location: Caledonia, WI
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| Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 12:46 pm Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| Christopher Schimke wrote: |
| I have the Yeti 65 (too big for my needs, but it was on sale for almost half price. I would prefer the 50. If anyone in the NW wants to trade...) |
For what it's worth, I have the Yeti 65 and I love it. The cooler is the same height as the backwards seat in my 87 Westy half-camper (aka weekender). The seat with storage below, not a folding seat. The cooler is the perfect height for my dogs to use to see out the front when traveling. Someone out there with a similar van should take Christopher up on his offer. It's a great cooler.
I also use gallon jugs of ice when on the road. I take every opportunity to re-freeze the jugs when visiting friends. So much better than the mess of melt water. Dry ice is another option that I have used successfully.
The Yeti coolers are pricey, but well made and efficient. I have RTIC products, also, and they are of comparable quality at half the price.
https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/coolers
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Vanlife Geek
Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2014
Posts: 285
Location: CO
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| Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 2:27 pm Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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I had a hard time justifying the cost of a Yeti and have many Pelican cases for my photography/video business and totally trust them. I got the Pelican 45 Quart and am very please with it so far. I paid $220 for it on Amazon (vs. $350 for the Yeti). I'd like to get the padded seat top, but not willing to spend another $125 for a cushion. It fits nicely behind the passenger seat and I usually put it outside when camping. It is indeed bear proof, but only if you use a single padlock (or bolt/nut). I think all the "bear proof" coolers require padlocks to make them bear proof, however some (like the Yeti) require two padlocks. I like the way the Pelicans open & close vs. the Yeti, too. Seems like it would take a "smarter than the average bear" to open an un-padlocked Pelican vs. the Yeti. You can see the Pelican latches in the image below with the single padlock area in the middle.
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timichango
Samba Member
Joined: April 07, 2012
Posts: 858
Location: Squamish, BC, Canada
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| Posted: Mon May 29, 2017 3:08 pm Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| E1 wrote: |
This is a get-what-you-pay-for deal.
We have a Yeti 50 and get a solid week out of a block. Crushed ice, 3-4 days tops. We drain a small amount of the cold water into a small bucket to keep drinks cold without in-and-outing the cooler excessively. This has worked great for 46 months now, no regrets in not using the tiny fridge and also moving weight to the right.
Ours is belted with a ratchet strap to the steel behind the passenger seat. If doing it over I'd use a cool VW seat belt bolted to the floor.
Happy Travels. |
+1 on the Yeti 50. We secure ours with a short ratchet strap between GW's eyebolt seatbelt bolt replacements, as E1 suggests. Works a treat.
Also sturdy and stable enough for my fat ass to use as a step stool to shift my bulk up to the top bunk, or ease access to the cargo area, particularly when it's strapped in.
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llilibel03
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Joined: February 03, 2008
Posts: 767
Location: Redondo Beach California
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| Posted: Mon May 29, 2017 9:43 pm Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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I am not interested in a DC cooler because I have the Dometic. Also I can't afford $900. In fact my original post was to hear about alternatives to the $300+ high end coolers, because even they seem steep for my budget.
I'm looking at the Coleman Extreme 54 qt which is just over $50. There is also a local company that sells a Yeti look alike for about half the price-$189 for a 52 qt. When I googled the company, Boss, all I found was a lawsuit filed by Yeti. ???
As far as bear proofing...hmmmm. All the campgrounds around here (California) have food lockers. However, if I don't get a bear proof version I'll have to think twice about dispersed camping in bear country... |
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E1
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2013
Posts: 6532
Location: Westfalia, Earth
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| Posted: Mon May 29, 2017 11:37 pm Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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Sorry for going OT.
I sure wouldn't let the lack of a bear-proof cooler keep me from camping in bear country. My comments about that were mostly thinking about extreme conditions in Alaska. Read: Grizzlies.
With no sarcasm, bears aren't necessarily gonna tear into your 'hood for lack of a better cooler. I fear injury in a shower more (yet do take them). In the forty years that we've mingled with more than our share of bears, most of them while backpacking, they're mostly timid and scared.
In my experience -- except for the rare anomaly bear that makes CNN and Hollywood -- they're opportunists, not aggressors.
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"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
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kamzcab86
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PDXWesty
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Joined: April 11, 2006
Posts: 6243
Location: Portland OR
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:11 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| llilibel03 wrote: |
I am not interested in a DC cooler because I have the Dometic. Also I can't afford $900. In fact my original post was to hear about alternatives to the $300+ high end coolers, because even they seem steep for my budget.
I'm looking at the Coleman Extreme 54 qt which is just over $50. There is also a local company that sells a Yeti look alike for about half the price-$189 for a 52 qt. When I googled the company, Boss, all I found was a lawsuit filed by Yeti. ???
As far as bear proofing...hmmmm. All the campgrounds around here (California) have food lockers. However, if I don't get a bear proof version I'll have to think twice about dispersed camping in bear country... |
RTIC coolers is what you are referring too. https://www.rticcoolers.com/
I good value I believe and just as good. I'm thinking of buying one.
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llilibel03
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Joined: February 03, 2008
Posts: 767
Location: Redondo Beach California
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:23 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| E1 wrote: |
Sorry for going OT.
I sure wouldn't let the lack of a bear-proof cooler keep me from camping in bear country. My comments about that were mostly thinking about extreme conditions in Alaska. Read: Grizzlies.
With no sarcasm, bears aren't necessarily gonna tear into your 'hood for lack of a better cooler. I fear injury in a shower more (yet do take them). In the forty years that we've mingled with more than our share of bears, most of them while backpacking, they're mostly timid and scared.
In my experience -- except for the rare anomaly bear that makes CNN and Hollywood -- they're opportunists, not aggressors. |
Agreed. But I have to convince my wife and daughter of that... |
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E1
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2013
Posts: 6532
Location: Westfalia, Earth
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:30 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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It's an odds game and the odds are really, REALLY low.
We've been full-timing in the bush for 1,400 days now, with a buggy loaded with chow. One bear we know of so far, we chased him off and still have the limbs to prove it. 
More experience and less tv helps with the fear factor. Good God Man, don't show them the 1979 movie "Prophecy!" 
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84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
Colin Chapman |
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timichango
Samba Member
Joined: April 07, 2012
Posts: 858
Location: Squamish, BC, Canada
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:35 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| E1 wrote: |
Sorry for going OT.
I sure wouldn't let the lack of a bear-proof cooler keep me from camping in bear country. My comments about that were mostly thinking about extreme conditions in Alaska. Read: Grizzlies.
With no sarcasm, bears aren't necessarily gonna tear into your 'hood for lack of a better cooler. I fear injury in a shower more (yet do take them). In the forty years that we've mingled with more than our share of bears, most of them while backpacking, they're mostly timid and scared.
In my experience -- except for the rare anomaly bear that makes CNN and Hollywood -- they're opportunists, not aggressors. |
Yeah, there are exceptions, but I'd say that's a pretty accurate assessment of the bear threat scenario. Ultimately the lockability and supposed bear-proofness of the Yetis is nice to have, particularly if you want to move it *away* from your sleeping area to keep your perishables safe while you bear-bag your other food up in a tree but we have westies, so even that's probably not a likely scenario if van camping, since you'll realistically keep the damn thing inside the van. If you want it to do double duty on boat or raft trips, however, where you'll be camping on land, then those benefits start to get relevant, IMHO. The ability to swing a steel cable around a tree as a tether, and then run a long-shank combo lock through the cooler and the cable has come in handy for me once or twice. Theft-resistant and bear resistant.
Another bit of advice that may be location-specific: we had our Yeti when we went to Yosemite a few years back, and figured the bearproof rating would allow us to keep it in-vehicle in camp but the park wardens there weren't thrilled with the idea, and insisted that we shove the cooler into the provided steel caches anyways. "Who the heck is the interagency bear committee?" was pretty much the sentiment. So I wouldn't count on that feature being much use in national parks, if that's a goal.
For us, though, the thing we like about the unit most is the combo of functionality (it's a really effective insulator), and the overall design (simple, minimal, smooth, ergonomic, easy as heck to maintain, etc.) it's a really well thought out chest, and the little details add up.
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newfisher
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Location: The wet spot--Oregon
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:41 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| Get the Yeti Roadie. Before bedtime, slather the cooler with bacon grease, run a rope under the supplied handle, hoist it into a tree so it dangles like a pinata. attach a bell to it and when it rings, have your video ready. |
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atomatom
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Joined: May 15, 2012
Posts: 1867
Location: in an 84 Westy or Bowen Island, BC
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| Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:54 am Post subject: Re: ice chest |
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| Christopher Schimke wrote: |
One tip that I learned (from people more experienced) is if you use loose or block ice, leave the melted water in the cooler, don't drain it out. The ice will last quite a bit longer by leaving it in the cold water versus draining the water out. Yeah, it kind of sucks to have everything in the bottom all wet, but if you need the ice to last as long as possible it certainly helps. |
if you don't like cooler gazpacho and want to keep the cold water, buy some extra large zip lock bags, the humungous size. ice block inside bag, water contained. or a dry bag, or any number of other waterpoof bag things.
i prefer freezing water jugs because they don't leak, but you can't always buy them on the road. i would happily pay an extra few bucks for a frozen gallon/4L of water while on the road.
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