Using ice chest rather than 12 v. coolers

Go for one of the ones that advertise that they hold ice for 5 days.

Igloo or Coleman.....I have both and they both work well during average
temps........below 90 degrees is what I consider average.

Space is a problem with one of those.....but if you follow the directions
and fill them with ice at the beginning of storage of goods......they will
hold ice for at least 3 days anyway.

Likewise.....keep them off the floor above the exhaust pipe.....in the
passenger seat works best if you can do that.

I use one of those exclusively but just for keeping drinks.

 

I've also used both. Currently I have a Coleman 12v cooler that works exceptionally well.

My issue with the ice chest was simply one of inconvenience, particularly when the warmer months were upon us, as the ice would just melt too quickly. However, I minimized this trouble by buying one with a drain. The chest would ride in the sleeper, and when I needed to, I just opened the sleeper door and opened the spigot to drain off the water. I also bought a small wire rack to put in it to nearly double my storage capacity. I used mine for mostly luncheon meats and condiments and milk.

All in all, I prefer the cooler I have now. It's the model with the motor on top when the unit is standing the tall way, about a hundred bucks.

 

Ice chest = PITA!

I have a 12 volt cooler that works great. Yea...sometimes I get a year or so out of them and I have had them for over three years. Still cheaper than buying ice at ripoff truckstops.

Ice chest = PITA!

 

You can forget your ice chest when you park the truck for time off and all
you got is melted ice.


Forget to unplug your cooler for a couple of days and you got dead batteries. Usually a shop foreman wanting your head and sometimes a
charge back for the boost to get the truck started.

Electric coolers have a hard time keeping up in the summer......an ice chest
will cool off a just about instantly with the proper application of bags of ice.


Both methods have their drawbacks.

 

I took my passenger seat out to make more room. My ice chest sits where the seat was. I drilled a half inch hole in the floor and ran a piece of surgical tubing from the inside of the ice chest down through the hole.

This way I never get a water build up. Ice keeps thing ice cold all the time. Also, fruit and vegetables don't dry out.

True, I have to buy the ice, but when i figure the cost over a year against the benefits, I'm happy with the method.

Sometimes the surgical tubing gets clogged with crud and doesn't drain. I have another piece of surgical tubing with one of those plastic squirter ends that come with tubes of silicone caulking. I cut the end off the squirter and stick it in the extra piece of surgical tubing. When I need to clean out the tubing which drains the cooler, I just hold the tube end of the squirter against the tubing in the cooler and blow out the crud.

I'd never use an ice chest if I couldn't drain it the way I have set it up. Before, the water sloshing around ruined everything I put in the cooler.

 

Ah but how to do that in a Company truck??

 

Some mini fridges only need 90 watts to run...double that to 180 for the surge to start...if you are careful, you might find an efficent fridge that will run on a plugin inverter...the vibrations will likely destroy the compressor in a year...so same lifespan issue as the 12v cooler, but it will be cooler in the summer, and have a mini freezer in most cases. Just don't try to run it on a truckstop 200 watt inverter....a better true sinewave one for abot $200 that can plug into tge cigrette lighter would work better to handle the surge, and not burnout from runing 100%....like a 350 watt unit...you cannot get that much out of a 20 amp cigrette lighter, but running an inverter at like 50% capicity will lengthen it's life by tons!!