Use Car Coolers to Keep Chilled on the Road
Before the heat consumes you on your next road trip, consider getting a Car Cooler. This is great for everyday travel. Forget about the conventional coolers that take a back seat and warms drink when you want it cold or cold drinks when you want them warm. The cooler/warmer is truly a gadget roadrunners fall in love with easily.
Other Uses
The makers of car coolers had in mind your travel convenience. If you are traveling with children and babies, the cooler can keep baby bottles warm and drink/snacks cold. A cooler that is plugged to the car’s cigarette lighter does away with messy melting ice. It’s a portable fridge without the bulk. The top picks for this type of travel companion are coolers with insulated cup holders and room for dry items. This all-in-one cooler can be used as a mini storage for nappies and wipes.
For a fleet of vans, this type of cooler keeps drivers comfortably set off with cold drinks and snacks. There is no need for them to have time-consuming meals at road stops along the highway enroute to their destination. This translates to work efficiency and more business “mileage.” For little cars, the cooler gives you storage space. Knowing all these pluses, would you still take that road trip without this cooler?
Brands and Features
Igloo 2707 Kool Cruiser can hold up to 18 quarts and is tall enough to be able to hold 3 L bottles. It’s lightweight, but it can cool things up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit below ambient temperature, with quiet operation. It’s a gray and white cooler, and has a replaceable thermoelectric lid, very lightweight. With 12 VDC power, you can adjust it to either cool or warm function. The one drawback with this cooler is that you’ll need to replace the motor quite frequently.
Next is the Koolatron, which is a competitor to the Igloo line. With no frequent motor replacements needed, it still has a drawback in that the lid can begin to “chip” with constant opening and closing. If you don’t use the cooler frequently, this won’t be a problem for you. The Koolatron hooks up to your car’s 12 V cigarette lighter for operation, although this can cause overheating in some cases similar to the Igloo cooler. The cool temperature is a steady 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Wagan EL 2577 7-liter fridge/warmer is another option, and you can keep both drinks and food at perfect temperatures. You don’t need ice to keep things cool, so you have more room for snacks and drinks. Perfect for families who are always “on the go.”
How to Choose Your Cooler
If you’ve got a long road trip ahead, whether you’ve got children with you or not, car coolers can make the trip so much easier. You won’t need to stop often for food, nor will you have to spend money on unhealthy fast food. It’s best if you use the hard cooler for long trips.
Soft coolers will do well for short trips, where you need to pack just a few bottles of cold juice or sandwiches. Soft coolers do have the tendency to leak, which means they’re not Best Cooler for all situations. In addition, consider how many people are going to be using the cooler. There are lots of Travel Cooler designs available, as well as different sizes and brands. With so much choice, you should have no problem meeting your needs. Which cooler is best for you?