BajaNomad - BEST BAJA COOLER

You will have the best success if you follow these rules. Use the largest piece of block ice you can fit. Keep your cooler out of the sun and insulate it with your sleeping bags or ????. Keep the lid closed. Know exactly what is in your cooler and where so you can quickly grab what you need. No opening the lid and "looking around". Drain off the melted water. Never add anything warm to the cooler. Cold food and drinks are a luxury. Consider dried foods and powdered drinks to relieve the pressure on your coldness. All drinks should be in aluminum cans. Use the refrigerators of friends, motels, stores and strangers to your advantage. I'm sure there are other tips I've forgotten.

TRUTH!

redhilltown - 6-23-2016 at 12:33 AM

I use the water I drain off to "pre chill" warmer items to add back into the cooler. Have also watered a few wild burros with it in the searing heat of the Mojave summer...they pretend not to care, but once in a bowl anywhere near them...game on!

Block ice rules. I will usually round off whatever the tab is with the Gardena Ice Co with some dry ice. Bang for the buck I love my Coleman Extreme...but no true latch to close it and still has coyote opener teeth marks and those large Sierra fillets are just a memory.

Santiago - 6-23-2016 at 05:48 AM

Quote: Originally posted by redhilltown

Block ice rules. I will usually round off whatever the tab is with the Gardena Ice Co with some dry ice. Bang for the buck I love my Coleman Extreme...but no true latch to close it and still has coyote opener teeth marks and those large Sierra fillets are just a memory.

I also bought the Coleman Extreme after the flurry of testing a year ago, @ $50. I wouldn't throw it out of my pickup at 40mph but it is far superior to the average Walmart cooler and it works well on our trips. I wish they would have included it in the testing as I suspect it would preform just a little under the average in this test setting.

how about build your own?

willardguy - 6-23-2016 at 09:29 AM

we're talkin pretty low tech items here.....after adding additional insulation to all my chest freezers with the leftovers I lined a milk crate with 2" of hard foam insulation, covered with FRP and sealed with 5200. this is also one of the seats in our blow-up boat. its an extremely strong box and insulates better than any of our ice chests.
if you could find an appropriate size crate to start with you could build a really efficient ice chest on the cheap! :yes:

[Edited on 6-23-2016 by willardguy]

Bob H - 6-23-2016 at 09:40 AM

This is almost like asking 'what kind of tires should I buy for off road used in Baja'? The thread will explode !!

Had not been on this Forum for some time. It's good to see lots of old familiar folks on here again and read some of the posts.

mtgoat666 - 6-23-2016 at 10:05 AM

I have an engle and coleman extreme. Both keep cold for same duration, but engel costs way more! Get the coleman!

There are no grizzlies in baja, so why do you need a grizzly-proof cooler???

Quote: Originally posted by Santiago

Quote: Originally posted by redhilltown

David K - 6-23-2016 at 10:11 AM

I also have the Coleman Extreme 5 day rated chest.
It has lasted 5 days in summer... using block ice but with careful location (in the shade or covered up), daily draining of melted ice water, limited opening or seal it while using another chest for normal use until its ice is gone.

BEST BAJA COOLER

bajagrouper - 6-23-2016 at 03:26 PM

BEST BAJA COOLER = a Margarita

TMW - 6-23-2016 at 07:04 PM

I have a 35 QT and a 55 QT Canyon cooler. Made in Flagstaff, AZ. Not cheap, $250-300. Two off road mag. tested a bunch of coolers not long ago and the Canyon was rated the best by one and tied for best in the other mag.

In April on our Amigo trip down Baja I took the 55 Qt with two blocks of ice and the rest cubes/crushed in it. I drained and added crushed ice every couple of days when I got home I left the cooler in the garage for a couple of days keeping my beer cold. After 8 days the two blocks of ice I had put in it were about half size along with a good amount of the crushed ice when I tossed them out.

The best cooler I've ever had, but like I said they on the expensive side. If you are only going for a couple of days or if you are near a store that sells ice they're probably not worth it.

AKgringo - 6-23-2016 at 08:45 PM

The best Baja cooler? The one in your buddy's truck. It's EXPENSIVE keeping those things full of goodies! :tumble:

EXtreme

captkw - 6-23-2016 at 09:33 PM

Not top shelf, but with the added insulation they work !

Hook - 6-24-2016 at 11:06 AM

If you are an Amazon Prime member, it would be tough to beat this deal, for overall value and capabilities.

I have only the 70 qt model, but I am completely sold on the wheels that are recessed. I also like the lid that has no latch to fail.

redhilltown - 6-24-2016 at 05:25 PM

I know there are no grizzlies, but there ARE ki-oats...and they figured out the no latch system just fine.

P1120865.JPG - 116kB

WideAngleWandering - 6-25-2016 at 05:12 PM

I can't speak to particular coolers, but I do think that just as important as the cooler itself is how you manage it.

I mainly use a Norcold NRF-45 12v fridge, which I've wired to a house battery in my car. I've covered it in reflectix to keep the sun off it. It's topped off by the alternator and 180w of solar panels (mounted on the roof but also removable for better positioning). If I keep the vehicle from heating too much inside (park in the shade, or keep the windows open, etc) I've gone a week w/o starting the engine or killing the house battery.

I sometimes use coolers also. Tips:

Keep the cooler out of the sun
Keep the cooler out of hot car parked in the sun
Wrap cooler with reflectix
Keep the cooler from direct contact with the ground (2x4 segments)
For a long trip, I'll have one cooler for regular use and a second one that doesn't get open much
Seal the seams with duck tape when not in use
Use a combination of wet ice and dry ice
Never put anything warm in the cooler

With those techniques, I've made it for a week using the average wal-mart coleman coolers. First half of the week on cooler 1. Second half of the week on cooler 2.

[Edited on 2016-6-26 by WideAngleWandering]

Hook - 6-25-2016 at 06:17 PM

I've often wondered about the logic of keeping the base of a cooler off a surface when air temps are 90-110. Do you really want air that temperature to be surrounding the entire cooler? What about on an insulating pad? Would that be better for reducing heat conduction?

willardguy - 6-25-2016 at 06:28 PM

just like your home refrigerator, or chest freezer, they're poorly insulated, I tell ya...build your own!

WideAngleWandering - 6-25-2016 at 07:15 PM

I've often wondered about the logic of keeping the base of a cooler off a surface when air temps are 90-110. Do you really want air that temperature to be surrounding the entire cooler? What about on an insulating pad? Would that be better for reducing heat conduction?

The temp of the air isn't so much an issue; solids (dirt/pavement) conduct heat much more efficiently than gases (air). 70f dirt will suck the heat out of your cooler much faster than 100f air.

I dunno about the pad but I suspect air is best.

[Edited on 2016-6-26 by WideAngleWandering]

Hook - 6-25-2016 at 07:58 PM

just like your home refrigerator, or chest freezer, they're poorly insulated, I tell ya...build your own!

Show us your drain plug, your lid latch and your handles on your home made model.

willardguy - 6-25-2016 at 08:54 PM

just like your home refrigerator, or chest freezer, they're poorly insulated, I tell ya...build your own!

Show us your drain plug, your lid latch and your handles on your home made model.

drain plug? igloo, coleman, they all sell inexpensive drainplugs. handle? any hardware store. latches? I've hotrodded a chest freezer conversion, a chest freezer and a sunfrost upright and the best latch is a double hung window cam latch. decide the size you want and find a suitable crate (think milk crate but larger) double up 2" foil backed hard insulation (approx R40 now) FRP inside and out (add another R10 value) and seal with 5200, OR ..... just buy one, what ever you want to do

on edit....I would run over to gonzaga bay to take pictures but its effin hot over there!

[Edited on 6-26-2016 by willardguy]

mtgoat666 - 6-25-2016 at 11:47 PM

I have an old ice box made of tin and wood, perhaps those are good materials, eh? I suspect dry wood is a good insulator.
Back in the day the ice houses used straw insulation.
The roto molded plastic coolers like yeti are really heavy. Willard, why don't you use goose down for your DIY coolers? :lol:

just like your home refrigerator, or chest freezer, they're poorly insulated, I tell ya...build your own!

Show us your drain plug, your lid latch and your handles on your home made model.

on edit....I would run over to gonzaga bay to take pictures but its effin hot over there!

[Edited on 6-26-2016 by willardguy]

Hook - 6-26-2016 at 04:38 AM

Willardguy, a 100 qt, 5 day cooler with wheels, handles and drain plug, DELIVERED TO MY DOOR, for 71 coconuts is difficult to pass up.

Show us your recessed wheels, now.

I have other hoops for you to jump through, after this............ :biggrin:

Your homemade model looks like a fine choice for a cooler that stays pretty permanently on the boat. I like the versatility of the one I showed, for going anywhere, easily.

Five days is fine for me. Heck, on a boat, you are buying ice more often than that, anyway, if you are catching fish.

willardguy - 6-26-2016 at 09:03 AM

Willardguy, a 100 qt, 5 day cooler with wheels, handles and drain plug, DELIVERED TO MY DOOR, for 71 coconuts is difficult to pass up.

Show us your recessed wheels, now.

I have other hoops for you to jump through, after this............ :biggrin:

we have three of these coleman extreme coolers, two with wheels and one without, you'll be surprised how much room you lose with those wheels,if we had it to do over again we'd pass on the wheels, but im sure it'll serve you well!
my point is an ice chest is all about the insulation integrity of the box, rather it be an ice chest or your refrigerator. simple as that....

[Edited on 6-26-2016 by willardguy]

Hook - 6-26-2016 at 10:40 AM

Yes, you do lose space to the wheels, but 70qts is 70 qts and 100qts is 100 qts.

Truth be told, I really only use my 70qt. model for transporting 1.75L ice bottles from the truck to the boat OR the occasional multi-day boating trip where I want those bottles to stay cold for that period. I have a second 162 qt igloo that stays in the middle of the sole of the boat and the bottles get added to that, with the catch.

I also have kill bags off the stern on the swimstep. So, the system is kill bag first for bleeding off from the gills, then into the 162 qt., whole. Frozen bottles are added throughout the day. The 70qt until stays below on a dinette bench, so it is on 6 inches of vinyl covered foam in the shade.

For multi day trips, we go with TWO 70qt chests, filled with bottles AND a Norcold 45qt compressor freezer for keeping at least some bottles solid. The boat also has a small (like 4 cu/ft) fridge for food and drinks.

All that on a 25 foot boat.

My days of cooler camping appear to be over. I probably have no business being in this discussion, really. The portable Norcold unit comes in the Lance for camping trips, just for all beverages, so it can be opened and closed at will. The builtin absorption fridge (still working great, goes -60 degrees below ambient temp) is for the food stuffs. I never buy ice on the road, anymore. I make cubes at night in the absorption fridge for the following days.

willardguy - 6-26-2016 at 11:03 AM

on a much smaller scale....the only ice we carry is the ice on the beers. we keep numerous blue ice packs in the chest freezer thats continuously on while the suns shining, these we use to cool the catch, which in our world is generally taco bass and triggers!

and yeah...no mas cooler camper here either.

weebray - 8-19-2016 at 11:25 AM

Just back from a month living with our Coleman cooler. I've something to add to the list. NO children allowed in the cooler. Just about every fifteen min. one of them would want to open the cooler and "look around" for something to eat. Sheesh!

TMW - 8-19-2016 at 12:14 PM

Good advice

David K - 8-19-2016 at 02:00 PM

In another thread, I posted a new observation that we made last month on Shell Island...

What weebray said with an exception....

The exception being about draining the melted water out.

I (and my father) always believed that removing the water helped the ice to last. In fact, if the melted water is left in, at least 50% anyway, the remaining block melts slower. This is in a stationary condition, not driving/ sloshing.

We had identical Coleman 5-Day chests.

One had two (10#) blocks, and some frozen water bottles and some crushed ice to fill in gaps. This one was for food and some drinks.

The other had just one (10#) block and crushed ice, into which went the beer and water bottles. This one was not drained and was the one opened frequently (to get drinks).

The food box with two blocks and some crushed was only opened at meal times very briefly and the water was drained daily.

After 4 days, over 90° days, the drink box with just one block and melted water left in, still had almost half a block remaining... and the water with the beers in it was ice cold.

The food box, originally with 2 blocks, drained daily, rarely opened, was nearly gone of ice.

That was an eye-opener and except when driving, I won't be draining the melted water out or much unless we are driving and will be getting more ice. (food is placed in snap-tight containers, so the melted ice shouldn't hurt)

bajabuddha - 8-19-2016 at 04:03 PM

SANDIA DAQUIRI W/ VERY LIGHT SPLASH OF AMARETTO

David K - 8-19-2016 at 04:04 PM

That sounds good! :light:

bajabuddha - 8-19-2016 at 04:19 PM

or, a "FRISKY" !
Gin and Fresca w/ a squeeze of lime; WARNING: MAY BE DEADLY.
I recommend U.S. Fresca; diet, no sugar. Mexican Fresca is not "Lite". :coolup:

weebray - 8-19-2016 at 04:44 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

In another thread, I posted a new observation that we made last month on Shell Island...

What weebray said with an exception....