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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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Best ice chest for long Baja trip?
So what do people recommend for a multi-week summer trip into Baja? I don't want to get one that runs on electricity or propane, just an old-fashioned
ice chest for enjoying fresh food and cold drinks on a hot beach, that keeps food/drink cold for several days between ice Runs.
Has anyone used one of the newer heavy-duty ice chests such as these fromPelican?
Recommendations welcome!
[Edited on 5-20-2014 by Whale-ista]
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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baja Steve
Nomad
Posts: 469
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Bend, or
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The pelican is great. We have used if for 10 day + trips in 100 degree whether and still had ice. We do cover it.
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wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21152
Registered: 8-9-2009
Location: Mission Viejo
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Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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THAT is really something ... 10+ days, saw in a review, 15 days ...
They don't make them like they used to ... 
with these ... might have to worry about food spoilage 
[Edited on 5-20-2014 by wessongroup]
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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| Quote: | Originally posted by baja Steve
The pelican is great. We have used if for 10 day + trips in 100 degree whether and still had ice. We do cover it. |
Thank you for the feedback.
What do you cover it with? You mean keep it in the shade?
I'll likely keep it in my truck camper. Especially given the weight once it's full of food and ice.
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Buy a couple of cheap moving pads from Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/40-in-x-72-in-movers-blanket-69...
http://www.harborfreight.com/72-inch-x-80-inch-movers-blanke...
| Quote: | Originally posted by Whale-ista
| Quote: | Originally posted by baja Steve
The pelican is great. We have used if for 10 day + trips in 100 degree whether and still had ice. We do cover it. |
Thank you for the feedback.
What do you cover it with? You mean keep it in the shade?
I'll likely keep it in my truck camper. Especially given the weight once it's full of food and ice. |
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15939
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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yeti makes the same style.....
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baja Steve
Nomad
Posts: 469
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Bend, or
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We use the silver insulated blankets
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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I considered those but I wanted to support the company that is manufacturing them in the US.
| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
yeti makes the same style..... |
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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liknbaja127
Nomad
Posts: 463
Registered: 1-17-2012
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We used a new Yeti last week, for the 1000, Not sure! For the $500.00, You Can buy a lot of ice!
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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I found a 95 quart pelican at Costco for $300. agreed it will take quite a few trips to pay for itself but it will also give me more time away from
town & on the beach not worrying about ice runs.
I just froze a couple of 1 gallon plastic jugs and put them inside the chest out in my truck for a test. Of course now the weather has cooled off
considerably here.
Travels to Baja always include Time/money trade-offs...
| Quote: | Originally posted by liknbaja127
We used a new Yeti last week, for the 1000, Not sure! For the $500.00, You Can buy a lot of ice! |
[Edited on 5-20-2014 by Whale-ista]
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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n6nxl
Newbie
Posts: 3
Registered: 10-7-2013
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Speaking of time money trade-off... My dad built a super-cooler from a home depot plastic round tote, and a 4x8 sheet of 2" r-max foam. It looks like
a foil wrapped hot tub, or something to carry nuclear waste in, but boy does it work well.10# block of ice has lasted up to five days- in the Laguna
Salada!
Sure gets a second look at the military checkpoints,tho 
Can buy a lot of Pemex or TKT for 400$
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ehall
Super Nomad
Posts: 1906
Registered: 3-29-2014
Location: Buckeye, Az
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Mood: It's 5 o'clock somewhere
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Never used the pelican but alot of my friends have the yeti and they work well. My coleman extreme works almost as well and it was 50 bucks not 300
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Cliffy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 986
Registered: 12-19-2013
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Igloo makes one better than Yeti and it's made in Texas!
Better seals, better handles and locks. Really a good one.
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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You mean the 5 gallon tote or a larger size? I've considered a homemade design, need to check out capacities and material costs.
I thought I would try it this summer and see how well it works. I can return items to Costco that don't perform well. (100% satisfaction guarantee is
a big reason I shop there.)
| Quote: | Originally posted by n6nxl
Speaking of time money trade-off... My dad built a super-cooler from a home depot plastic round tote, and a 4x8 sheet of 2" r-max foam. It looks like
a foil wrapped hot tub, or something to carry nuclear waste in, but boy does it work well.10# block of ice has lasted up to five days- in the Laguna
Salada!
Sure gets a second look at the military checkpoints,tho
Can buy a lot of Pemex or TKT for 400$ |
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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I purchased a 75qt Yeti last fall and used it for a 14 day trip over the Christmas holidays. We purchased 3 blocks of ice before crossing the border
and they lasted the entire period.
They provide a pamphlet of recommendations with the product. Advice which we followed:
1. Cool down the ice chest before using it. I bought crushed ice between SF and LA and replaced it with block ice in SD.
2. All drinks were bought ice cold and added to ice box in that state.
3. The lid was opened for very brief periods of time to remove or return food. This was to allow as little warm air as possible.
4. Made sure the ice chest was never in direct sunlight.
There may have been other things. I never wrapped it in a sleeping bag because the walls in the chest are so thick that insulation is likely close to
perfect.
Virtually all the ice that did melt, I believe, was due to warm air entering during opening and closing. Once the food and drinks get cold they tend
to stay that way if done right (remove milk, pour it, and return it right after).
This may seem like a lot of hassle but having fresh produce (heirloom tomatoes) every day made it worth the effort.
Hope this information is useful.
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Whale-ista
Super Nomad
Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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Thank you ! Very helpful.
Has anyone used any trays or baskets to keep food dry, up above water/ice levels? Things like fresh produce that would be damaged by water.
I welcome other ideas to maximize cooler benefits.
| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I purchased a 75qt Yeti last fall and used it for a 14 day trip over the Christmas holidays. We purchased 3 blocks of ice before crossing the border
and they lasted the entire period.
They provide a pamphlet of recommendations with the product. Advice which we followed:
1. Cool down the ice chest before using it. I bought crushed ice between SF and LA and replaced it with block ice in SD.
2. All drinks were bought ice cold and added to ice box in that state.
3. The lid was opened for very brief periods of time to remove or return food. This was to allow as little warm air as possible.
4. Made sure the ice chest was never in direct sunlight.
There may have been other things. I never wrapped it in a sleeping bag because the walls in the chest are so thick that insulation is likely close to
perfect.
Virtually all the ice that did melt, I believe, was due to warm air entering during opening and closing. Once the food and drinks get cold they tend
to stay that way if done right (remove milk, pour it, and return it right after).
This may seem like a lot of hassle but having fresh produce (heirloom tomatoes) every day made it worth the effort.
Hope this information is useful. |
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
Member Is Offline
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keep in mind two small coolers (one for food that rarely gets open)and another just for drinks are more manageable.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
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Yes. The Yeti comes with a tray that suspends the food above the ice. But I found it to be insufficiently small. Everything that was not in the tray
was placed in ziplock bags next to the ice. I just didn't want one food item to contaminate another. The produce went in the tray and the milk, meats,
chicken, and eggs were below.
The ice cooler should be pretty stable in the car. You don't want the ice blocks sliding from end to end on washboard roads, crushing the contents of
those bags.
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aguachico
Senior Nomad
Posts: 602
Registered: 3-23-2007
Location: tijuana
Member Is Offline
Mood: logic cannot get thru to the illogical
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A 120qt cooler holds about 1/2 bar of crystalina. It also provides usable water is it melts.
I don't store anything inside the cooler with my main ice source, except maybe a few vac sealed packs of meat.
I own two polar bear cooler bags and keep food in one, drinks in another and hack hunks of the block off as I need them.
I'm testing an 80 quart 12volt edgestar this weekend. trying to keep food dry while stored in ice is a losing battle. At $600 the fridge has a ton of
advantages over ice, but there are some downfalls also.
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john68
Nomad
Posts: 204
Registered: 7-9-2006
Member Is Offline
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This review might help--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-TE4RnqT0U
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