Keeping Your Standard Cooler Cold

Keeping your standard cooler cold for as long as possible is always a hot debate.  I've heard plenty of great solutions, so I thought I'd share some of them here as well as show you what I've done to help solve that age old question.

Personally I have 2 coolers that I take with me.  The first is a vintage Coleman cooler that I found several years ago at a garage sale.  This thing is a beast!  It's huge, measuring in at 28" x 15" x 16" tall....  

I love the red color and the top of it is a perfect place for my State sticker travel map.

The second cooler I take is my  SetPower Refrigerator/Freezer and it's been a game changer.  Sleek and efficient, it has the ability to be used as a refrigerator or a freezer.  It easily does the trick for both.  SetPower has 2 sizes and I splurged on the larger one.  You can plug it into your car for power or into a Jackery type unit if you have one of those.  

But back to the standard cooler and how to keep it cold.  Here's some pictures of my Coleman cooler and what I've done with it.  As you can see I lined it with Reflectix that I cut to size and just taped along the edges with duct tape...

I found this plastic insert at a garage sale and snapped it up!  It's just the right size for inside the cooler.

The left side of the cooler holds mostly my groceries - things like peanut butter, crackers, buns, chips, cookies, chocolate bars...  

 

I freeze quart and gallon size jugs of water and iced tea and place them inside the plastic insert.  I also throw packages of lunch meat and cheeses in the plastic bin.  The bottom of the plastic bin catches all the condensation as the ice melts.  I drink the water and tea from the jugs once it's all melted...

For me, this has worked perfectly and I usually get 5-7 days before the ice in the jugs is almost all melted.  Here's a few more tips for you....

• Open your cooler as little as possible
• Get it cold the day before you leave and then add fresh ice when you're ready to go
• Use frozen food in the bottom of your cooler
• Cover your cooler with a blanket
• Keep it out of the sun
• Line the inside of the cooler with Reflectix
• Instead of bagged ice, use blocks of ice.  I freeze gallon water jugs and water bottles and use those.  An added advantage is that you can drink the water once it eventually melts
• I've heard of people using dry ice but I've never personally done this
• Keep soda in a separate cooler to minimize opening and closing your food cooler

So there you have it - Happy camping!

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Camping Supply List

Below is a copy of my camping supply list.   I keep a copy on my computer and just print it out prior to each trip so I make sure I grab everything I need.   You may not need all the same items and you may have a few on your list that I don't have.  

BEFORE YOU GO:  CHECK OIL, TIRE PRESSURE, AND

FILL WINDSHIELD WASHER TANK ON YOUR VEHICLE. 

ALL container for water station 

Aluminum water bottles for back pack

Aluminum foil   (with camp stove)

Amacool Fan (Dresser)

Aspirin, CBD Oil  and any meds (Dresser)

Baby wipes (Seat Organizer)

Baggies  both sizes  (kitchen bucket)

Beach bag for shower:  Soap, SHAMPOO, CONDITIONER, HAIR DRYER,

flip flops, Towel and wash rag 

Baseball cap

Bear spray (Trunk)

Benedryl (Beach Bag)

Black organizer for shoes, maps, magnifying glass, backpack,

itinerary and pamphlets.  Put on front seat.

Binoculars  (IN PINK BUCKET)

Blankets - red quilt and red lap blanket

Books (Seat Organizer)

Booties for over my dirty shoes

Both pairs of glasses and a spare pair of readers

Bra/sport bra (Dresser)

Bucket and toilet seat with kitty litter

Camelback jacket with fleece lining, Carhartt hat, gloves, rain jacket and pants (in ebag)

Camera, long lenses, charger, extra sd cards. (charge before I leave - IN EBAG)

Camp chair    (ROOF CARRIER)

CAR BATTERY CHARGER  (IN TRUNK)  CHARGE BEFORE I LEAVE

CBD Freeze (Dresser)

CHANGE FOR TOLLS AND LAUNDRY (Glove compartment)

Chip clips  (Kitchen bucket)

Coffee press (kitchen bucket)

Coffee cup/THERMOS (kitchen bucket)

Cook stove, propane and cooking stuff    (kitchen bucket)

Coleman Cooler for water bottles and groceries

Cot

CREDIT CARDS AND CASH

Deodorant (Beach Bag)

Duct tape  (IN PINK BUCKET)

Epi pen   (go bag)

Extension cord (long) and surge protector  (kitchen bucket)

Ezorkas Camping Lanterns  charge before I go

Fiber tablets (Dresser)

Fire extinguisher  (IN PINK BUCKET)

Fire starters/vaseline and cotton balls   (pink bucket)

Flannel shirt (Dresser)

Folding table   (KEEP IN ROOF CARRIER)

Food Seasonings/salt   (Kitchen Bucket)

Frying pans and pot (KITCHEN BUCKET)

Geocaching bag and list

GPS 

Gun with lockbox and security cord (MY PERSONAL

PREFERENCE - PLEASE NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS)

Green Windbreaker   (IN BACKPACK)

Gym shoes 

Hair brush (Beach bag)

Headlamp and spare batteries (Dresser)

Heating PAD if going to be cold-plug into Jackery

Hiking boots

Hiking pants and long sleeve shirt (Dresser)

Hiking poles (trunk)

I pad, charger and car mount

Iced tea Jugs (Coleman Cooler)

Insect repellent, poison oak lotion, tick spray  (in trunk)

Jean Jacket

Jackery, car charger cord  and solar panels (roof carrier)

Jet Boil and  spare tanks (kitchen bucket)

Jumper cables  (IN TRUNK)

Laundry bag and laundry detergent     ( ROOF CARRIER)

Lip balm (backpack)

Long lighters - 2     (Kitchen bucket)

Long underwear with fleece  (Dresser)

Makeup (Beach Bag)

Mattress topper

Medical kit (Backpack)

National Parks Book and parks pass (Dresser)

Pants (Dresser)

Paper towels - 2

Passport if going near Canada (lockbox)

Pens (Glove compartment)

Pepto Bismol (Dresser)

personal safety device - Sassy Lady Siren (On purse or backpack)

Pillow

Pink Bucket  - axe, hammer, duct tape, propane tanks, fire extinguisher

Plastic dresser - 3 drawer organizer for clothes and odds and ends

Pocket knife   (pink bucket)

Portable Tire Inflator (Trunk)

Propane tanks for camp stove    (pink bucket)

Rapid charger and cord for backpack

Seat organizer (HANG ON BACK OF DRIVERS SEAT)

SetPower Cooler   Plug in the night before so its cold

Shirts (Dresser)

Shorts (Dresser)

Sleeping bag

Small black travel purse

Socks plus warm socks for bed (Dresser)

Sweatsuit to sleep in (Dresser)

Sweatshirt (Dresser)

Tablecloth  (IN KITCHEN BUCKET)

Tarp for bottom of tent   (Roof top carrier)

Tent (Roof top carrier)

Tent cord repair kit ( in pink bucket)

Toilet paper - 3 at least

Tooth brush and toothpaste (Beach Bag)

TOWELS FOR WIPING OFF WET STUFF (E bag in trunk)

Tow Strap   (in trunk)

Trash bags  ( in toilet bucket)

Tweezers/nail files (Beach Bag)

Umbrella (Seat Organizer)

Underwear (Dresser)

Wallet  

Walmart bags (pink bucket)  take a lot of these

Washrag, scrubbie, DISH SOAP  and towel for kitchen (in kitchen bucket)

Watch AND charger

Water JUGS -  also freeze water bottles and then you can drink the water when they thaw.

Whisk broom (in trunk)

Work Gloves  (in pink bucket)

I label all my misc. chargers with a label maker and then keep all the chargers in a plastic bag.

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Chattanooga/Smoky Mountain Trip Day 1

Chattanooga/Smoky Mountain Trip     Day 1

Saturday

I was so eager to set out!!  I’ve been looking forward to and planning this trip since last fall.  The night before I left I was nervous and second guessing myself but I was at the point of no return.    

After I dropped the dogs off at the vet I stopped for gas and breakfast at McDonalds.  Properly fortified with a breakfast sandwich and my favorite Mocha Frappe, I hit the road.  I hooked up my I pad to my sound system, started my 1970's music soundtrack and within 15 minutes all my worries slipped away and I realized how excited I was!   Being on the road was so freeing and exhilarating and I kept thinking to myself how lucky I was to be doing this.   I made good time until I hit Nashville, which was bumper to bumper with traffic due to a semi-truck accident that was sprawled out across 2 lanes.   It didn't look good.   Here I am as traffic was coming to a stop...

After a 45 minute back up I made it thru the pile up and sped on my way.  I stopped in Tennessee and did 2 geocaches, one of which was near this horse statue.  I love when I see crazy stuff like this....

As I approached Chattanooga I decided to make a quick detour into Alabama..... 

I’ve never been to Alabama and it's my goal to eventually hit every state.  Although I didn’t have any time for sightseeing that day, my main goal was to grab 2 geocaches, one of them at a Trail of Tears historical marker.  That was very interesting!  

The other one was at this cute little statue.  See, I told you that you see crazy stuff geocaching....

 

I was thrilled to have visited a new state, also get credit for my geocaching state map, and add another state to my travel map.  Woo hoo!!  

After a brief delay in Chattanooga due to road construction - is there road construction everywhere???  I arrived at Holiday Travel Park where I would be spending the next 3 nights.  The Travel Park is located on a Civil War Battlefield, so that in itself was pretty cool.  They even have an historical marker there which I went and visited, and then quickly found the nearby geocache.  

Set up went quick and I liked my camp site.  It was a beautiful afternoon with temperatures in the low 80’s and a nice breeze.  Initially I was worried that it was going to be too hot in my tent, but once the sun started going down it began to cool off.  

Dinner was hot dogs and potato chips, and for dessert I had a piece of chocolate cake.  Did you notice how I improvised and used a hamburger bun for my hot dog???  LOL!

 

After much debate and hemming and hawing between a rooftop carrier or a rear mount carrier, I took the plunge and got the roof top one.  I was exceptionally pleased with my JEGS rooftop carrier.  

It was the first time I’d gotten to use it and I was thrilled with how much stuff I was able to put it in.  It took me about an hour to stop worrying that it was going to blow open on the highway and toss my belongings all over the place.  But once I settled down and stopped worrying, it was great.  I didn't even notice it was up there.  It doesn't make any noise or anything.  If you're short like me tho, reaching the roof is an issue so I had to do some searching before I found a good solution.  This car door step comes in really handy.  You just hook it on the inside of the back door and it holds up to 400 pounds.  It makes reaching my JEGS carrier a breeze.

Two more new items that I used for the first time were my SetPower freezer/refrigerator and my Jackery generator.   

I'm going to go more in depth on these in a future post but for now, let me just say - OMG – how did I ever live without these before??   No more messing around with ice cubes or ice blocks.   Hip, hip hooray!!  The SetPower is really nice.  I kept it plugged into the outlet in the rear of my car while driving and then once I reached camp I plugged it into the Jackery.  The Jackery can charge your USB items with the 2 provided USB plugs and it has 1 AC outlet and 1 dc car port.  It came in so handy for everything!

All in all my first day was a success!  I didn't get lost on the drive and I felt so self-sufficient as I set up my camp all by myself.  I was really looking forward to the rest of my trip now.

Come on back for the next post - I'll be covering downtown Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain.

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DeerFamy Tent: Link 

Coleman Camp Stove:  Link

JEGS Rooftop  Carrier: Link  

Car Door Step:  Link

SetPower Freezer/Fridge:  Link

Jackery:  Link

Video on My Favorite Camping Must-Haves!!

I have a nice collection of what I consider my "must-haves" when it comes to tent/car camping.   I thought it would be more fun to show you in a video, so here goes....  Enjoy!

In the YouTube description under the video you will find links for all the products.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.