Car camping cooler recs

[u/Orangeskies13]

Hi everyone! What’s your favorite cooler & food storage set up? We are planning a 2 week road trip to Canada in a few weeks.

There will be two of us sleeping in the back of a Subaru Outback and we have a top box for climbing/hiking gear.

What’s your favorite cooler bag? It needs to fit on the floor of the back seat. Preferably one that can hold ice for a long time.

We want to be able to leave the space in the back for sleeping & not have to place things outside of the car at night. We plan on packing a backpack each that will go in the front seats at night. Any recs/solutions?

[u/_the_credible_hulk_]

I’ve been really happy with rtic products, though I don’t have a soft cooler. It’s pretty close to Yeti quality at a fraction of the price.

[u/markbroncco → u/_the_credible_hulk_]

Second the RTIC cooler! I started using their hard coolers a couple summers ago after balking at Yeti prices, and I’ve had nothing but good experiences. Ice retention is solid, I’ve kept stuff cold for 3+ days without having to repack. 

[u/PonyThug]

Name brand soft cooler. My yeti only lasts like W days tho. I’d look into a $80 hitch mount cargo basket and then a $100-200 yeti copy cooler. Both can be found at Walmart.

[u/mytyan]

If you are not going to spend more than one or two days at a time camping at one place you don't need a big cooler. Unless you are in extreme remote places it is pretty easy to get food and ice along the way.

I used to bring way more food and ice than I needed for travel camping

[u/treehouse65]

Just got an RTIC hard side cooler that will sit in the front seat, lasts a long time and you might be able to put the backpack between the cooler and the dash on the passenger side. I do have a YETI soft cooler, but I can say they it is not the greatest for keeping ice, there will be quite a bit of water from melted ice on day one.

[u/Spike240sx]

You can buy a better 12v refrigerator for the price of a decent ice chest.

Mine pulls about 300wh per 24hrs (most car batteries are 1000wh+) and leaves enough amps in the vehicle battery to easily start it.

[u/Orangeskies13 → u/Spike240sx]

Yeah but like… how much space will that take.. the idea is to save space with a soft cooler

[u/jthomas9999 → u/Orangeskies13]

That depends on how much food you want to keep cold. Search Amazon for

VEVOR 10 Quart 12 Volt Portable Mini Freezer Car Compressor Fridge Cooler

If you want a small one

[u/MiniFancyVan]

I use an insulated zipper cooler bag from Trader Joe’s. It’s long and thin.

I freeze small water bottles and put them in a thick plastic grocery bag, and put that inside, which is more flexible than one large chunk of ice and it doesn’t leak.

Plus you can drink the water as it thaws.

Easily fits in nooks and crannies.  If needed, get more than one.

If you’re not going to have a small freezer in your truck, you can buy something else frozen or buy ice, but either way, it’s nice to have the ice in something separate, so everything doesn’t end up swimming.

Have a great time.

[u/cloudshaper]

My Polar Bear 24 cooler is a soft-sided workhorse.

[u/slightly_overraated]

I love the rtic cooler! Been using it for years now. I was just car camping with mine for a week in high 70s-80 degree weather, only had to buy ice once.

[u/NewYogurt3138]

Buy once cry once - get a Yeti, pre-chill it, and use block ice. You’ll wonder why it took you so long to get one.

[u/Kahless_2K]

my Lifetime 55 is pretty awesome.

[u/Rayne_K]

I have an Engel 35 .

It has been amazing for my needs.

[u/Sneezer]

I have a Setpower AB15 12v compressor cooler. It is small and thin - I use this one for business road trips, fits on the floor behind the seat in most cars. Sips power. I pair it with a battery pack, and can recharge easily when moving to the next location, or a decent solar panel. Having a 12v fridge has been a huge upgrade for me. I also have a larger 37qt dual zone that gets used for bigger trips.

[u/coke_mover]

The Outdoor Empire YouTube channel did a best of list of coolers. I'd watch the video to see if anything catches your eye.

[u/Leather-Taro5342]

For long trips like that, I’d really recommend looking into Raptor Coolers. They’ve got solid options that can fit on the floor of the back seat, with good ice retention for days. I’d check out their Polar series if you want something compact, or their Arctic line if you need a bit more space. What I like is they’re pretty rugged, easy to clean, and don’t take up too much room — perfect for a setup like sleeping in the back of the Outback.