Do you carry an ice chest?

[Belbein]

We have a new 25 Flying Cloud, and experienced a problem with our refrigerator that got me thinking. What happened was that the fridge was cooling fine until we stopped at a specialty food store and stocked up on goodies … and then loaded up the fridge. Which effectively killed the fridge's ability to cool.

So I'm thinking that we need to take certain steps to make sure we keep the fridge operating at a reasonable temperature. First, reduce what's in the fridge, AND second cool things before they go in, AND third use a cooler to help all of the above.

Do y'all do this? Any of it? Something else?

[Daquenzer]

A number of people do. They don’t run the refrigerator while traveling and put their frozen etc in a large cooler. I personally don’t because it’s just one more thing to have to mess with. Why did your fridge not work? Did you have it on LP?

Also you should buy a circulating fan which will help keep things cool. It evens out the cool air and make the refrigerator work more efficiently. They are pretty cheap.

[OTRA15]

Yes. Especially in warm weather it is important never to put anything warm [or room temp] in the fridge. An ice chest cooler should first be used to pre-chill everything that is to go in the fridge. The available ice cubes also means you don't have to make any cubes in the freezer.

We carry one cooler in the van tow vehicle, and often carry a second cooler to store bags of ice.

Another option is to have a 12-volt cooler/freezer in the two vehicle:

[Edit -- site very slow -- will finish post later]

[malinois38]

All of our drinks go into a 65qt YETI that sits in the hall way above the axles. When we set up camp, it goes outside or into the back of the truck.
Works well for the 4 of us. Always did it this way.

[GOUSC]

I carry a cooler for a few reasons. I carry a 45 at cooler to carry ice for drinks and larger items the refrigerator can't hold. I carry a small softside cooler for times we need a portable cooler (tailgating \ picnicking \ beach outings \ etc).

One trip our refrigerator went out and we had no alternative but to put a block of ice in the refrigerator. I have always carried a cooler since then. It ensures my refrigerator won't break on me!

[StuartsDad]

Before a trip, I turn on my frig on electric about 36 hours before departure. I put a couple of Blue Ice frozen packs in both the freezer and frig when I turn it on to assist with cool down. By morning, temps are good. I load with items from house frig & freezer so only a few degrees warm up from opening door several times. Next morning, unplug and switch to propane, hit the road. I have one of those little battery operated RV refrigerator fans I run whenever unit is on. Not sure if it helps, but a friend gave it to me, so I use it. If we restock on the road, most items already cold.

I had one instance where frig went out during travel. Assume wind blew out pilot. Things warmed up a bit, but I step inside AS every time we stop (2-3 hrs). Reset and restarted with no problems.
Most trips I put our Yeti Roadie in the back of the truck, but that is because I like my beer ice, ice cold. Not wasting that space on food. Priorities.

[waninae39]

we love our YETI products

a 20L, a small soft side and two YETI mugs

it is worth their cost

[AgBullet]

We carry a 45qt YETI for use in the truck, but also as a spare in case the fridge becomes inop...same rationale as stated above.

[GMFL]

I have a Yeti 35 we carry every where. Also have a Yeti 65 that makes bigger trips.

[Caffeinated]

On several trips we have noticed the slider temp control on the fins in the top of the fridge has been bumped or something and slid down leading to too warm of a fridge. So I check that first.

Mike

[StreamNTyme]

We have an electric cooler that stays in the truck. We plug it in as needed, fabulous for getting groceries just to get home w/o things getting warm, especially ice cream.

[Tin Diesel]

Sometimes we leave our Airstream and TV in storage in Colorado, and fly back in weeks later to pick it up. We stock up on groceries but don't have time to pre-cool the fridge. We have found that a pound or two of dry ice does a good job of jump-starting the cooling. Just don't get anything frozen like ice cream.

[21Airstream]

We’ve got one of those stainless steel coolers, purchased from Costco a few years ago. It matches our AS perfectly.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, we have three vehicles and we keep an ice chest in all of them. All of the time. Mostly used for shopping to keep cold things cold until we get back home. This also applies to shopping with our tow vehicle while our trailer is in a campground.

In 15 years, my refrigerator acted up once. We put as much frozen items in the ice chest that would fit and I used large plastic container for the rest with ice from the nearest source.

At home we sometimes shop at a specialty market up to 50 miles from our home. Cold and frozen items go into the ice chest. This is necessary in warm weather.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Belbein

So I'm thinking that we need to take certain steps to make sure we keep the fridge operating at a reasonable temperature. First, reduce what's in the fridge, AND second cool things before they go in, AND third use a cooler to help all of the above.

Do y'all do this? Any of it? Something else?

Hi, we precool items in our house refrigerator before putting them in our trailer. I also turn on my trailer refrigerator at least one day before loading it for a trip.

[lsbrodsky]

Wow! I had no idea so many people carried ice chests! Just one more piece of junk to haul around, IMHO. Although we have an electric cooler from many years ago, it sits in the attic. We have a soft insulated bag, sold as a soft cooler, for grocery store trips, to keep cold things cold until they get put into the refrigerator. Works well. I have a countertop ice machine for my wife because she uses a lot of ice, more than the freezer can make. Finally, yes we precool the refrigerator 36-48 hours in advance of a trip. With all of that, I have never needed to carry an ice chest.
Larry

[A W Warn]

I used to carry a large ice chest when children went along. They were continuously needing drinks and snacks, so the fridge door was opened a lot if I didn't.

Now that it's just two of us we carry a small 6pack cooler in the truck for drinks while towing or if we are day tripping away from the trailer.

No large cooler for us. We don't need it.

[21Airstream]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

Wow! I had no idea so many people carried ice chests! Just one more piece of junk to haul around, IMHO...

Maybe so, but we have plenty of room in our truck. As others have said, it comes in handy when hauling groceries back to the trailer when we’re on the road.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Two insulated soft bags carried in the TV.👍

Bob
🇺🇸

[urnmor]

Not any more. I have a yeti cooler that works great but found I did not need it as the refrigerator is more the sufficient. However, I do carry the Yetti soft bag which works great. We use it when we take day trips or grocery shop on the road.