[carolinarider10]

I have a Hannigan trailer and with a small RTIC cooler inside. I have been using ice to keep items cool/cold. It works but in warm weather I usually have to drain water and add ice to the cooler each day. I was wondering if anyone has used dry ice in coolers on the road and what your experience has been.

Do items freeze (water, sodas, etc)?

Have you found dry ice easy to find on the road?

Any other tips or hints on using dry ice or some other method for long term cooling?

 

[ROUGH RIDER]

Dry ice will freeze everything in a cooler. I have used dry ice to keep ice cream frozen on remote canoe camping trips for 5 days in 95+ weather.

 

[paid4c4]

Following thread.
Bill

 

[Kenichi]

If it absolutely has to be frozen use dry ice!

 

[carolinarider10]

Nothing in the cooler needs to be frozen. We keep drinks in there and some other items we wish to keep cool.

I have considered getting some of those "ice packs" and then putting them in the motel rooms's refrigerator at night and then back in the cooler in the morning. The idea would be that not using ice would eliminate the water from the ice melt. Not that the water causes a problem its just something that you have to contend with in the morning.

But, most of the time the refrigerators in the motel room don't really have a "freezer" section that works. Another option would be to ask the Desk Clerk to use the "kitchen" freezer but that means you have to have them do something that is not the norm. I think most would when you can't, you are back to ice.

Regarding ice packs, I have not researched them but there should be differences between the various types and chemicals used in the ice packs which would affect how much energy they can store.

When I asked about dry ice, I frankly forgot to consider it would freeze everything in the cooler. I thought it might get cooler not freezing cold (sort of a pun I know). So, if using dry ice would result in all contents in the cooler being frozen then it would not be acceptable for my purposes.

 

[Steve F]

You actually CAN use dry ice and still not freeze everything, but you have to be careful how much you put in the cooler. Anything in direct contact will freeze too, so keep the amount small, and away from the food and drinks. I once saw a cooler that a friend had and he made a rack for the top of the cooler where he places the dry ice pieces on and it was a fiberglass screen so the pieces stayed on the upper rack. If you don't use too much, you'll be fine. Maybe keep your dry ice supply chunks and blocks in another cooler with a tight-fitting but not AIR tight lid (could explode).

 

[carolinarider10]

Steve F.

That is good information/suggestions. I could probably get a very small cooler to keep some dry ice in as a "supply". The only issue with the screen is just that i have to add something more to the cooler but its an idea I can work on.

I think the thing to do is to experiment and see what happens when and how. A trial run sort of.

 

[Zee Fifty]

I’ve used dry ice for extended camping trips to keep frozen meat frozen and to save weight and space. Wrap the dry ice in a towel to keep it from coming in contact with stuff and for handling. Dry ice obviously out gasses so coolers and containers need to be vented. It really work pretty good.

It can be purchased in most grocery stores.


Main benefits are:

No water to contaminate and ruin food.
Weight.
Space.

 

[carolinarider10]

I keep forgetting about the need to allow the cooler to vent. My RTIC cooler has a very tight seal on the lid so the only way to vent it would be to open one or both of the drain valves at the bottom of the cooler. Which would be ok if using dry ice only since there should be little condensation.

But it is something I have just now figured out was an issue (even though it was mentioned several time).

 

[Wingerpeg]

I would suggest a block of ice which will last a few days as opposed to a bag of cubed ice that lasts a few hours. I use dry ice to transport frozen products in a cooler and sealed air tight.

 

[FireEater]

Am guessing supply of it is limited. I just goggled it for my area and found 3 listed. Not too close, but yet not too far if I really wanted some.

When ever I am traveling in a new town and looking for something, Goggle is my friend....or the front desk clerk...sometimes.

 

[Zee Fifty]

Found this on google...

https://dryiceinfo.com/camping.htm

 

[carolinarider10]

Found this on google...

https://dryiceinfo.com/camping.htm

Thanks. I had not done a search just because I wanted personal experiences but from what I have heard here and read on your link, I don't think dry ice is an option for my needs.

"Plan on using 10 to 20 pounds of dry ice for every 24-hour period depending upon the size of the ice chest. Dry Ice will keep everything frozen in this ice chest, including extra ice, so keep non-frozen goods to be refrigerated with regular ice in a separate ice chest"

Key words are "frozen" (as others have noted) and 24 hours which is what my cooler will support with regular ice.

With regular ice my experience has been I cool the cooler down before leaving home, fill it with my items to keep cool, ice from the freezer, and then, at the motel each morning, drain the cooler and put in a couple of buckets of ice. I have not talked with people at the motel about doing this and I do know that some really take advantage of their ice filling "big" coolers with ice. Since I am only using a couple of buckets, I don't feel too bad. But.....

I am also looking (just because I have the time) at those packaged ice things. So far I am not impressed by their durability but... its worth thinking about if only to rule it out.

 

[carolinarider10]

When ever I am traveling in a new town and looking for something, Goggle is my friend....or the front desk clerk...sometimes.

I agree. I find the front desk clerks are generally very helpful. We were recently in Salem MO at the Crosswood Inn and asked the front desk clerk about a place for dinner. She looked at the calendar and said "its Friday" and directed us to a small place about two miles away, Annie's Grill, that had some great BBQ.

As for Goggle, I use https://duckduckgo.com they don't track you like Google (or that is what I have read and been told).

 

[pwhoever]

I will just leave this here...



https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/03/is-it-better-to-drain-the-cooler-or-not/

 

[pwhoever]

And one more that discourages draining all of the cold water:


https://thecoolerbox.com/make-ice-last-longer-in-a-cooler/

 

[Farmguy]

We like to use ice cubes (from motel) in a zip lock.

Less mess, except if it leaks.

 

[Kenichi]

My local McDees's aka McDonald's now sells bag ice

Thanks. I had not done a search just because I wanted personal experiences but from what I have heard here and read on your link, I don't think dry ice is an option for my needs.

"Plan on using 10 to 20 pounds of dry ice for every 24-hour period depending upon the size of the ice chest. Dry Ice will keep everything frozen in this ice chest, including extra ice, so keep non-frozen goods to be refrigerated with regular ice in a separate ice chest"

Key words are "frozen" (as others have noted) and 24 hours which is what my cooler will support with regular ice.

With regular ice my experience has been I cool the cooler down before leaving home, fill it with my items to keep cool, ice from the freezer, and then, at the motel each morning, drain the cooler and put in a couple of buckets of ice. I have not talked with people at the motel about doing this and I do know that some really take advantage of their ice filling "big" coolers with ice. Since I am only using a couple of buckets, I don't feel too bad. But.....

I am also looking (just because I have the time) at those packaged ice things. So far I am not impressed by their durability but... its worth thinking about if only to rule it out.

Local area McDonalds in my neck of the woods are now selling bagged ice, maybe you can check your area. I think the price is better than most convient store but, can;t say 4 sure at the moment.

 

[SteakFarmer]

I use a 12v thermoelectric cooler. It saves on the weight of water and ice. I use the running lights (5th wire ) to power it as we go down the road. Also carry a 12v power supply so we can plug it in overnight.

 

[carolinarider10]

Local area McDonalds in my neck of the woods are now selling bagged ice, maybe you can check your area. I think the price is better than most convient store but, can;t say 4 sure at the moment.

Thanks.. I will keep that in mind. Just need five or ten pounds at the most, its a small cooler.