Cooler or Refrigerator? Want to eat healthy on the road.

Hello there. so i'm finding that eat out while otr is getting expensive and isn't ever healthy. wanting to bring good food from home i've been considering either an electronic type cooler or a small fridge made for the cascadia. the coolers are for the most part resonably priced and the refrigerators are a bit cheaper online than they are from the dealer but $500 is just a lot of cash to be throwing out there right now. i've heard good and bad about the 12 volt coolers but I really don't know what to believe. I mean I take pretty good care of my stuff so if keeping the cooling unit clean is all it takes then I should be in good shape just spening $80 to $150 on a cooler. i figure if it lasts 6 months im okay with that. if it lasts 4 years well that would be a super bonus.

so i'm asking your thoughts. should i go with an electric cooler or just pull the trigger on the cascadia refrigerator? I realize the fridge will get colder it's thermostat controlled so it wont have to run continously but the cost ... on the other hand though if i'm going to buy three coolers per year it would almost be worth it to just go with the frige and I could probably talk my wife into letting me buy one sooner rather than later.

thoughts??

Thanks ... Sam

 

I've heard the same thing about cords melting but I figured thats just the luck of the draw. they probably had a bad unit... so maybe not. i'll have to keep an eye on that. now I have done a bit of looking into this and calling around. I did find out that filling the 12 volt cooler with pre chilled food and drinks is the best way to go. well I don't keep warm meat, cheese, may or sausage and peppers anyways so thats not gonna be a problem. I've also heard that if I keep the cab cool then the cooler will perform better. so I do thank you sir.

 

I've been eyeballin them up. the same site I'm gonna get the cooler from has all that stuff for cooking too. I'm not sure how much power I can use at one time from the outlet but we'll soon find out. the only problem i see with "cooking" in the cab is making my blankets and clothes smell of cooked food. I always hated that when camping. maybe leave the windows or doors open and hope for the best.

edit** I just found my wife has some of those crockpot liner bags in the cubbard

 

I had also considered a small house type refrigerator an a power inverter, but after the cost of the inverter, the wiring and then the fridge I might as well buy the 12 volt fridge made for the cascadia. I do like the idea though of a full size fridge in place of the passenger seat. that's a pretty neat idea. I haven't had brussel sprouts in a year or so. I love them steamed with butter, salt and pepper.

Thinking for the time being I'll go with the koolatron electric cooler and make sure to not block the air vents.

Thanks a bunch for all of your inputs here.