Refrigerator or iceless cooler

I also had a Coleman and like everybody else the plug melted, I finally broke down and spent 500 bucks on a Truckfride and it's well worth the money, has a compressor like a Fridge but runs on ac when at home or on dc when in the truck, will not wear the batteries down and it has digital control for the temp, but it's also somewhat heavy because of the compressor, also it's well built. Had a Refrigerator once a Kenmore and the compressor rattled around to much which I guess is not good......

 

I guess I'm old school, but, after frying several plugs and a couple of fans on coolers, I have switched back to using a good old fashioned ice chest. Yes, I have to put a bag of ice in about every three days or so (I just buy a bag when I get fuel, so no hassle), but I never let it run out and I never have to worry about my food being ruined by getting too warm (like some coolers will do on hot days, or when they just quit without warning).

Also, I keep my ice chest in the floor and can slide it over to me and get a cold water bottle out without ever taking my eyes off the road or even having to lean over. And the water is ALWAYS cold.

 

I have a coleman that I bought several years ago...I must have the blacksheep model. No issues...knock on wood.

The company I am starting for on Monday has fridges in all of their trucks so I won't need that any more anyway.

But as stated before, if you have the inverter and can get a fridge with freezer, go that route.

 

I started my career in trucking with Koolatron coolers but once you experience a fridge, it's all over IMHO. I've bought a fridge that's made for trucks and they're ok but it went down and I've just had it repaired. Usually they're 12 v DC power

In the meantime I went crazy and bought a 4.5cuft fridge only no freezer and I could just about set it on the top bunk. Bought it from Costco and what I'm finding is that fridges nowadays need very little power. It barely registers on my 1500 watt inverter. I can shut the engine down, no problem of running the batteries down
i also have a separate freezer 2 cu ft which I plugin as its 12V DC but works just like a domestic freezer

A cooler can't match a fridge for temp control and a fridge can cool down very quickly. But it's all about preferences

 

One time I was re-using a ziplock bag for about the fourth time, and a little water got inside and ruined the cheese. I have since stopped using the same ziplock bag over and over, and have had no more problems.

Also, keeping the water drained will help a lot.

 

I just cut the plug off of mine because it melted. Bought a new plug for it. Better quality than the Chinese pos plug that was on it.

 

Mine has worked so far. Guess I'll do the same when it melts...

 

The one way to beat the melting plug issue on a coleman (if you stay in thd same truck all the time and don't slip-seat)...trace the cooler's wires down and mark the so you know which is +/- then cut the plug off and buy some flat connectors and put them on the end of the wire. Then unplug the plastic connector off the back of the outlet and plug the flat connectors of your cooler wires into the plastic connector and tape them in. (The plug is shaped like a 'T', ground is the top part of the 'T' and the power is the vertical part). Sounds like a lot of work but it takes like 5 minutes and you never have melted plug issues again. Have had the same Coleman for 3 or 4 years...the new style "cpu" type fans die, but replacing them is cheap and easy(my 2 middle names)

I am now in a newer truck with a factory invertor...I bought a 2.3 cf fridge which is where I keep my food, but I still cool down my drinks in the fridge, then toss them in the cooler for easier access.

Since the OP is only out a short time, not for weeks or months at a time, not sure a regular fridge would be necessary.