Koolatron 12v coolers

[jack maloney]

How well do the Koolatron 12v coolers work? Seems like a possible upgrade from an ice chest. Anyone have experience with them?

[Benny K]

I have one but only used it a few times......It`s a model P-75...capacity is 57 cans of pop or so it says on the box.......on a trip to the West coast with our van I put a frozen 2 liter bottle of water in it along with some stuff that we were taking west and used it on 12 V while driving,(no 110 v adaptor), but no power while moteling.....some ice was still there after 4 days....as a cooler it works well as long as it`s powered up..... I`ve never used it to keep stuff warm......apparently their weak point is their plastic hinges and latches but so far no problem......maybe if they`re abused.....Benny

[Dan Quinn]

these came highly recomended to me from the owner of northstar campers waeco coolers/fridges /freezers

[Tom Trostel]

We have a Coleman Powerchill 40 and an Igloo Kool Mate 18. Both are thermoelectric coolers and warmers. Since our trailer has a 120V AC dorm frig, we pack the large Coleman with all our cold food and drinks and put it in the tow vehicle plugged into 12V DC. When we arrive at the camp site we transfer everything into the trailer frig. The Coleman came with an AC/DC converter and we sometimes plug into shore power and use it as an extra frig beside the trailer. It does a good job cooling unless it's left in direct sunlight during the Texas summer. The small Igloo is used for car trips and will hold eleven 12oz cans. It will run off the the same AC/DC converter. We've also used both as warmers for potluck meals and catering. We're very happy with both. Tom Trostel

[Roy Massen]

Since I have gone solar I went with the new Tundra 12 volt fridge that is only pulling 3.5 amps when running (I figure about 1/2 time it is resting if I don't open the door a lot fo about 36 amps a day). Generate about 38 amps in the pannels.

It makes good ice in the freezer compartment, and with a little modification it fit whre the old one did.

Roy

Have to say that Tundra has Great customer service too. The first unit i got was pulling more current that they were rated at so the sent me a new unit that worked perfectly at their cost!

[Gina D.]

I had the larger Coleman roadtrip fridge for my pop ups. They work reasonably well. They DO draw a ton, so I wouldn't recomend using them solo without a hefty charging source. Most have AC adaptors and I used mine when in RV parks and they seemed to work great.

Yes, leaving in sunlight hurts quite a bit, and when the ambient temp outside is over 90, they keep things drinkable, but I would not store perishables in it.

I have a small console one in the car and it works wonderful. Holds a six pack and a couple sammiches for the road. It pretty much always has soda (POP!) in it for my commutes, so it is always running when the car is running. Has held up well.

I forgot the brand tho.. wal mart special.

[Frederick L. Simson]

When I rebuilt my Compact Junior from a gutted shell, I used the Igloo brand cooler that is much like the Koolatron. We had purchased it some time earlier for use in the car and tent on cross country trips. Robert used to take medicine that had to be refrigerated, and this seemed to be something within price and simplicity parameters.

Upside was we didn't have to keep ice, and deal with melted icewater.

Downside was no thermostatic control. In the New Mexico/Texas/Oklahoma heat it was barely cool. In cooler weather (northwest Arizona mountains) it was capable of freezing the contents.

[Gina D.]

Here is a spendier alternative, but not as much as a built in 3 way:

RC 3000 ~ 380 bucks

I am not sure if that is Canadian or US.. seems its a Canadian company based on how they spell moulded.

Is "mould" and "fridge" good to use together in a sentence????

[Steve L.]

I don't like the current draw when boondocking. They DO run all the time. Will easily drain a 100 amp hour group 27 battery to 50% (battery manf. best practice for deep cycle batteries) in a day.

[Norm Roy]

Here is a spendier alternative, but not as much as a built in 3 way:

RC 3000 ~ 380 bucks

I am not sure if that is Canadian or US.. seems its a Canadian company based on how they spell moulded.

Is "mould" and "fridge" good to use together in a sentence????

A reverse check on their phone number gives me a Los Altos, CA address.