Cooler mods: Has anyone done the foam mod?

67cj5

67cj5

Man On a Mission
Another thing to note is even a cheap fridge can work as a cooler if it losses power so they can multi task,

My little Dometic is extremely stable during it's cycles it only warms up by around 1*c or 1.8*f so it is also perfect for medical use as well and although they claim it can be set for -18*c it actually goes down to -21.1*c or -6*f and it uses very little power.
 
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ChadHahn

Adventurer
I have had a Dometic fridge for about 10 years. It's worked like a dream. When I bought it I got the insulated cover for it. It's not very thick and I don't know how much good it does but it must do some good. After that I bought I Truckfridge in a group buy on a Toyota forum. It was a good price. The Truckfridge and the Dometic looked almost identical and both worked the same. When I moved I sold the Truckfridge just because it didn't have the cover. Last year I bought a small Alpicool from Amazon. It's 16 quarts and is great for bringing frozen foods. I also took it on a three day trip and was able to pack it with sandwich makings and snacks. It also had room for a bottle of wine.

I haven't had the Alpicool long enough to know if it's going to last in the long run but wouldn't hesitate to get a Dometic or Truckfridge.
 
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ChadHahn

Adventurer
When I was in Southern Africa I looked at lots of National Luna fridges in a outdoor store. I really liked them and if I could have figured out how much it weighed in the box I might have bought one to bring home. The problem I have with buying them in the States is that the price is about twice what it costs to buy one in Africa. If the price was more competitive I'm sure they would sell more.
 
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NorthwestDriver

Active member
This went from OP worried about ruining a $20 cooler (and not having the money to replace it) to buying a $1000 portable fridge.

I was really curious to see the result of this cooler modification. I guess I know what I’ll be doing next weekend.
 
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dbhost

Well-known member
I drilled and expanding foamed a Coleman Xtreme 50qt roller as the lid was simply an air gap. It helped. But was still pitiful.

FWIW, I have a Lifetime 55QT, and some surplus reflectix. I made a slip cover for the cooler out of the Reflectix. Just used clear silicone adhesive caulk and cut it to shape with some flaps, glued the flaps.

I have yet to experience this cooler for extended periods with high temps, but have no reason to doubt it will keep food good and cold for a week straight as long as I am smart about keeping heat out of the cooler.

I kept the Coleman as a drinks and snacks cooler that is totally separate form the actual food cooler, and IF I am seriously lucky I will get 4 days ice retention, maybe... But we are in / out of this one all the time, and we dump warm cases of drinks in it which brings more heat into the cooler etc...

All in all however, if I were relying on it to keep food cold for extended periods, and I couldn't make my block ice in my own freezer at home, I would be hard pressed to not go for a 12v compressor fridge... I mean I love my Lifetime cooler, and would have no hesitation using it for say a trip cross country, do do some exploring mountain roads / trails in say Oregon for a week or two, coming back into town once a week to resupply, and then drive back home to TX. just manage the cooler, and try to find block ice souces. From my understanding, most Walmarts sell block ice... Since the cooler will already be pre chilled by my block ice, we should be good to go!
 
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