Reddit mentions of Coleman Cooler| 40-Quart Portable Cooler | Iceless Electric Cooler with cooling technology up to 40°F for Picnics, BBQs, camping, tailgates and Outdoors

As a truck driver I can give you a few tips

1. Coleman 40 Quart PowerChill Thermoelectric Cooler,Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0083F8YZC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_5YHkyb1WMQ8RA
   
   This works good and is fairly reliable. I ran one 24/7 for about 8 months before it had issues.
   
   They aren't super cold but it'll keep everything cool.
   
   
2. RoadPro 12-Volt Portable Stove, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00030DLEE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_W0HkybHNCY1DM
   
   This will take around 4-5 hours to cook a piece of meat. Wrap it in aluminum foil about 4 layers and you'll be fine.
   
   
3. a sleeping bag
   
   Even if it's not to cold they come in super handy.
   
   Layers are your friend in the cold. Get something like a thick wool blanket to go on your outermost layer. Find a thick poofy blanket to use as a middle layer. You want as much warm air to be trapped as you possibly can.
   
   
4. plan bathroom breaks every 2-3 hours. Even if you don't need to. It's good to move around.
   
   
5. instead of sleeping at rest areas or similar. Look at stopping at wal marts, police stations or fire departments.
   
   
6. instead of just an air mattress go to a carpet store and get a piece that will fill the back of your truck. It'll make sure you don't have a sharp beastie that ruins your fun.
   
   

We moved to a travel trailer this season with a dorm-sized fridge on the outside we use for drinks. The past few years we were in a pop-up and used one of these to supplement the fridge.
Coleman 40 Quart PowerChill Thermoelectric Cooler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0083F8YZC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_8JClzbAD7AP6S
The advantage is you can plug it into the car during travel.

How about those 12-volt (lighter-jack) powered coolers from Blowes or Home Cheapo? Do they have any real application for sick operators like us, or are they mostly a novelty? For example this one.

I was thinking of getting Coleman 40 Quart PowerChill Thermoelectric Cooler with a dc timer since it doesn’t have a thermostat, but it says it cools.

And no inverter for solar: Renogy Solar Kit Bundle 200W

Batteries will be an additional $200 but OP could get a cheaper solar and keep the cost around $500 maybe

I have this one. it has been on a few trip with us where it has been plugged in for almost two weeks straight. It kept things frozen in the top and cold in the bottom the entire time. I feel as if it has already paid for itself, and if it breaks I will not hesitate to buy another.

Great idea with the fan. I used a battery powered one before, but it’s so weak and you have to constantly get new batteries.. see if you can find a portable “usb powered” one or something like that—assuming your car has a always on port where it could keep it on even if the car is turned off. Otherwise you can hook it up to a good battery pack of some sort.


I had a battery pack that was SUPER handy. It was one of those “car jumper” batteries—which you should own anyway so you can jump your own car and not get stranded somewhere. Anyway we would charge it every time we were over at a park with electrical hookup, and it would last us at least two or three days of charging small electronic devices (such as laptops, cameras, etc) when needed. I def recommend you get one if you don’t already have it.


We also had a mini cooler/fridge that hooks up to the cigarette lighter. Saved us some money from eating out all the time.

Why don't you want a chill chest? Active cool boxes work great and aren't much bigger than the fermenter. Drill a hole in the side to thread in a temp probe and power cable for a 15watt reptile heat Matt. Add your preferred temperature controller you've got reliable temperature control down to 40f below ambient

Eg http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Quart-PowerChill-Thermoelectric-Cooler/dp/B0083F8YZC

Just make sure you avoid anything with a compressor, they take up too much room at this size.

If you have an inverter in the truck, you can find a lightly used mini fridge for under $100 on craigslist.

If not, my dad has a cooler with a basic heat exchanger and a computer fan on it. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and uses barely any power. A bag of ice will last him days but the heat exchanger gets frost buildup so you have to clean it off every 24 hours or else the fan blades start hitting it.

EDIT: This is what he has. You can even set it on the side and it will open like a normal fridge but you can't have ice like that or it will spill out. http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Quart-PowerChill-Thermoelectric-Cooler/dp/B0083F8YZC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463780138&sr=8-2&keywords=12v+cooler