I learned a tip from Randy Newberg. When doing your pre-chill at home use old milk jugs or soda bottles cleaned out and filled with water as your block ice. It’s reusable, has a lot of mass, if you used gallon water jugs it’s drinking water as well.

RIver outfitters often use reflectix as an inner cover over the top of food and ice inside the cooler so it is the first thing you see upon opening. This holds the cold air in when opening the cooler and also can be used as a sunshade when opening during the day. Never let the sun shine inside your cooler. Also, wet burlap over the outside of the cooler will assist in evaporative cooling and works wonders. And covering the cooler during the day with sleeping mats will help to insulate it. And then there is the idea of freezing bottles of water and using those as your ice. I use gallon and 1/2 gallon bottles for this and they melt slowly and keep the cooler dry.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Wow, great comment here. Thank you so much for sharing this.

@brianmccarty3615

9 ай бұрын

OOh good idea -- use your sleeping bags during the day to cover the cooler

@cherbear1996

9 ай бұрын

I have a cheap cooler, covered with reflectix and blankets..tried the reflectix inside as well it makes no diff..if it's 75⁰ or higher my ice doesn't last more than 24 hours..I keep my food in a bin and dbl wrapped in silicone bags so it doesn't get soaked..I keep my cold water til I get new ice..20 bucks+ a week is nutz..for frozen water🤬🤬🤬 keep drinks in a cooler bag but it's even worse...

@georgeelder8415

9 ай бұрын

Yes! The half gallon juice containers, frozen is my go to along with the blue Ice packs.

@SB4E.2

9 ай бұрын

Yes! This. No more ice for me. Gallon jugs frozen. As they melt you get cold water too.

ProTip: Instead of a towel as a barrier between ice and food, cut an old yoga mat and use that instead. It doesn't absorb as much water, it provides better insulation, and it's easier in general to move around. Can also place another yoga mat on top of the food for extra insulation.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Great suggestion here. Thank you.

My number one tip is salt. While having some air as insulation for veggies to prevent freezing is preferred; meats, drinks and frozen foods will benefit more from a really cold brine. Liquid water can fill in all of the gaps and takes up less space than frozen water. At the same time, a brine solution is much denser and resists changes in temperature even better than fresh water. Finally, a brine can reach temperatures much lower than fresh water as well, allowing you to keep frozen foods frozen much longer. Personally, I also add a bit of distilled vinegar to the mix as well. The acidity along with the salt helps fight the growth of bacteria and slime mold. While this isn't a problem if you clean your cooler and let it dry out completely for a week or so between use, I have a cooler that is used nearly 24/7. Every day I add 1T vinegar, 2T salt and about a pint of fresh ice and once a week I siphon off about a gallon of brine and use it as weed control around my firewood stacks, deck and firepit.

@SewingBoxDesigns

8 ай бұрын

Good idea! 😃

@madlinestikes4747

2 ай бұрын

This was so so helpful thank you. After hours of researching different videos, you’re one video answered so many of my questions for me!

@kitefan1

Ай бұрын

Ahh, memories of hand crank ice cream freezer

Couple of things. Those freezer packs are good for maybe 1 day but you can't refreeze them if your out in the woods. If you have a cheap cooler, one way to further insulate them is to drill 1/4 inch holes in the top of the lid and squirt in foam insulation because the lids aren't usually insulated.

40 years ago, in our river running days in the hot American Southwest, we could do a 7 day river trip and arrive at takeout the last day with a bit of ice left! We did everything you talked about plus a few more. Precooled cooler with crushed ice. Precooled all food. Our own ice blocks in 2 Tupperware containers. No loose ice. Frozen food as much as possible. Precooked some food. Only opened cooler twice for lunch: food out, food in. Visualized food we were getting out before opening cooler. Always kept cooler out of sun except when on river. For breakfast and dinner kept cooler opening to a minimum. Only one person accessed cooler; the cooler captain! Wrapped cooler w/2 insulate pads, then covered w/space blanket & bungee cord. Reusable ice pouches on top. I liked your tip of wet towel.

The most important thing I've learned; heat rises, cold sinks down. Dont set your cooler on a hot surface, like concrete or asphalt. The heat goes up into the bottom of the cooler. I bring a 1 1/2 inch thick piece of rigid foam insulation, foil faced, to set the cooler on. Doesnt take much room and really extends ice melt time.

Just returned from a 2 week trip where we violated all these rules. Soggy food. Lots of ice runs. Now we know. Thank you!

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

You are most welcome Michael. I think I can speak for others by saying most of us have been there.

@rabbi6225

9 ай бұрын

“Ice runs” conjured up images of eskimos after eating Taco Bell.

@annwhale4418

9 ай бұрын

@@rabbi6225😂

@lorireed8046

3 ай бұрын

We used dry ice .

If you have access to a chest type deep freezer (maybe in your basement or garage - perhaps even over at you parents or in-laws place) I suggest putting your cooler right inside the deep freeze at least overnight before you leave on your trip. If the deep freezer is a bit too full, take the frozen foods out and place them directly into your cooler, then place that now full cooler back into your deep freeze. This also saves on what might otherwise have been wasted ice.

The best thing we did was to precook and freeze most of our meals. My dad always froze gallon milk jugs and used them as his block ice. He was a master ice chest packer!

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Great suggestion on pre-cooking and freezing meals. Somebody taught us that early in our journey, and we attribute that moment to being one of the major game changers in our camping experience. It just gets you off on the right foot, saves a bunch of space in your cooler, adds extra insulation. And at the time we found our camp meals were better with it. Today we’ve kind of changed our style a bit and do a lot more home style cooking out at camp. But even with our big camp meals, we still do some pre-cooking. We had another person mention the gallon milk jugs earlier. And they said the gallon milk jugs actually pack better than block ice. Essentially the shape of it fits better in the freezer with the items. I have always been an awful chest packer. I strive to be like your father. One day, one day. I must admit though I’m way better than I was five years ago.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

By the way, I’m starting to notice a trend on the channel. It looks like we have a lot of nurses in the community. Makes me think nurses as a group are some adventurous people. Everybody always thinks I learned my outdoor skills from my father. However, most of them came from my mother, who is a nurse and then the rest was filled in by my grandpa and grandma. You kind of struck a chord with the comment about your father. I love how camping brings up those nostalgic feelings. I’m always brought back to those moments with my grandpa and grandma with their Stanley cooking equipment and their little well organized picnic baskets.

@SewingBoxDesigns

8 ай бұрын

My dad froze his cleaned trout in milk cartons and they doubled as ice and dinner. We had the old wooden, sawdust and tin lined Coleman cooler. Ice lasted days in that thing.

One more tip: if you make the ice yourself, add salt to the water. This way, the resulting mix will freeze at lower temperatures than water alone. Hence: a) the temperature inside the cooler will be lower, and b) the ice made that way will stay frozen for a longer period.

@LisaKnobel

9 ай бұрын

I was wondering about that if it would help make the water colder too. Like when you added rock salt to the ice around an ice cream maker in the good old days.

@lexpox329

9 ай бұрын

I am very skeptical of this tip. Salt just lowers the freezing point. It doesn't cause the ice to reach cooler temps. Also the salt will cause the ice to melt at that same lower temp. So I don't think this tip is correct about either point.

@pedroagonzalezfoto

9 ай бұрын

@@lexpox329 Hmmmm, if the water freezes at a lower temperature, then the resulting ice is also at a lower temperature. Otherwise it would be melting

@davidpeiffer8989

8 ай бұрын

Thermal dynamics101,if your wanting a cooler use ice,the water will be 32° f till the ice melts then temp rises,if you use thermal bags -i.e. from prescription freezey bags they last longer . And if your buying ice find a dry ice retailer ,1lbs lasts a long time and can keep frozen stuff frozen . refrigerator cooler ice / freezer cooler dry ice.

Living in very hot, humid Japan and having typically 4 to 5 hour drives to a campsite, I ditched my cooler-box for a dometic three-way fridge (looks like a cooler) years ago. Nevertheless, the same essential tips apply even to that fridge. I always pre-cool it on AC before packing it. Even though in the car I can use a DC connection, that only serves to maintain the achieved temperature. I also put those plastic re-useable ice blocks in and on top. At the campsite, if there is an electrical connection available, then I use the AC, otherwise I use the gas function (It uses one of those easily found gas canisters) and that does a fantastic job of not only maintaining the temperature but cooling the fridge and even ice forms too around the cooling element!

Wow. Patting myself on the back. I practice/implement all these tips/suggestions. Pre-cooling would be my #1. My Kong 70 went from 3-5 day retentention during summer camping to 5-7 days with pre-cool.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

I love hearing success stories like this. That’s a big leap in ice retention.

Hey Drew I love your Channel. I have an additional tip for you when cooling down your cooler. I use reusable gel packs that I got from a meal prep company. I freeze them very flat and I can line the inside of my cooler with a base on the bottom. I also put a small Rack in my cooler to put the real cold stuff underneath the rack cover it with another ice pack and then put my fruits and vegetables on the top of the rack. That way I can lift the whole rack out to get what is below the rack without digging

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

That is a great tip! One of the issues May and I have is getting our fruits and vegetables in the right location. A rack would really help with that

@steadysmv

9 ай бұрын

I keep the gel packs in resealable bags. Sometimes they puncture or leak and the bag keeps the gel from getting onto other items.

The wet towel is a really cool idea. I will try that. I saw another KZreadr keep wool blanket on top of his cooler to keep the cold air in. I’ve been doing that & it is true it keep the cold in. Thanks for sharing.

Half gallon OJ containers make great ice blocks. Their shape lends well to packing other items. The sun is the main killer. This can be a challenge with teardrops because how you might orient your outdoor space often puts the galley in the sun. Closing the hatch often isn’t enough to protect the cooler.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

That’s a good point about the sun and the galley. It would be fun to do some controlled temperature tests on different galley hatch insulation properties.

@CinkSVideo

9 ай бұрын

@@PlayingwithSticks oohh! That would be a good test!

@SewingBoxDesigns

8 ай бұрын

If your trailer is high enough, out the cooler under it, or if your camp is safe, put it under a tree or bushes.

I just spent 5 days in the desert. I was not camping in one single place. After loading my coolers in the back of my pickup I used my chair as a way to create an air space and used a heavy canvas tarp to cover the entire coolers and chairs. I had my ice last the entire trip. I used containers like milk jugs for my ice in my food cooler and the loose ice and block ice in my drink cooler. Really appreciate the tips for future trips.

Great ideas, and I have to admit to feeling stupid that I never thought of precooling the cooler. Going to add that to my trip prep checklists right away! As for the other tips, I can see the cold retention value of packing everything in ice and food layers, but it seems to me I'd spend extra time with the lid open having to dig down through all that to get to the thing I needed which might be on the bottom. Maybe this system is for the ultra-organized who have their menus all planned out and can pack the cooler with meals for the last day of the trip on the bottom. I am not that person. I'll have to cogitate on how I can apply some of these principles in ways that work for me. Thanks for a great video!

For weekend outings we'll bring frozen boil-in-bag meals made with a Seal-a-Meal in individual servings since it helps keep the cooler cold, and we eat them directly out of the bags (supported by a bowl) so there's no clean-up except for spoons or forks. And we use the left over hot water from boiling them for washing the spoons/forks. We'll seal favorite leftovers, like chili, or stew, or if we don't have things in stock we'll repackage frozen meals from Stouffers.

@helamorningsun3600

5 ай бұрын

That's the best way to cook eggs, imo. I'm a professional chef and always make my scrambled eggs in a sealed bag.

This was a very cool video! I got chills from all the good information being shared. I kind of feel like an ice hole for all the cooler mistakes I have been making. Looks like I need to chill out and do better in the future by following these guidelines.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

I’ve been breaking these rules for years. I’m just getting around to packing a cooler by the guidelines. Even sometimes I cheat a little.

@garretlewis4103

9 ай бұрын

😂😂😂. I like the humor.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

After Garrett responded, I had to count how many puns there were. 4!

@annwhale4418

9 ай бұрын

🤣

@MichaelRainey

2 ай бұрын

Puns are a great way to break the ice.

I always freeze large water bottles for my cool box. They hold a tonne of ice, don't dump water all over everything as the water melts, and also provide a nice refreshing drink towards the end of your trip. If I can't keep my cool box out of the sun in a particular location I cover it with a wet towel so that the sun's energy is used to dry the towel and not heat the lid of my cool box.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Great tips here. Thank you.

@slophotopro

8 ай бұрын

Dry Ice ... when we camp we use 2 or 3 coolers. We leaned from our teardrop trailer family of which we have camped with over 100 teardrops at one time over the years. Northern Califonia. Putting dry ice on top of a cooler that you will not open until you get to destination..We use block ice in the bottom and bag ice and bag ice. #1 cooler s for end of trail block ice in bottom frozen foods and loose ice and dry ice on top sites in a 5 day cooler sites in trailer or trunk where is is cool #2 is mostly loose ice holds drinks and snacks sits in the back seat and gets opened a lot, we cover it with towel or isolation so car windows will not over heat it. we add new ice at stops along the way with new snacks we find. #3 Block ice bottom this cooler is for lunch and dinner or even breakfast. sits in a 2-3 day cooler sits in truck or teardrop we add ice at stops I am building my second Teardrop trailer and plan to have a plug in freezer/ cooler. You did a very good job on this video Thank you

Another thing I've found makes Ice last a lot longer is when I buy ice from a vending machine. Many charge half as most businesses do. And the ice is often a square, solid shape that's free of air bubbles. I suspect that tubular ice is designed to give off it's coldness fast, which means it melts faster. But when I get the ice from a machine, I use a sturdy bag I know won't leak. This keeps the ice and melt water out of direct contact with the sides of the cooler. This very substantially extends the ice's lifespan.

Well done. Great information presented in a fun way! Can't believe how big the boys are. Loved to see them helping.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed the video Mary! Yes, the boys are growing like weeds finally. East is so proud of those missing teeth.

Great video. One other hint I always keep a wool blanket over the cooler to help insulate it from the heat when it's in or out of the vehicle.

This was so informative and interesting, thanks for making my upcoming camping trip a lot better, last year I really was frustrated having to go get ice, drain the cooler, and repeat every day, the closest store was 15 miles away!

Thanks for a great episode. I learned a lot from it. Happy Camping!

So...very timely. I'm on like 13 generations of ice in my Yeti in the back of the truck/jeep right now. I have a freezer that will freeze the ice blocks to -15 deg F and i swap those out along with the ice. But I can tell you I can barely even put my hand in there to get drinks out. Don't drain the water!!!!! At least not all of it. Love the tips and channel, as always.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

-15. Nice! I can’t even imagine what that feels like.

Great info Sir. I appreciate it. I always have that issue of my ice melting too fast! Hopefully now I can get it under control a little bit.

Great video! Super useful. Didn’t realize I was making so many mistakes but now I see the light. 😅

Some of the things that you mentioned I do practice and there were some other things I didn't even think of. Thank you for sharing

Precooling was the rule I break the most. Precooling does work! I have gotten better about it. I have run a food and separate drink cooler for uear. That definitely helps. Only remove the cooler water when you are replacing it with ice. Good tips!

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

We used to break pre-cool a lot because we don’t have a large chest freezer. We only have the smaller freezer above our fridge. But lately I’ve just been using the ice packs. They take up less space in the freezer and they are always there. I know some people precool up to two days. But I find even pre-cooling for an hour or two the morning you go out makes a big difference. Good point on the water, I should’ve mentioned only dump it out when adding ice.

@garretlewis4103

9 ай бұрын

@@PlayingwithSticks Sometimes for us it was more of a time thing. You schedule your trip around work and next thing you know you are gathering up your equipment at the last minute. Ideally I would and like to do about a day of pre-cooling. But, like you mentioned, even a couple of hours help. Much better than throwing in the food and ice in a "warm" cooler because then your ice is "working" to cool down the cooler and then maintain.

Best cooler tip video I've ever seen. Ty sir

Excellent video, many good comments, too! I always put a reflective car window shade over my cooler. I've also put a big piece of ( scavanged) foam packing material on it, figuring every bit of extra insulation helps!

Longtime camper here. Cover your cooler with a heavy blanket. An old tattered comforter is good. When you get into the cooler, please don't remove the blanket. Instead, open the lid under it, and get out what you want. This lets in less hot air into the cooler. another thing that you can do is get the blanket wet. " Evaporative cooling.". Happy camping.

Excellent tips! First time to hear some of them. Thank you.

put all of your ice in bags (zip-lock) - it keeps everything dry. you can use smaller bags to be able to pack into smaller places. you can then have clean ice and clean water in the bags. you can also use empty bags filled with air to minimize the air flow/heat loss - keep the cooler full of air that won't flow escape.

@SewingBoxDesigns

8 ай бұрын

I don't trust ziplocks, not jam jar type lids either, having wasted too much food in melt water. Water gets into everything, no matter what. Also, plan and pack, last meal under to first meal top. 👍

@FirstLast-ml7yf

4 ай бұрын

1 litre platypus is what i use

@oldbowsaw9001

Ай бұрын

@@FirstLast-ml7yf I thought the platypus was on endangered list--please use adults and not the little ones--thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is really good info.. I didn’t realise most of these!.. I’ve been camping for years! Hi from Tasmania, Australia

Hi, loved this video. Reflectix lined cooler, vacuum sealed frozen meal kits, layered by day of use, with block ice in each layer. Each layer is covered with a sheet of reflectix to keep cold in and make food easy to grab. Up to 4 layers per cooler = 4 days of food. 2nd cooler same program. 3rd cooler reflectix block ice but just for drinks. Froze all the non carbonated drinks beforehand so they counted as ice. Pre-cooled the coolers indoors with sacrificial ice 24+hours before departure. And lastly....kept coolers inside a bear locker, with a pop up shade canopy to keep the bear box cool.

Great info Drew, I like to freeze some water containers as well so that as it does melt, I have extra drinkable water. Definitely enjoy these types of videos. ✌️

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

I am seeing the number one comment right now is freezing water in containers. Sounds like this is something we are going to have to adopt. Thanks for sharing this. As always great seeing you on here.

@bucktalesoutdoors7566

9 ай бұрын

@@mikeh.1408 I have an upright but the bottom is also full of frozen water bottles 👍

@eltoro777

8 ай бұрын

DO NOT FREEZE DRINKING WATER IN WATER BOTTLES OR OTHER PLASTIC DRINK CONTAINERS... DO NOT DO THIS..... REFREEZING PLASTIC DRINK CONTAINERS RELEASES .. .BPA.. AND BPB MOLECULES.. i.e. The chemical that breaks down into synthetic ESTROGEN... .!!! CAN YOU SAY MAN BOOBS??. don't believe me.. Do your own research... You'll learn some disturbing things. Number one source of BPA chemical containing item...... PAPER STORE RECEIPTS..... then paper is BPA plastic coated and a laser prints your receipt... DON'T EVER TOUCH YOUR STORE RECEIPT S... the more you know.. 😮

Some great tips. Thanks.

Excellent !! Got 3 week adventure I need to stock real food for. You answered many basic questions ice blocks, wet towels, pre cooling, ice to food ratio w frozen food counting as ice…etc. So helpful.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Glad to hear this was helpful Chris.

This was an awesome video! Thank you for all of the tips...which I violated almost all of them. However, I do use the two cooler system with drinks in the smaller cooler. The smaller cooler is actually a Alpicool C20 (liter) refrigerator. While driving the refrigerator is on and turns off when the engine is off. I need to pay better attention to the larger cooler, a blue Yeti. I bought the Yeti because it was the cheapest ($249) of the line. I chose blue over the lighter colors not thinking that blue absorbs more heat than white. I like the wet towel tip which goes into use tomorrow when I rearrange the contents. Great video!!

I have heard of the wet towel method but also heard of layering newspaper between food. Like you said planning your daily meals between towel and ice make last longer. That steak you want on day 3 will be fine frozen toward bottom. Thanks for your tips.

I can't count how many times Drew that you've posted a timely video with great info on just the topic I needed....I just bought before seeing this a Yeti Tundra 35 lol. There were too many times since going full time and living out of the Kimbo I'd go to the grocery store and have great intentions but come out with too much to fit in the small fridge in the Kimbo....and then it'd be a race to cook all the stuff before it spoiled. So the Yeti 35 is going to hold all the fridge overflow lol and i can relax. Thanks for sharing...!

Crazy helpful!!!

I gave up on coolers. Bought an Iceco, plug it into my Jackery and it is so much less hassle and it just works. Ice seems to get more expensive every summer too and harder to find

This is a great video, thanks for putting it together. This is one of those topics that seems like common sense or everyone knows but it's one of those topics that's really easy...to get wrong. Definitely applying many of these tips to my management of chilled food.

❄️ I had absolutely no idea I didn’t know how to pack a cooler! While I got a few things right it seems, after the many coolers I’ve packed, I would have discovered more of these great suggestions on my own! Thank you!

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

I love hearing that this is helpful Anne!

Learned something new I've been breaking these rule for over 35 years; I had no clue. Much appreciated

I’m a wannabe van traveler and oh my god what great tips u have on the cooler. Thanks

Oh my, the boys have gotten so big ... And strong. Great job guys!!!! ❤❤❤

Exceptionally good advice!

Great info! I was doing almost everything wrong.

Great information!

Great content Drew! Solid tips and tricks. We just left SE Alaska, first time visiting your home state, unbelievable! Thank again, stay cool😎

When we got our Bean Camper it came with a crappy Coleman cooler. Our Yeti doesnt fit in the cooler spot in the camper so we keep that in the jeep. Since I now have two coolers, I started separating things. With meals in the Yeti and drinks in the Coleman. Makes it handy when we hit the trail as we have all of the lunch food already in the Jeep. I only have to pop a few cold drinks on the top. I did cover the BLACK Coleman cooler with some of that silvered bubble wrap. Have not been on a trip to test it yet. Beyond that, I've failed most all of the other steps. I will hitting the dollar store or thrift store to find some plastic jug containers I can freeze for block ice. Best video ever!

My dad is an absolute master at all of this! We have a cooler designated as the "freezer" with our meat frozen solid... you do not open the freezer, like ever lol. Once things thaw a bit we throw it in the "fridge" cooler that just has beverages and items that are just better cold but maybe not needed. This is a great video! He would agree! 😊

Another top notch video Drew! Thanks.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it.

I have some nice high-end coolers. The 5 years ago I bought a snowmaster 66 12 volt fridge freezer and never look back. It's nice being able to have ice cream camping.

Thanks for great info 👍

12v refrigerator is a game changer for us. But there is a need for a cooler sometimes. Great video

These are excellent tips for weekenders. When I was still using a cooler, one thing I did to prevent my ice from melting as quickly was put an upside down bin on the bottom which helped to keep the block ice out of the water. 🌞

Excellent tips! Thanks 😊

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed them!

New subscriber here because of this video tyvm good tips appreciate it ❤🎉

Good to see you again, Drew! 😊

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

You too!

Nice! Now to plan and pack correctly for deer camp.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Love it!

This is incredible! Reason why I started watching this channel. Keep it up. Ponding if an electric cooler for the mean bean is necessary, but will try your techniques first with my traditional cooler.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

In my opinion, I think an electric cooler is a great pairing with the Mean Bean if are doing more than four nights in a row. But four or less, an ice cooler can get the job done well. You may end up being like us in the future and take out both an electric fridge and a cooler. I am finding that to be a really good combination, and wish I did it sooner.

I finally took care of this age old problem by installing a solar panel on the van along with a battery and bought an electric cooler. I bought the Iceco and love it. No more need for ice.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Amen! Love hearing when someone finds something that works. I was always curious with all your restored trailers, which one do you take out?

@mobiltec

9 ай бұрын

@@PlayingwithSticks Right now I'm camping in the 69 Siesta. I also take out my little Dico once in a while and I have a 59 Deville that I will be using while the Siesta is being restored. I will begin that one as soon as the 54 Jewel is finished. Should have that one done in a few months. Busy here. I have folding solar panels so I can take my power with me no matter which trailer or tent I take out. I built my own power station and it runs everything including my starlink just fine.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

I had a feeling you may use more than one. I must say I’m a little envious. I have always wanted to build my own power station. But I’ve never got around to it. Being able to move the components from one trailer to another has been a real blessing for our family as well. We got to try out star link a couple times with our friends last summer and this summer. It was a really neat experience. Sitting there using Internet, while watching Elon musk’s satellite train go by overhead.

@mobiltec

9 ай бұрын

Yep I did some live streams from some of my regular camp spots including Death Valley. Now that was fun...@@PlayingwithSticks

Great video. It's great to be told you're doing things right.😊 I also picked up a few tips. Wet towel over the top is a great idea. I put a towel over the part Im not digging through with my chest freezer but never thought to use a similar thing with my camp chest😅

One needs to "plan" and prepare. You need to know how long you are going out for. if you are going out for a day trip, 2 day trip, 4 day trip... you need to consider and prepare properly. you need to know if you'll need ice runs or not. for short day or half day trips the 2/1 ratio is not likely needed. You can get away with a 1 to 1 ratio. next is the fun one, Drew, did you know you can actually buy DRY ICE for coolers? Trick here is you can run a small cooler on dry ice at first, storing your frozen meat and such. this will keep frozen stuff frozen solid and sealed tight it's perfect for multi-day trips when you are using multiple coolers, cuz it will take time for anything thats been in the dry ice cooler to thaw. Next Salted ice water. 25% salt to 75% water is best ratio there. that creates a huge thermal mass, even after the ice is melted that water will stay very cold. 2 cooler system, another option or way of doing the 2 cooler system is, cooler A - is your base cooler, your large one but you only open it once a day. You take what you need out of cooler one for that day, and move it to cooler 2. Cooler 2 then doesn't need to be as cool because everything in that ones going to be used. This is key also when using dual source cooling. 3 cooler system... cooler 1 is dry ice and frozen food. frozen food and normal ice, that will become salted ice. Cooler 3 is normal ice... at the end of day one, the food in cooler 1 is moved into cooler 2... salt is added into cooler to, and the last of the dry ice is added into 2... while 3 is your drinks and such and stuff from 2 is moved to 3 once a day.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Wow! I’m speechless on this one. These are some good tips. Makes me want to consider dry ice again. I used to struggle with dry ice because of the transport. I was always afraid of the gases. But now that we have a trailer, this seems much more feasible. I was surprised how many people in the comments mentioned the salt. I knew of salt to help get drinks down faster if you put it in water and ice. But I never considered salt to be added to your block, ice or things of that nature.

@jenniferstewarts4851

9 ай бұрын

@@PlayingwithSticks Sorry Drew, i didn't mean to do that to you again. Yeah, Dry ice melts faster then ice... but doesn't got to liquide so paper and such don't get wet with it... aide from condensation. its -100f so its great at keeping things frozen... and then when you transfer the -100f frozen meat into the cooler with water in it... with the salt added. that water temp drops quickly. Side note, with solar batteries, inverters and such becoming more aforadble, the usefulness of the portable electric coolers increased. a 12v 48watt cooler has a 4ah draw. so a little jackery solar battery with its 167 ah power, without using solar will power one for about 2 days.

Holy crap -- your video, info, and production are FANTASTIC! Within the first minute, I knew I'd actually learn something from you (even though I thought I knew it all, LOL). I am going to use this in my homeschooling/unschooling (if you don't mind!). Seriously, I'm old, and have watched millions of videos -- yours is among my top 10 favorite ever. I'm now going to follow you and watch a bunch more while I do dishes. Thanks so much -- seriously, good AND useful stuff!

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Love seeing someone get excited about these videos! We just entered the homeschooling world as well. We have been educators in the public and private sector for the past 20 years. But, for the last two years, we have jumped into the world of homeschooling. So amazing!

Good video. I have been doing most of all of things for many years. Except two coolers and towels in the main cooler. The only time it is opened when I am cooking. I drink from SS water bottle. Back when I had a chest freezer I would put the RTIC 45 in it for several days with the lid propped open. And as others mention frozen water in two soy milk waxed cartons with cubed ice on top. Those go into a one of those hotel waste baskets, which I cut down the height and it fits perfectly, keeps the rest of the cooler dry. The cartons counts as drinking water and they can be used as tinder to help start a fire..

Thanks, great documentation for use

Great video is always hope you are doing well, missed you. For years I have been freezing 1 gallon water jugs, and flat Tupperware containers. Also, using the wet towel method. And I also have a small cooler four drinks to be used that day. Thank God for the 12-volt refrigerator I have now. Although even my last camping trip last weekend, I took a ice chest full of ice to make Daiquiris and have a Cube or two in my whiskey.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

It seems like everybody in the comment section is using the water jugs. I don’t know how we’ve overlooked this one for years. I’m excited to try this on the next trip. Like you, we take our cooler with us as well. Although we love our 12 V fridge, we find lately that we need a little additional cooling support. Great seeing you on here as usual. Hope you’re having some great adventures this summer. Ours has been a bit on the slow end. Our camping season is just ramping up.

This was so helpful and I learned a lot of things that I did not know before so thank you so very much! You remind me a lot of my younger brother and he is so awesome and intelligent!

learned a lot… thank you.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

TY I learned alot had a bad storm this last summer and electric was out for 4 days! Tried to save freezer full of meat but lost it because didn't use these tips! Now I know and not going to loose $ 400 of meat had lots of charcoal and cooked alot!

Buy a 12v compressor fridge and live life to the fullest ;)

Excellent video dude

Very good tips. Most of which are new to me. I laughed at the end about the black roof trailer...The Bruder is all black so we'll see how that works out...and yes I thought about it when I ordered it. Cooler packing isn't something I've ever given thought to and your tips are very helpful.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

We never really gave thought to this, until we were forced into using a cooler again. The last couple of years we’ve hit the threshold of our 12 V fridge. And we found a combination of cooler and fridge works very well for our family. That’s interesting with the Bruder. It makes sense for your side of the country, but where the Bruder is coming from that’s like sun central. But those guys think of everything. So they must have some efficient ways of mitigating the heat transfer.

Thanks god bless

Great suggestions. Where I live in Australia is usually in the 90degF and sunny. everyday. We are all pretty good with our Eskys/Coolers but I still learnt some things here. Not useful for here as I don't camp off grid but most camp grounds here provide a fridge and freezer which is of great benefit

One method to keep things colder longer is to put a cooler inside a bigger cooler. Additionally, heat is transferred through the bottom of every cooler. Best to try and keep it off the ground or place on something like wood to insulate the bottom. Or even on an air pillow or air mattress. Blanket? Etc. Throwing a blanket over your cooler can help insulate too.

This is some really great advice!! Putting this to practice will definitely make any camp trip that much better!! Love the video!!🤠🧑‍🍳🏕

When on a trip...I have my big cooler in the back...a little small hole drilled in the bottom just the size for tank tubing to fit...and same size hole in floorboard for water as it melts to drain out. In the mountains...I use free snow.

That Makes total sense! I'm taking 2 coolers from now on! I definitely pack frozen food! Plus I put hummus, dips, and items that can get ruined in soggy water from the cooler, into a larger sealed plastic container. No more water dogged cheese and lunch meats.

Great video, thanks !

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

This is probably the best video I have seen you make. It relate more to me all types of campers. Trailer guys, overlanders, car campers, etc. I would like to add that if you are on a long trip freezing, half of your drinks really helps the ice to last. I have frozen beer, water, and soda. Sometimes the cans deform a little bit but not always.

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Great pointer there. What’s your trick for not exploding them in the freezer? Just keeping an eye on the clock?

@Beat98TJ

9 ай бұрын

@@PlayingwithSticks honestly I’ve never had it happen, but I usually only freeze for a day or so. The worst I’ve had are cans that expand, and are hard to set down.

That thunder was such a great bonus!!!!

Great and spot on content. Ty Drew.

First tip is spot on, many campers do not do this..

I change from roto mold cooler to a portable fridge (Ice Co). It's a little bit of an invest, but worth it.

I solved all 9 issues….bought a 12 volt fridge!!🥶

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Haha love it!

@viertelasiat

4 ай бұрын

Me too... I actually bought a metabo (actually hikoki) one from Japan, it uses tool batteries, charges when attached to 12v and are easily removable so if you want to run longer just bring a few extra batteries

I usually use dry ice wrapped in a paper grocery sack and then wrapped in a plastic bag, top with a small wire grate and then a bag of ice. Also freeze my meats and the ice in my cooler is still frozen 3 days later. I enjoy your video tips thank you

Draping a wet towel over top of the cooler "in the field" will also help provide some evaporative cooling quite well... just like those wool covered water canteens in the old western movies... they would dip that woolly canteen in the stream and evaporative cooling would keep the canteen cool and refreshing...

Thanks so much for this. There were a few things I didn't do...One tip I have is freezing 1l water bottles and use them as block ice and then drink them as they defrost. Lasted for days in a quality cooler

I buy mix up cordial in square 2 litre containers. I fill them and freeze them, then drink them when they defrost. One in each corner of my 12 volt fridge helps heaps. And a few smaller bottles floating around. Frozen meat and meals in bottom. And dont use loose ice. I like the wet towel idea. I use my cooler for day to day stuff

@PlayingwithSticks

9 ай бұрын

Great tip on the containers. We do this with our cooler, but I’ve never thought about doing it with the 12 V fridge. Thank you for this.

This provides a lot of really good ideas. I will definitely be using these ideas in the future.

@PlayingwithSticks

6 ай бұрын

Glad you found it helpful.

I also put 3 bags of dry ice on the bottom, then cover it with a thin layer of refletix insulation then the drinks and ice on top. Works great!

You do great production and editing!!!! Sound is great, too.