Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I will preface this review with this caveat: Auto coolers are not refrigerators. They will keep cold things cold, with help.
My husband drives a truck for 12-16 hours per day. He never stops, so I pack his lunch every day. He carries water, energy drinks, veggies, sandwiches, sometimes pizza, etc. He used a Rubbermaid cooler for a long time, but it was too small. He needed a larger cooler that would fit between the seats of the truck and have more space.
This cooler is HUGE. They make two smaller ones, but since I like to load it up with big ice packs, it's a good size. It'll never actually be full unless we take a trip with it, though. 2 liter bottles stand up in it and I'm guessing that six of them would fit. I load it up with 2 1.5 liter water bottles, a couple of 16 oz lowcarb Monster drinks, plus a sandwich, cherry tomatoes fruit and other snacks and the cooler is still about half full even with the two large blue ice bags.
The Koolatron does the job nicely. It will not cool warm things down well and if left on its own, cold things will start to warm up after 8-10 hours, so I put 2 large blue ice bags in the cooler every morning and they come back at night still partially frozen. Any leftover drinks are still cold.
I also purchased the power inverter so that I could plug in the cooler first thing when I get up. I then load the cooler and the ice bags right before he leaves. That helps considerably.
Is the cooler keeping things at 40*? Doubtful, but it's keeping them cold enough that drinks are refreshing and his food does't spoil. He keeps the AC on in the truck all the time, so the cooler doesn't have to work too hard.
A soft sided cooler like this isn't as effective as a hardsided cooler, so there's a bit of a tradeoff, but it's the largest one I could find that would fit where it needed to go (between the seats of a Peterbilt Daycab after removing the drink holders) and it's lightweight. The shoulder strap makes it easy to carry. By the time I load it down with a couple liters of water, drinks, ice and use the bungee on top for his paperwork, it weighs about 30 pounds or so. A hard cooler would be impossible.
The outside pockets are handy, you can even put ice in the drink holder (which will only hold a cup the diameter of a soda can). There's a mesh pocket in the back that's also very handy.
Overall, we're very pleased with this cooler, but unlike the another reviewer, our expectations were more realistic.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Koolatron 12V Travel Cooler - D25, Dark Grey
No more ice to lug around in the cooler, this soft-sided electric cooler plugs into the car\'s 12 volt cigarette lighter or into any standard outlet keep things cool on the move.Sandwiches, snacks, beverages, and heat sensitive medicines are cooled to 30 degrees F below ambient temperature. Great for road trips, picnics, hotel and office use (with optional AC adapter), the cooler\'s soft exterior shell is made of durable nylon. A zippered compartment on top lets you keep your favorite snacks up top for quick access. More great features include an adjustable shoulder strap, an external zippered pocket for storage, a mesh side pocket, an exterior beverage holder and a bungee cord for strapping down just about anything to the lid. The cooler also has a storage pocket to hide away the 12V cord on the go.
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