By day she evaluates tools for your enjoyment; by night, she Frankenstein’s her ever changing fleet of rust-bucket-oddities back to repair. Her dream is to open a roadside attraction where the public can view, drive, and learn repairs at her emporium of curious cars. Hearst Autos doesn’t need to game algorithms for traffic or promote lousy products to earn a buck. Instead, we’re more concerned with our legacy, our reputation, and the trust that our readers have in Autoweek, Car and Driver, and Road & Track to deliver honest opinions and expert evaluations. This cooler/freezer won’t be for every driver, as the size makes it unwieldy and difficult to store. But if you have the room, it’s the perfect tool to transform a tailgate party.
Such easy access to directions makes it incredibly straightforward for a new user to jump in and help out if needed. The drain plug isn’t the only factor that makes emptying water easy or annoying. Most of the contenders we tested also have a sloping channel behind the drain to help gravity pull water out. Still, several have unfortunately paired this with a large lip or other obstruction that then stops your drainage progress before it’s 100% complete. Models that we found the easiest and most thorough to drain include the RTIC Ultralight, Xspec, Orca(s), and Tundra(s), which all feature either a tiny or sloped lip to make emptying your meltwater a breeze. The Xspec and Roadie models are notable for innovative and fairly effortless latch experiences.
Each model will have different power sources, so research your needs and pick up an adapter or power inverter if you need to. If you’d like to have an electric cooler that also makes ice, the Dometic CFX3 55IM Powered Cooler + Ice Maker is your best option. This compressor-powered cooler can get down to -7°F, and it has a separate built-in cold tray that produces ice even when the temperature is only set for cooling. How can you spend so much time recreating outside and not care about nature? For this reason, we prioritized fuel efficiency as an important test metric in our review. Propane and butane — the most common fuel sources for camping stoves — are fossil fuels that are by-products of the natural gas production process.
If all you care to eat while camping is canned soup or freeze-dried meals, then a lightweight single-burner is perfect. But if camping season means a big group of friends and multi-course gourmet meals, then a larger freestanding two- or three-burner stove makes sense if the cost works within your budget. Unfortunately, that old adage “buy cheap, buy twice” rings especially true with camping stoves. Less expensive stoves are often less fuel efficient, less durable, and will need to be replaced sooner than their more expensive counterparts.
The Xspec 60qt, Engel, and Yeti Roadie 24 are some that buck the trend of popular T-grip closure mechanisms on high-end coolers. The Engel has part-rubber-part-metal latches, and the Xspec mixes plastic clasps with rubber straps that ditch the brawn for a bit more finesse when securing them. After multiple years of use, we’ve noticed the Xspec rubber sections have tightened up over time. This makes them just as secure as ever but requires slightly more force to operate. The Roadie 24 has plastic and rubber latches similar to the Xspec, but both are exceptionally easy to use, requiring less finagling and feeling much stronger overall.
Our biggest complaint about this cooler is that its cords are barely over six feet long, which just doesn’t get you very far from the outlet. It’s also very expensive, but if you’re ready to take the plunge into the iceless world of powered coolers, the Dometic is consistently the best-performing model we’ve tested. If you value energy efficiency over longevity and cooling power, the Costway 54 is a budget-friendly cooler worth looking into.
One of the industry leaders in portable cooling and refrigeration, Dometic is renowned for its RV air conditioners. That said, if you want to splurge on a top-of-the-line electric cooler/freezer to take along in your car or truck, this is the one you want. It reached the coldest temps in our test (see graph below) by a good coleman electric cooler margin. It’s extremely well built, featuring spring-loaded handles, an easy-to-use interface, and a sturdy hinge. Keeping food and drinks cold is an essential aspect of any tailgate, road trip, or potluck convoy. Whether it’s a salad or some adult beverages, you don’t want to be that person who brings lukewarm refreshments.