# My backseat cooler.....yeah, I caved in.



## Dub (Mar 20, 2014)

For a while now, I've kept a small-medium Coleman cooler in the backseat of my truck.

I keep bottled water, Diet Mountain Dews, my lunch for the day and whatever I get at Sam's or Costco that needs to stay cold until I can get it to a fridge.

Having my own supply of cold drinks is nice when I get to work, I can just grab a few with my lunch and go.  Sure is cheaper than paying $1.35 each or more from the vending machines.  Buying them in bulk from WalMart really saves a bunch of $$$$.  

Never stop at convenience stores, either.

Anyway....the little Coleman has been on it's last leg for a while....hinge shot and finally issues with the drain caused me to ditch it.

I've had a couple buddies & a neighbor swearing by their Yeti coolers for the past 2-3 years.   I looked at one of theirs the other day.  He keeps his secured in the bed of his truck.  It still looked brand new after two years of use.  He's not the kind of guy to throw money away as he scrutinizes things carefully and buys quality and takes care of his gear over the years.  You can tell just buy looking at his yard tools and such.  His endorsement went a long way with my perception change about these things.

I've been hanging on to a couple of Academy gift cards for a while now and decided to give Yeti a try.  I've cracked enough jokes about their "grizzly proof" beer stash long enough.


I went with the Tundra 45.  It fits in the backseat space perfectly.  Were I using it for truckbed use or other....I'd have spent a small amount more and bought the Tundra 65.  

The 45 fits perfectly in the spot, though.   I can reach back and open and close with no problem....even with the latches they use.


The tan color is the same color as my seats and it disappears when viewed from the outside due to the factory tinted windows and color match.

The monster is built tough, too.  Seems to be rock solid. There are good molded handles just above the rope handles.  Both work very well.  The rope handles are wide enough and there is no bending or pinch.  They rotate around the rope, too.  Very cool.

Yeti's website and manual provides a means for getting new gaskets, handles and other accessories if ever needed.

First order was to fill it up.  I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and grabbed bottled water and drinks....of the shelf....room temperature, along with a bag of grocery store ice.


I put 12 large bottles of water and 12 large Diet Dews in the bottom and one bag of ice.  The bagged ice was not the ideal type, but I've had worse, too.  I left the sliding basket out.

24 hours later this is what it looked like after sitting in my backseat:










48 hours later this is what it looked like:










I didn't get a 72 hour pic due to running tight on time heading to work.


96 hours later this is what it looked like:





You can see considerable differences occurring between 48 & 96 hours.  The bottom of the cooler is filled with ice filled water.  


I will continue with this and see how it goes.  Temps from this timeframe have been lows of 53 and highs of 77.

I'm enthused so far....and looking forward to seeing how much better it goes when using my own block ice.  I keep a few Rubbermaid/Glad containers filled with water and stashed in the garage freezer.  Sure is handy when you need good ice and don't want to go buy soft bagged ice.


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## jbird1 (Mar 20, 2014)

Dub, you have all the toys!..haha


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## Wild Turkey (Mar 20, 2014)

Three words. Coleman Extreme Marine.
Same results and more $$ to buy quality smoking meat.


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## blues brother (Mar 20, 2014)

Dub,
I have two Yeti's and love them. Folks can say what they want about the cost. My 120 only gets used for big events. The fifty is in the bed of my truck now(chained and locked). I use the 1/2 gal juice containers filled with water and frozen. I also have the luxury of a couple of small coolers of ice each week from work. So I dont buy a lot of ice.
Congrats on the new cooler! 
PM sent.


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## Dub (Mar 20, 2014)

jbird1 said:


> Dub, you have all the toys!..haha




Amazing how much money I now save by staying out of strip clubs and other dives.   


I surely didn't buy this thing....just used some gift cards I'd been hanging onto the past two years....birthday's and Christmas gifts.

If I really had all the cool toys I'd have used the cards towards a very, very sweet 1911 they had in there.  





Wild Turkey said:


> Three words. Coleman Extreme Marine.
> Same results and more $$ to buy quality smoking meat.




True, but the only Colemans they had were about like the one I was replacing.  I have heard some great things about the Marine series, though.








blues brother said:


> Dub,
> I have two Yeti's and love them. Folks can say what they want about the cost. My 120 only gets used for big events. The fifty is in the bed of my truck now(chained and locked). I use the 1/2 gal juice containers filled with water and frozen. I also have the luxury of a couple of small coolers of ice each week from work. So I dont buy a lot of ice.
> Congrats on the new cooler!
> PM sent.




PM received and THANK YOU. 



Remind me not to challenge you to a wrastling contest.  Any man that can tote around a a Yeti 120 is a dude I'd rather not have to go against.   That thing must be a hoss once it's loaded down.  I'll bet its perfect for the BBQ comps, though.


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## blues brother (Mar 20, 2014)

I don't like to tote the 120 empty! Dang sure don't move it by myself when full!!! I can pack all my comp meats in it on Tuesday and have to bust up the ice on Friday for the judges to inspect the meat...in July or August.


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## waits (Mar 24, 2014)

Congrats on your purchase. They are a great company and make great products for sure.


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## skeeter24 (Mar 24, 2014)

blues brother said:


> Dub,
> I have two Yeti's and love them. Folks can say what they want about the cost.
> PM sent.



Agreed.  I have 5 of them and if you condition them correctly before use they will hold ice for a week.  Dry ice use in them is awesome.


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## Deerhead (Jul 21, 2014)

Word of advise - Don't put rock salt in with your ice.  Unless you want to freez your contents!


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## whchunter (Jul 25, 2014)

*Yep*



Wild Turkey said:


> Three words. Coleman Extreme Marine.
> Same results and more $$ to buy quality smoking meat.



AMEN to Coleman Extreme. I saw one dealer that promised free ice for life if you bought a Yeti. I'd hate to have to carry it in much less out after it was full.


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## Dub (Jul 25, 2014)

Four months later.....check-in.


I'm very pleased with the cooler.  It has been working great for me.   Sure is nice when I'm getting back into the vehicle after a hot 12-14 hr workday and I can reach back there and pull out ice cold water to pound down all the way home.

I'm glad I used those gift cards on this instead of simply getting more target ammo.


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## Hooked On Quack (Jul 25, 2014)

My brother is one of those guys that has it all, anything from yachts to a private jet, he's VERY difficult to buy for.

A couple of Christmas's ago I bought him a Yeti cooler and filled it full of ribeyes, filet mignon, lobster tail, slab bacon, country ham, etc. (he LOVES to cook)  Best gift I've ever gave him.



Glad you're enjoying yours Dub, I just can't make myself pull the trigger on one.  Plus having a ice machine at work will ruin you.


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