When I was planning my two-month, cross-Canada road trip in my SUV, I knew I wanted the luxury of having a fridge. Having a cold drink available at all times was a problem I had to solve! And buying ice every couple of days is a drag, especially when your cream cheese is floating and your lunch meat is wet.
I spent a lot of time researching and found the winning combination:
I plug the cooler into the Jackery, and the Jackery into the truck via a 12V lighter plug. When I’m driving, the truck tops up the Jackery’s battery. It can run the fridge for a few days!
In case of any charging problems, or if I stayed put for a few days, I also bought a Jackery 100 solar panel to charge the Jackery.
I ran this setup for two months and I don’t have a single complaint! I tried two placements – one with the Jackery and cooler in the back of the truck, and when I didn’t have a passenger, I placed the Jackery on the passenger side floor and the cooler in the back seat area. I preferred this placement, so I could spot check the battery level more easily, and I could also plug in devices to charge from it in the front seat.
This Jackery is great! The cords are super durable, orange, and come with a storage pouch. There is one cord for DC 12V charging, another for AC charging, and the solar panel has a third cord. There are outlets to charge your devices by AC, DC, USB, and USB-C. There is a flashlight on the front too, which is handier than I would have guessed.
I’m also really glad I picked this Igloo 32L electric compressor cooler. Because it has a compressor, you can set it to any temperature, even down to -18C if you would like to use it as a freezer. It cycles on when it needs to cool, and then shuts off again. It’s very quiet and draws very little power. I was incredibly impressed and so grateful for all the cold drinks! Especially since my vehicle doesn’t have a functional air conditioner. It has a smaller area over the compressor, and I learned not to keep baby carrots there. I don’t know if it was due to the compressor or more likely just the vibration of travel, or maybe they just got too cold, but I discovered a stinky cooler due to carrots that turned liquid! My fault for not eating them faster. I found +4C the best temperature to set it at. When I set it to +3C I had a slushy ginger ale.
I even liked to keep a Yeti tumbler in the cooler so I could pour it full of water for a nicely chilled beverage. Most days I stirred in some Crystal Light and drank that while I drove – until I needed a bit of a boost from an ice cold Diet Coke.
Having the fridge also allowed me to travel with milk (for cereal) and to keep medication at the proper temperature (the dissolving dust pill allergy tablets my allergist has me trying can’t get too warm).
Just be sure you plan for ventilation space for the two vents (front and back) of the Igloo, and on the sides of the Jackery, so they don’t overheat.
I bought both from Canadian Tire. Hot tip: Use the Canadian Tire Triangle app and toggle the heart on each product. Canadian Tire will notify you when they are going on sale. I bought both of these at significant discounts because I waited for a sale.
