We may earn money or products from the companies or products mentioned or linked to in this post.
I had mentioned before that I had bought two different cooler’s to use when I was an Over the Road Truck driver. The first one I bought was a Roadpro hot and cold cooler, well it didn’t work well at all, I hated it. But the Coleman Cooler that I had bought after that works excellent! So I decided that I will go ahead give a Coleman 40 Quart Powerchill Thermoelectric Cooler Review!
I seem to have misplaced my Temperature gauge so as you see in the video, I used a clock with a built in temp gauge. I used it to show the ambient temperature as well as the temperature that the cooler was able to reach.
What I like about the Coleman 40qt cooler!
Well it uses a 12V plugin so I wouldn’t have to keep blowing money on ice at the truck stop’s. It is said that it keep’s the temperatures 40*F cooler than the ambient temperature. This was the first time I had actually checked that out.
I’ve had this cooler for right at two year’s. It was plugged in constantly for about 9 month’s. It still cool’s just as well as it did when I bought it. I have used it off and on since I went to driving local.
I stop off at a Wal-Mart along the route and do some shopping so most of the stuff is already cold that I would put in cooler. But thing’s like water bottles and can’s on pop were not cold but it didn’t have any problem cooling them down.
I leave it on the top bunk strapped down so it wouldn’t move around too much.
Energy consumption!
Over the course of 6 hours it used up 380 WATT’s and it cooled down to 29 degree’s below the ambient temperature. It got down to 39 degree’s on the inside, not bad for being over two year’s old!
How big is 40qt?
Well it is 1.3 cubic foot. The company say’s it’ll hold up to 44 can’s, but I never had that many in there nor did I try that out.
What I would keep in the cooler were thing’s like milk, deli meat’s, hotdog’s, cheese, little smokie’s, condiment’s, steak, pork chop’s and rump roast. We would also keep things like fresh fruit’s and vegetable’s in there.
We never had an issue with food going bad because the cooler failed to do it’s job. We would often find that it would freeze our water bottle’s or milk. It worked well for us but then again we did keep the cab as cool as possible.
What I didn’t like about it!
One thing I had an issue with was anytime the truck was off for a long period of time and the cab got to be 85*F+ the cooling fan would get overworked and I would have to unplug the cooler to let it cool down, if I didn’t it wouldn’t cool back down.
Another thing that was a little annoying, every once in a while the fan would rattle, but with a good slap to the side it stopped making noises.
All in all I was very pleased with the cooler and if I were to need another one I wouldn’t hesitate to grab another one.
Quick Update
So I have had this same 12 volt cooler for a few years now. I didn’t use it much for about a year when I went local, but I have recently went back Over the Road and have brought it with me.
Now as you can see I have it on the top bunk and it is strapped in with two bungee cords. Now I could have used a ratchet strap to better secure the cooler in place, but I have not had any issues with the way it is right now.
Now this is in a Cascadia, I remember when I was in a Peterbilt this method didn’t work. It had to remain in the bottom bunk because there wasn’t enough walking space with it in the floor.
Still saving me money!
But as you can see I still use it, and this is the original one that I had purchased a few years ago, I am very impressed with the lifespan of this cooler. This is in my opinion the best Thermoelectric Cooler out there for the price.
I have saved so much money since now I don’t have to buy any bags of ice since this is an iceless cooler! Ice has gotten expensive!
Getting in some exercise!
With the cooler being in the top bunk it saves up space from the floor. Although it is more convenient to just be able to reach down and open it, it saves more space and that is what I needed. It is hard to walk around with little space.
Plus with having to climb up top it does help your legs out. Setting for extended periods of time with out doing anything is really bad for the body, so you gotta work in exercise when you can.
As you can see I don’t have much in there right now. I plan on stopping at a Wal-Mart either tomorrow or the day after to restock my fresh produce.
One more somewhat downside?
I have noticed that if I let the produce stay over towards the vent that it will actually freeze the produce, so I just keep it on the opposite side of the cooler.
If you are new to trucking or are maybe going on an extended vacation in the van with the family to travel the states, you should invest in getting this iceless cooler!