We are frequent road trippers, but with 5 kids we need to pack SNACKS! We have a bunch of coolers to meet each need on a trip.
When traveling with family, choose an electric cooler for trips longer than 4 days or if you road trip frequently. A standard hard sided cooler meets most needs and can hold food for a large family for up to 4 days.
We also travel with one or two soft sided lunchbox style coolers for packing snacks when we are away from our lodging.
Now, we travel in a converted school bus so we have the luxury of space when we travel. If you are traveling in a car or van you may choose to leave the extra bulk at home. You can consider packing your toiletries in the lunchbox to save on space while traveling.
We have had quite a few coolers and we have two favorites: the Coleman Chiller rolling hard side cooler and the Iceco JP40 electric cooler. We love them both for different reasons.
| Hard Side Cooler | Electric Cooler | ||
| Pros | Cons | Pros | Cons |
| Affordable | Needs Ice | No Ice Required | Expensive |
| Easy to Move | Stays cold up to 2 days | Stays cold as long as it is plugged in | Requires electricity |
| Very large storage area | No division to keep items separate | Save money by shopping at grocery store | Small capacity |
| Easy to clean | No indication of temperature inside cooler | Can have dual zones for refrigeration and freezing | Limited temperature range |
We still have both and use both depending on the trip.
The biggest limitation with a hard side cooler is that you need to constantly add ice to keep the food cold, but an electric cooler requires electricity to keep your food cold!
It really depends on your setup.
When we switched over to an electric cooler we also got a solar generator. This was a really big investment, but we spent a lot of our camping time off grid, so it is worth it for us to be able to bring our own electricity.
How To Pack a Cooler for a Large Family Cooler
When you are packing a cooler for a long family road trip I like to prioritize cooked meat, vegetables, cheese and fruit in the cooler. I pack light foods to round out the meals.
I pack plenty of hiking favorites like ramen noodles, instant potatoes, crackers, granola bars and pretzels and then I supplement with meat and veg from the cooler. This is a great way to maximize your cooler space.
Consider planning your meals and stay as flexible as possible.
You know your travel style, do you stick to a plan or fly by the seat of your pants? Keep the food plan the same.
We tend to be more spontaneous so I keep a list of meals visible and when we need a meal I just pick one off my list and cook it rather than having more of a calendar planned out.
Consider printing our Road Trip Planner one page to help you lay out your trip.
Our favorite family cooler meals:
- Pasta with meat sauce – cook the meat sauce ahead of time and chill the jars in the refrigerator. Put the jars in the cooler and cook pasta over a camp stove or in a microwave.
- Chicken Sausage – Cook the sausage ahead of time and freeze in a quart freezer bag, add to cooked pasta or instant rice.
- Ramen with Cheese – Ramen noodles can be cooked with hot water if you don’t have a camp stove, you can add jerky or cheese to add protein
- Chili Mac – Pre-cook ground beef with chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder and freeze in a quart freezer bag. Make some boxed mac and cheese over the camp stove and mix in the beef.
- Grilled Cheese – Butter and cheese make it feel just like home
Be sure to stock up on Non-Perishable foods to supplement anything you are packing in the cooler. You can check out this great list of road trip friendly non-perishables. I like to pack a bag for the trip there and a bag for the trip back to make sure we do not run out of snacks too quick!
Don’t miss this huge post with 200 of the most popular road trip snacks! It is a great place to start your road trip grocery list.
How Many Days of Food Can You Pack In a Standard Cooler?
I am usually in charge of the food when we travel and I have found that we have to plan to restock about every 4 days.
A standard cooler (60 qt) cooler can hold about four days worth of food for a family camping. If you eat out a lot and can regularly restock the cooler with ice you can stretch it to six days.
Be sure that you are monitoring the cooler temperature. I like a digital thermometer that you can set to beep when the temp rises too high.
Stay safe and follow common sense food safety rules.
Which Cooler is Best for a Large Family?
If you take long trips or frequent trips, invest in an electric cooler. This can allow you to travel without having to worry about ice.
Be sure you buy a cooler that is large enough for your family and that it has good reviews for longevity.
We chose Iceco because they have a very durable motor that is unique to the brand. We have enjoyed using it for several months now.
You do need to consider how you will power the cooler, but many can plug into your car 12v (cigarette lighter) outlet in your car.
A portable generator is another great option. Jackery Power Stations are very popular and there are many good options to keep you powered up when you are away from power.
We used a hard sided cooler for years traveling frequently, so you can use that for years while you save up for the electric.
