Ice Maker

We freeze gallon zip lock bags full of water at home before leaving. They go in cooler, then some are used when we arrive at camp to cool Rpod fridge quicker. Then we transfer most of food, keeping beverages in the portable cooler with these blocks of ice. Lasts all weekend. If I need cubes during weekend, I pack a small cooler with ice from my home fridge. I make cubes all week before leaving and bag them. Never have to buy ice on road.

If you can find a Free Piston Sterling Cooler, go for it. It runs very efficiently and can actually hold proper refrigerator temperatures unlike thermoelectric coolers. I found a used Envirocooler Activault which was formerly used for pharmaceutical transport at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The price I paid was $100 plus tax. On eBay, I can't find them for less than $225 plus $44 shipping. They appear to be made by Freebird in Japan. Mine is much quieter and power draw is much less than that of a thermoelectric cooler. When I have AC, I can use the adapter to run it. Otherwise, I am not so worried about running my battery down if I need to use it. It will hold 4C (about 37F) even in 90F temperatures. It eliminates the need to run an icemaker or purchase ice for cooling.

We got our first YETI more or less for free. My wife had a jillion air mile points that were going to expire. I think with Delta. She used to travel 46 weeks out of the year.. we had a LOT of air mile/hotel nights/free rental cars.. A LOT.
So anyways, she used the points that were about to expire to get a YETI 45.. I would have never bought one. BUT, after using the 46 for a year I DID buy a 65. This was about 7-8 years ago now. There are some coolers out there that claim to be as good and DO cost less. But at the time it was YETI, or cheap.
NOW, as caveat, if all you do with a cooler is toss a couple suitcases of nattylight in there and cover it with ice, to take to the bonfire tonight or the beach for the day, DON'T buy one. But, if you need stuff to stay frozen for days while boondocking, it's the bee's knees.

3 years ago, we hosted the ERU at Carter Caves SP in Kentucky. We took 120 frozen Nathan's All Beefs for the hot dog night, 2 venison back straps, a 20 pack of frozen burgers, couple ribeyes, and some thick cut pork chops. All frozen solid, 20 pounds of dry ice in the cooler with them. We loaded and left for the Rally on Monday. The YETI sat in the dome, in temperatures up to 85F during the day and 70F at night. On Saturday, the dogs were still a brick. We had to thaw them on the counter all day, and hack them apart to put on the grill. We stayed until Tuesday of the following week. When we got home, the remaining meats, some burgers and a couple steaks, were still frozen. +8 full days in summer weather, nothing added to the cooler the whole time.

In addition to a good cooler, we have made an insulated cooler cover. I bought several rolls of reflectorized bubble wrap type of insulation at one of the big box home improvement stores. They also have the special metallic tape that goes with it. I made a 2 piece cover with a separate top and bottom. I used 3 layers of the insulation and made it a tight fit. I can take the top off to access the cooler and the bottom still stays on. The insulation makes a world of difference. We can keep a 10 pound block for 5-6days with no trouble in the back of our Expedition. I have more than paid for the materials with the saved ice money.

+1 to a really good cooler. How many times a day you open it and where you position it is key. I can go 5 days on one cooler of ice. Most of the countertop ice makers are similar, I have owned several, I didn't think they made enough to fill a cooler daily. I also like the Igloo brand.