cooler in paradise?

[parafins]

I'm taking a cooler on wheels to S.T.J. next month.It's going to be check on luggage with the lid taped shut and a list on the top naming the items inside.It's under the measure requirement.I will be using U.S.Air.I don't see any problems with this but thought I would post this to see if my forum family could find any problems with this.And yes it will be under 50 lbs.One month 2 days!!! Parafins...

[promoguy]

Not sure you should tape the top since TSA might want to look in after you have it turned over.

Also, forget the list. It really isn't necessary.

[waterguy]

I would tape it they will retape if they need to get in

[Teresa_Rae]

I definitely think that the list is not necessary. We take a cooler every year and I've never included a list.

Tape is a necessity, as coolers can come open...I've seen people lose the contents of their coolers before. But what we do is wait until check-in to tape it...we always use dry ice, and sometimes they want to inspect it before they check in the cooler...that way the airline inspects the cooler and then puts their own logo tape on it.

[California Girl]

We checked a rolling, soft-sided cooler with no problems. I don't even remember being asked what was in it. I had the 2 zipper tabs locked together with a TSA approved lock and everything was fine although, when we got it on STJ, it was obvious it had had a rough ride. On the way back I filled it with my booze and cushioned it with t-shirts and slapped "FRAGILE" stickers all over the outside (I brought the stickers with me). When we got home everything was fine, but the TSA had gone through it and left me a note.

[RickG]

We took a cooler for the first time in November with the Thanksgiving essentials pre-cooked and frozen. It was a 32 quart Extreme cooler with no dry ice or tech-ice. I put a luggage strap around it and used duct tape. When it arrived the luggage strap was busted, but the duct tape was in good shape. When we to the villa everthing was still frozen hard.

I don't need dry ice unless the cooler goes missing for more than a day. My trip is to pre-chill the cooler before I put the frozen items in it the morning before we leave - 5 pounds of ice over night works fine.

Cheers, RickG

[Teresa_Rae]

The nice thing about soft-sided coolers is that they zip closed. But if it gets lost, your stuff might get ruined because the soft-sided ones don't insulate nearly as well as the hard-sided ones. One year our cooler got lost, but it lasted due to the dry ice (it was also hard-sided, which helped).

If it's just my husband and me, we take a smaller soft-sided cooler. But if we have others and need more room, we take a larger hard-sided cooler. I've packed liquor (wrapped up in towels and dirty clothes)in the soft sided cooler for the trip home...it has made it intact about half the time.

[parafins]

Thank you all for the tips!I will bring duct tape with me in case I need to tape the lid down again.Plus I can us the tape if my kids get out of hand! Parafins

[California Girl]

Plus I can us the tape if my kids get out of hand!

The best use yet!