Anyone have dividers for their coolers?

[NittanyL]

I have a really big cooler that is at least a 5 day, if not more.  Takes two of us to carry it.  Anyway, when I get in and out of it, the most frustrating thing is when the ice shifts and you have to rearrange everything to put stuff back in.  Does anyone know of any cooler dividers I could purchase or has anyone made some?  The coolers all have those little grooves down the sides, but I can't seem to find anything made specifically to go into the cooler to section if off. I have a couple ideas:  I could use some wire shelving cut to fit, although the ice would still shift around through the wire - or I could use something similar to a plastic cutting board, cut to fit, of course.  I was hoping to find maybe some dividers that you could fill with water and freeze, doing triple duty as ice packs and dividers and even fresh water containers.  But, the ones I can recall took up a lot of room in the cooler.  I don't need the fresh water, since we usually are at state parks and pack bottled water.  

 I'd like to section off a drink/condiment area (milk jug, oj, ketchup, mayo, mustard, salad dressing) and an area for cold cuts/cheese/bacon and an area maybe for longer stored items like ground beef or chicken that need to stay well buried in ice to keep fresh.

Sorry for rambling about it...Any ideas would be appreciated. Happy Camping!

[cjpoppin]

We had a large cooler and my husband cut some dividers for it using large pieces of plastic.  He bought the plastic from Home Depot I not sure what it was supposed to be used for but it did the trick......I didn't like searching and digging through the melted ice myself.....Come to think about it I think it was thick pieces of plexi- glass. Remember to sand the cuts so you do not get cut !

[NittanyL]

Thanks! I'll add that to my list of divider ideas.  I'll see what my hubby would prefer to cut!

[Gracy]

Our big white cooler came with a try/bucket that fits in.  We used it to keep stuff like lunch meat and condiments etc.  Along the way we've lost the orig. tray/bucket so I've been using a rubbermaid container that fits pretty snug.... you might try something like that if you can find the right size.

[tlhdoc]

I use a flexible plastic cutting board as a divider.  I have also thought about using pieces of PVC, cut shorter than the cooler, to make "sleeves" for milk, juice, etc.

[Camping Coxes]

We also use a Rubbermaid-type large rectangular container in our cooler.  It's tall enough the ice doesn't come over the top when packed.  We keep the condiments, cheese, lunch meat and veggies in there.  That stuff floating in ice, even when inside Ziploc bags, can get nasty.   Works well and makes packing and unpacking the cooler easier.  
 
Ours has grooves as well.   Never thought of putting dividers in there, but that's a great idea.

[hoppy]

Our Coleman 100-qt marine cooler came with a holding bin that fits on to a lip that is molded in to the top of the cooler. This is where we keep the cold cuts and veggies that we don't want to get water on. It also came with one divider that slides in to molded grooves on the side walls of the cooler that I use to stack and ice down my beers in. Between the beers and the veggie tray, we can store two 10-lb bags of ice that we use for our soft and mixed drinks. It's a perfect little set-up for us.

 As for dividers for yours, plexi-glass or molded cutting boards should do the trick.

[perterra]

Dont know the cooler brand for sure but I think rubbermaid used to have the blue ice dividers. Maybe somebody is still making them.

[kampingkoge]

I keep a smaller cooler inside the larger 6 day wheeled cooler.  This servers two purposes, actually divides the larger cooler into two sections one section for drinks and the other for cut up fruit/veggies and other fresh goodies and also provides water and ice free sealable storage of meats / cheeses / steaks inside the smaller cooler.

[ronerjones]

I have often wondered why someone has not invented a more useful cooler, I go through the same irritating cooler issue issues every single time I camp. I have often wondered if I were to spend the time to make the ultimate camping cooler if it would be marketable. It would be large enough for at least 3 sections with shelves access from the top and front. I know it can not be that difficult to put together.

[perterra]

I have often wondered why someone has not invented a more useful cooler, I go through the same irritating cooler issue issues every single time I camp. I have often wondered if I were to spend the time to make the ultimate camping cooler if it would be marketable. It would be large enough for at least 3 sections with shelves access from the top and front. I know it can not be that difficult to put together.

You could but its likely no one would spend the money to buy an improved cooler. They seem to be for drinks most of the time.

I've thought about this stuff.  http://www.techniice.com/english/index.htm

[NittanyL]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I got a plastic bin at WalMart, it's one of those you can stack and reach into... I was going to use it as a divider, but it doesn't quite fit down into the cooler. But, it sort of fits in upside down and I can store a plastic container of stuff under it, while I keep the lunchmeat and cheeses & other stuff I don't want soaking up icy water on top of it.  I think it will work. We'll see this weekend.  Also, I liked the idea of using a smaller cooler.  I actually have a soft sided cooler that has a plastic insert that comes out so you can wash it. I will take that out and put it to use in the bigger cooler as well.  

I'll let you know how it works.