Home-made Cooler for Elk?

[fnlights]

Has anyone home-made a cooler for elk? My dad and I have a guided elk hunt planned for 2022 and plan on driving out to Colorado (from PA). The issue being getting the meat back.

We are looking at building a few coolers to throw in the bed of the truck to store the meat. But neither of us have ever hunted elk / killed an elk before so we have no idea how much meat we are going to get - so no idea how big these things need to be to hold potentially 2 bull elk.

Any insight on how to make one / pictures of one's you have made would be greatly appreciated! (Including dimensions)

We have no idea how much one will cost, but with the current cost of lumber, might be able to buy 2 yeti's instead .

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I hunted in New Foundland for moose and we brought two back in a kooler we got from the airlines. It measured about 4'x4' x3.5'. worked great for the four day trip back to PA. Just loaded down with ice and had a spacer on the bottom (with drain) so the water didn't get to the meat. I will try to find some pictures. Look on Craigs List or the internet for used "Airline food Coolers", Sure beats putting in 150qt coolers. The airlines use to transport perishables and they trade them out after awhile of use.

 

[Monster Toms]

A bull elk will bone out into a 150 qt cooler. Depending on where in the state your hunting, a locker plant close by will normally chill an elk for $10day.
Most long trip guys buy a small apartment size freezer and just fill with ice.

 

[1000yards]

Has anyone home-made a cooler for elk? My dad and I have a guided elk hunt planned for 2022 and plan on driving out to Colorado (from PA). The issue being getting the meat back.

We are looking at building a few coolers to throw in the bed of the truck to store the meat. But neither of us have ever hunted elk / killed an elk before so we have no idea how much meat we are going to get - so no idea how big these things need to be to hold potentially 2 bull elk.

Any insight on how to make one / pictures of one's you have made would be greatly appreciated! (Including dimensions)

We have no idea how much one will cost, but with the current cost of lumber, might be able to buy 2 yeti's instead .

We put an old chest freezer in a 5'x10' trailer. Easy to tow and with a few blocks of dry ice all the meat of two elk was frozen solid by the time we got back home. Backstraps and quarters. Our trip was NW Ohio to Northern New Mexico. A freezer like this would easily fit in the bed of a truck as well.

 

[fnlights]

I hunted in New Foundland for moose and we brought two back in a kooler we got from the airlines. It measured about 4'x4' x3.5'. worked great for the four day trip back to PA. Just loaded down with ice and had a spacer on the bottom (with drain) so the water didn't get to the meat. I will try to find some pictures. Look on Craigs List or the internet for used "Airline food Coolers", Sure beats putting in 150qt coolers. The airlines use to transport perishables and they trade them out after awhile of use.

I will have to look and see if we can find any airline food coolers - never thought about that

 

[fnlights]

A bull elk will bone out into a 150 qt cooler. Depending on where in the state your hunting, a locker plant close by will normally chill an elk for $10day.
Most long trip guys buy a small apartment size freezer and just fill with ice.

We put an old chest freezer in a 5'x10' trailer. Easy to tow and with a few blocks of dry ice all the meat of two elk was frozen solid by the time we got back home. Backstraps and quarters. Our trip was NW Ohio to Northern New Mexico. A freezer like this would easily fit in the bed of a truck as well.

Both good ideas. I am sure that small freezers could be found for pretty cheap too. The guide said we will have access to dry ice, so that is a plus!

 

[Bob Wright]

We always bring a generator and a chest freezer to elk/deer camp. Easily fits in a pickup.

 

[Slick8]

You'll be fine with coolers. I agree with the 150 qt above but use 2 100 qt coolers myself as they're easier to handle.

I was on a cow hunt in the Texas panhandle and was given a white tail buck and half a wildebeest on top of my cow elk. No cooler space and i didn't want to buy another cooler as it was a 120 mile round trip to a Walmart and I have a few too many coolers. We put what wouldn't fit in coolers into heavy trash bags stopping every two hours for ice. That was a 9 hour drive back to Houston and the meat was fine.

 

[Dr. Vette]

The $69 Igloo coolers at Sam's Club work great. Buy 3 so you'll have an extra, and you'll be thankful you did.

Let us know you're not a robot - Sam's Club

www.samsclub.com

We've hauled animals back from the west several times and never had to add ice.

If you both get an elk, consider a hitch hauler for the truck. We use the coolers for storage on the way out, but use the hitch hauler with straps to carry a cooler on the way home. You'll need room inside the back of the truck for the antlers.

Reese Towpower

Fit for your lifestyle whether you need to transport livestock, supplies to a job-site, or haul your RV to the campsite, REESE manufactures many classes of receiver hitches to meet your every towing need.

www.rolaproducts.com

Yes, that hitch hauler is not the cheapest but we've taken ours on 2-5 hunts per year with zero issues.

 

[fnlights]

The $69 Igloo coolers at Sam's Club work great. Buy 3 so you'll have an extra, and you'll be thankful you did.

Let us know you're not a robot - Sam's Club

www.samsclub.com

We've hauled animals back from the west several times and never had to add ice.

If you both get an elk, consider a hitch hauler for the truck. We use the coolers for storage on the way out, but use the hitch hauler with straps to carry a cooler on the way home. You'll need room inside the back of the truck for the antlers.

Reese Towpower

Fit for your lifestyle whether you need to transport livestock, supplies to a job-site, or haul your RV to the campsite, REESE manufactures many classes of receiver hitches to meet your every towing need.

www.rolaproducts.com

Yes, that hitch hauler is not the cheapest but we've taken ours on 2-5 hunts per year with zero issues.

Never thought about a hitch haul, but bet that would work perfectly. I feel like we couldn't build a cooler for $69 (3 for $207).

 

[19 Badger]

We always bring a generator and a chest freezer to elk/deer camp. Easily fits in a pickup.

I ran into a couple gents that did this in Eastern Wyoming a few years ago. They were meat hunting and had 6-8 Antelope stuffed in there. Worked like a charm!

 

[Muddyboots]

Several threads on LRH on coolers but here is one I started back in 2019. An elk will fit in a 150 easily if boned out. Good ideas in it as well.
LINK: Cooler Grate

 

[david.eustache]

Has anyone home-made a cooler for elk? My dad and I have a guided elk hunt planned for 2022 and plan on driving out to Colorado (from PA). The issue being getting the meat back.

We are looking at building a few coolers to throw in the bed of the truck to store the meat. But neither of us have ever hunted elk / killed an elk before so we have no idea how much meat we are going to get - so no idea how big these things need to be to hold potentially 2 bull elk.

Any insight on how to make one / pictures of one's you have made would be greatly appreciated! (Including dimensions)

We have no idea how much one will cost, but with the current cost of lumber, might be able to buy 2 yeti's instead .

 

[david.eustache]

Has anyone home-made a cooler for elk? My dad and I have a guided elk hunt planned for 2022 and plan on driving out to Colorado (from PA). The issue being getting the meat back.

We are looking at building a few coolers to throw in the bed of the truck to store the meat. But neither of us have ever hunted elk / killed an elk before so we have no idea how much meat we are going to get - so no idea how big these things need to be to hold potentially 2 bull elk.

Any insight on how to make one / pictures of one's you have made would be greatly appreciated! (Including dimensions)

We have no idea how much one will cost, but with the current cost of lumber, might be able to buy 2 yeti's instead .

Inverter from harbor freight $159 & chest freezer $200 Home Depot & vacuum sealer $200 + or - depending upon the bag material. Dry ice and or regular ice when engine is not running making 110 v power for the chest freezer. Simply keep the drain plug out of the bottom.