Checking a Hard Cooler as Luggage.....

[vellamint]

Sorry but I have attempted to search for this on these boards but come up with hundreds of "cooler" posts and I cant find my answers so please.....

1) How many have actually brought a cooler from home and checked it as luggage at the airport? (I have one with wheels which seems much easier to keep filled with ice plus I dont want to buy a collaspable).

2) Someone mentioned putting a lock on it - how is that done?

3) Anyone have a problem doing this.

4) Should I bring tape to wrap around it or will they do that after they have inspected it at check in.

It seems easier to have my own that I can pack with stuff going down and coming up and its not really a big one......

Thanks.

 

[Penny2]

Have brought a cooler on many trips (including DW) but not since 9/11. However, we usually check ours as luggage. I would advise not taping it until they are able to look in it. Bring box tape or a bungee cord with you and put it on after they've looked at it. Even before 9/11 they always wanted to look in it and made us sign a waiver that said that they weren' t responsible if it got damaged.

We usually packed a 'tupperware ' type container in ours with silverware, small plates, napkins and food staples (crackers, peanut butter, etc.) in it. Our container is about the size of a shoebox and fits nicely into the bottom of our cooler. This goes in our suitcase if we aren't bringing our cooler.

Ours is a smaller cooler (about a twelve pack and a half size) so there is no way to lock it unless we bought something like a bike chain which I doubt they'd let you put on anyway. However, there are more professional type coolers that people use for camping that do have a lock feature.

I went on a trip with a girlfriend on a tight budget and she actually froze food and put it into a seperate suitcase and it made it fine. We stayed at Fort Wilderness and she was pretty well set for the week for many of her meals. She had couponed and frozen items like ham, butter, juice boxes, etc. and again, nothing spoiled and she saved alot of money by doing it.

We always grocery shop when we get there because no matter how much money I have, I'd rather spend it on cool souveniers and nice dinners. We like to snack alot so we always buy fruit and cheese (etc.) for the room and either use our cooler or rent a fridge. $2.50 for a coke (which is my staple beverage) just makes me mad...so, over the years I've figured ways to save money for better things.

Hope this helps!

 

[janette]

We checked our soft cooler before. It is one of the collapsable ones and has zippers the close it. We didn't lock it but there wasn't anything inside valuable.

They have larger ones of the same type, it is easy to manage because it also has carry straps.

 

[skeezixspud]

They have to verify that you do not have any dry ice, regular ice, or liquids inside in glass containers. They usually won't allow anything that could leak onto other baggage.

The airline will have tape guns to seal it up, but you might want to bring a roll of tape just in case. (They can cut it for you.) Some types of tape do not stick well to my Wheelie-cool ice chest; it has a pebble texture. Also, be sure to put some kind of cutting implement in your
check-in luggage if you are going to need to cut cords to open it at your destination, though a hotel front desk should be able to help.

Be sure to put a prominent label on it with your name and the phone number of your hotel.

 

[JillU-DVC]

I have done this before, but as a previous poster already said, you have to be VERY careful about WHAT you put in it - no liquids of any kind, and no ICE (regular ice or dry ice), except the blue ice things you get in the camping section of the grocery store.

This does make sense if you think about it, since you wouldn't want someone's cooler leaking all over your luggage in the plane.

To lock the cooler, you can buy a locking luggage strap (I have one that's multi-colored, and it locks with a 4 digit code). Put it around the cooler as tight as you can, and if you can, put it through the handles of the cooler.

 

[Snow Brite]

Especially in the summer with all the fishermen taking home ther bounty. All the posts above are good advice, do NOT tape it until it has been inspected, do NOT put anything lliquid or flammable/explosive in it, and us Duct tape to seal it. Put your name and address on it clearly and check it! No problems!

Jennifer