Red Neck Cooler

[crazymactech]

I went to a motorcycle oriented campground ( www.cycle-moore.com ) in MI for memorial day weekend. I picked up a 12 pack on the way and had brought 2 heavy duty trashbags, figuring I could use some cardboard box to put the bags in to make a cooler.

I got to the campground, purchased ice, and then tried to figure out what to do for a cooler. Bang upside my head with my fist! I already had one on the bike! I have a medium size www.bikersfriend.com bag on my passenger seat. It's like a coke can turned sideways with a rigid plastic liner inside. It has flaps on both sides to insert stuff.

I stood it up, put the trash bags inside, hanging outside over the top, filled it with ice and my 12 pack, and closed the cover over the trash bags.

Beverages were still ice cold 14 hours later. So if you need both storage and a cooler, these bags are the perfect solution. Once you get to your campsite, unload your stuff from the bag and use it as a cooler. King of pricey though, the medium size is over $200. They also come with a detachable backrest. Heavy duty bungie/d-rings so you can attach it to just about any points on your bike (rear turn signals, shocks, etc)

[crazymactech]

Since I ride solo, I leave the bag on the passenger seat all the time. Besides behind great support, the back rest is great since I weight very little, and the back rest helps give my legs an extra boost when I need to back up the bike.

[SidecarMike]

A friend made his own by gluing a garden kneeler like this, http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/108671_front200.jpg

To the side of a round Igloo Cooler,
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/hunting-fishing-inc_2106_4560759 for a backrest, then epoxied a couple D rings off of an old float tube.
When he was done, he painted the whole thing with Harley wrinkle finish black paint. It actually looked quite professional and worked very well. He used it the same way you do, as both a luggage bag and a cooler.

[nortonkicker]

Hello Crazymac. Seems you & I have had the same idea. We are finalizing a very similar idea. A completely waterprooof rigid container for packing your gear, insulated with open cell aluminum backed insulation, covered in leather, doubles as an ice chest and a stool when you get to camp. Hope to have to market soon. Trying to cut some labor costs out of the manufacturing to make pricing more attactive.