The new YETI Roadie 48 and 60 hard coolers come with an all-new wheeled design with a rugged collapsible pull handle. They are designed similar to the popular and much smaller Roadie 24, but there is more to the Roadie 48 and 60 than a bigger size.
To get us a closer look, YETI sent Man Makes Fire a YETI Roadie 48 review unit. After putting the YETI Roadie 48 to the test over hot days and rough terrain while camping during our review process, this is what we learned:
YETI Roadie 48 & 60 Review
One of the best features of the smaller YETI Roadie 24 — read our full Roadie 24 review here — is the more vertical design. Instead of a traditional elongated rectangular box like the YETI Tundra hard coolers, the Roadie series takes up less space at the base. By having a smaller footprint, the Roadie coolers are easier to fit into your vehicle for transport.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m packing a vehicle with gear, I appreciate taller coolers that take up less floor space.
The YETI Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler balances well and pulls easily.In addition, the taller design lets you fit wine bottles or even 2-liter soda bottles standing upright. While standard 12 oz beer and soda cans still get most of the cooler love these days, the versatility of the Roadie 24, 48, and 60 make packing for outdoor fun easier and more efficient. It seems like a small point, but I appreciate this design more than I thought I would.
Better yet, the Roadie 48 and 60 have wheels, which means you can easily pull a fully-loaded YETI for hundreds of yards with little hassle. When you add in the rugged telescoping handle, the maneuverability is outstanding.
You don’t need to a be super-sized human to haul the Roadie 48 or 60 to your destination.
I like in-the-field testing, so I took the YETI Roadie 48 on multiple, multi-day camping trips to evaluate its mobility and packability. It held ice like a champ, and I always appreciated the wheels and Periscope handle, even when I only had to move the cooler a short distance. Over one long Labor Day weekend in Idaho, with a 2:1 ice-to-contents ratio, it easily held ice for 4-plus days.
Editor’s Note: We updated this YETI Roadie 48 and 60 Wheeled Cooler Review on April 26, 2024 to add additional specification and comparison detail to better help you decide between YETI’s wheeled coolers.
YETI Roadie 48 & 60 Wheeled Coolers
Roadie 48 Specs:
- Capacity: 76 cans or 54 lbs of ice
- External Dimensions: 19.8″ x 20.6″ x 20.1″
- Internal Dimensions: 14.5″ x 15.8″ x 11.4″
- Weight: 28.3 lbs
Roadie 60 Specs:
- Capacity: 98 cans or 68 lbs of ice
- External Dimensions: 23.7″ x 20.5″ x 20″
- Internal Dimensions: 18.5″ x 15.8″ x 11.5″
- Weight: 30.6 lbs
Benefits:
- Wheels and retractable handle let you easily pull the Roadie
- Excellent overall rugged build quality
- More vertical design holds large bottles but has a more packable footprint
- Awesome, vibrant color choices
Drawbacks:
- A bit pricey (but the rugged build quality is outstanding)
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YETI Roadie 48 & 60: In-Depth Review
The new latch style is easy to open or close one-handed, and the LipGrip Handles stay out of the way but make lifting the Roadie easy.The YETI Roadie 48 & 60 Wheeled Coolers are rotomolded to create an ultra-rugged, seamless hollow body. The interior walls are then filled with a thick layer of pressure-injected polyurethane insulating foam.
As expected, both versions have a freezer-grade gasket, and YETI’s Interlock Lid System fits neatly together to seal in the cold.
Unlike YETI Tundra coolers that have the stout rubber T-Rex Lid Latches, YETI is using its new QuickLatch latch system. I appreciate them because they’re very easy to open and close one-handed, even when you’re sitting or standing at an odd angle to the cooler. For example, if the Roadie is in the back of my pickup truck, I can reach over the side of the bed and open the Roadie with ease.
Click here to jump down to my Roadie 60 vs Tundra Haul comparison.
You’ll Love the Wheels
We appreciate how the Periscope pull handle locks into place.For young, super strong and big people, wheels might not be a big deal. For everyone else, though, wheeled coolers are awesome. If if you’re a big guy who can carry a fully-loaded cooler by yourself, your friends and family probably can’t. That means you’re the one who always has to manage the cooler. With a YETI Roadie 48 or 60, friends, family, and kids can take responsibility for the cooler . . . leaving you to haul other things — like a monster stand-up paddleboard!
As to the wheel construction, YETI uses the same NeverFlat wheels it uses on its Tundra Haul rolling cooler. They are some sort of very rugged plastic-like polymer. They can take a beating on gravel and rocks. The diameter of the wheels is large enough to let you roll the Roadie 48 over lawns, grass, trails, gravel, and even sand. Deep, soft sand results in a harder pull, as you would expect, but it’s still doable.
If you need to carry the YETI Roadie 48 or 60 with a buddy to lift it into the back of a pickup or move it over a fallen log on the way to your destination, YETI has two side-molded LipGrip handles that fit a hand well. Unlike the smaller YETI Roadie 24, there are no strap handles.
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The New Periscope Handle
I really like how the new Periscope handle retracts down out of the way in the back of the new wheeled Roadie coolers.Unlike the YETI Tundra Haul that has a permanently extended hinged handle, the YETI’s new Roadie 48 and 60 Periscope handle extends like a luggage handle. Once you’re done pulling, it retracts behind the cooler, below the top of the hinged lid, completely out of the way.
Is the new Periscope Handle rugged? It’s way tougher than any luggage handles I’ve seen, and I put it to the test over a rocky, hilly beach traverse. If you pull a fully-loaded YETI Roadie 48 or 60 straight up or down a hill, the forces upon the handle will be straightforward. However, if you pull a YETI Roadie 48 or 60 up a trail at complex angles, you’ll place more torque on the handle as you deal with the angles and gravity.
When I pulled a fully-loaded Roadie 48 over rough ground, I paid close attention to handle flex and possible strain. Aside from a bit of motion due to the necessary gaps in the retractable bars, the handle felt rugged and capable.
Incidentally, if you’re worried, YETI is offering a whopping 5-year warranty on its Roadie 48 and 60 wheeled coolers. Check out the YETI Warranty Information page for more detail.
A Roadie Drain Plug?
While the Roadie 24 lacks a drain plug, the new 48 and 60 include one. Tip: If you have a long haul back to your vehicle, drain the Roadie before you head out.One drawback to the Roadie 24 has been the lack of a drain plug. Because the Roadie 24 is much smaller, you can drain it by turning it over easily enough. But larger coolers need a drain plug. Why? A few reasons. First, if you properly season your cooler, you’ll get better ice retention and performance. For example, we’ll sometimes drain the excess water after seasoning, saving any still-frozen ice if there’s enough left in good shape . . . then add fresh ice. Over long-term, multi-day use with a lot of people getting into and out of the cooler, we will sometimes drain cold water and add extra ice. Then, once we get home, a drain plug makes it much easier to clean out a cooler and prep it for the next trip.
The point is, we’re very happy to see the drain plug.
Ice Retention and Cooler Performance
All good coolers have feet that keep the bottom raised slightly above surfaces to reduce thermal transfer.Ice retention in the YETI Roadie 48 and 60 so far appears to be just as good as it is in the YETI Tundra hard coolers. YETI uses the same high-quality form-fitting lids with freezer-style gaskets, as well as the same YETI PermaFrost pressure-injected polyurethane insulation.
YETI also uses slightly raised feet, which along with the wheels, keep the base of the cooler slightly above and off of hot surfaces.
For best ice retention, you’ll want to properly season the cooler before your trip, which is basically pre-chilling it. And you should use a 2:1 ice-to-contents ratio. Of course, because our YETI coolers are so thermally efficient, we often don’t worry about proper ice ratios for our shorter trips unless it’s wicked hot outside.
Roadie Accessories
YETI offers a few handy Roadie-specific accessories — like this Roadie Cup Caddy.One drawback to YETI is that the company rarely includes many accessories with its coolers — but the company does make well-designed, high-quality accessories for sale as add-on purchases. The YETI Roadie 48 and 60 have several handy accessories available right now:
Roadie Wheeled Cooler Divider — If you’re an organization fiend and a fan of dividers, the YETI Roadie Wheeled Cooler Divider is compatible with both the Roadie 48 and 60 (but not compatible with Tundra coolers). It’s food safe and doubles as a cutting board.
Roadie Wheeled Cooler Cup Caddy — The Roadied Wheeled Cooler Cup Caddy is an overbuilt dual-cup holder with a stash spot for small items in between.
YETI Roadie 48 vs 60: The Only Difference That Matters
Which size wheeled Roadie cooler is right for you, the Roadie 48 or the Roadie 60? The only real difference is the width. Both the Roadie 48 and 60 are essentially the same height and depth, but the Roadie 60 is about 4″ wider.
The two wheeled coolers weigh nearly the same empty, but the Roadie 60 will carry more ice, food and drink, which means it could get quite a bit heavier than the Roadie 60.
The extra size will only matter when you need to lift the Roadie 60 into your vehicle — or fit the cooler among other gear. The answer is pretty easy, however: If you have large family outings, we recommend the Roadie 60. If you have a smaller family with straightforward weekend outings, choose the Roadie 48.
YETI Roadie 48 vs Tundra Haul
The YETI Tundra Haul has a more traditional wheeled cooler design.The toughest buying decision you might have around the YETI Roadie 48 and Roadie 60 is if you should go with the Roadie options or choose the Tundra Haul Wheeled Cooler. The biggest reason to choose the Tundra Haul Wheeled Cooler over the Roadie 48 or 60 is to get a more typical elongated hard cooler shape. In addition, the Tundra Haul has a lid you can lock with a padlock while the Roadie 48 and 60 do not lock.
The Tundra Haul pull handle is simply hinged and falls out the the way easily. It works well. Its interior is also tall enough to handle wine and 2-liter soda bottles upright — just like the Roadie 48 and 60 Wheeled Coolers.
The biggest drawback to the Tundra Haul is the weight. It weighs 37 pounds while the Roadie 48 weighs just 28.3 pounds and the Roadie 60 weighs 30.6 pounds. It’s likely that the Tundra contains a bit more insulation and/or thicker sidewalls overall than the Roadie series — YETI doesn’t say — but the weight difference could be due to a less streamlined design around the wheels and lid.
When I do the math to calculate the approximate interior volume of useable cooling space, here is the comparison in volume in liters:
- Roadie 48 Volume: 42.8~ liters
(76 cans) - Tundra Haul Volume: 50.3~ liters
(82 cans) - Roadie 60 Volume: 55.1~ liters
(98 cans)
As you can tell by the volumes, the Tundra Haul fits in between the two Roadie Wheeled Coolers. If you don’t have a strong personal preference for the Tundra Haul form factor, I have to recommend the YETI Roadie 60 Wheeled Cooler over the YETI Tundra Haul. Why? The YETI Roadie 60 gives you more volume with less weight than the YETI Tundra Haul.
Still, you can’t really go wrong here. The Roadie Wheeled Coolers and the Tundra Haul are all so good that they are our #1 and #2 picks in our guide to the best coolers with wheels.
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Competitive Alternatives & Options
If you’re considering the YETI Roadie 48 or Roadie 60, you’re most likely interested in a rugged, high-quality, thermally-efficient cooler that will last for years. That means cheap, poorly insulated wheeled coolers are not competitive alternatives at all. These alternative options below, on the other hand, are better built than most wheeled coolers and might also meet your needs:
YETI Tundra Haul — The YETI Tundra Haul is a legit wheeled competitor to the newer Roadie 48 and 60, as noted above. The key difference is the form factors. You get almost exactly the same core materials and rugged build quality. Choose the Tundra Haul if you prefer it’s more traditional rectangular shape versus the more cube-like Roadie options.
Pelican Elite 80QT Wheeled Cooler — Pelican’s Elite Wheeled Cooler comes in a whopping 80-quart option. It’s very rugged, delivers excellent ice retention, has a built-in bottle-opener and it holds a bear-resistant certification from the Interagency Grizzy Bear Committee.
Igloo Trailmate Marine 70 Quart Wheeled Cooler — The Igloo Trailmate Marine 70 Quart Wheeled Cooler looks like it was designed for a mission to an alien planet. It has rugged wheels, a stout extendable pull bar system, a built-in stash box for keys, a tuck pocket for items like sunscreen, two fishing rod/umbrella holders and bungie tie-down hooks for lashing gear to the lid. The biggest drawback is that it’s not as thermally efficient as the YETI Roadie coolers. A secondary consideration is its elevated design — the wheels and support bars give it great ground clearance at the cost of wasted space in your vehicle.
The Bottom Line
All-in-all, the new YETI Roadie 48 and 60 Wheeled Coolers take the surprising awesomeness of the popular YETI Roadie 24 and expand it to an easy-to-haul larger size. We appreciate the cube-like shape, classic YETI build quality, rugged materials, and Periscope handle. Most importantly, you don’t need to a be super-sized human to haul the Roadie 48 or 60 to your destination — it rolls easy, which is the key reason to choose a wheeled Roadie. The price is high, but so is the quality throughout. Very highly recommended.
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A Surprisingly Common Question: Which YETI is best for cold drinks?
Given the vast number of YETI cooler options these days, it shouldn’t be surprising how often this question comes up:
Which YETI cooler is best for cold drinks?
In our experience and review testing, the YETI Roadie 48 and YETI Roadie 60 are now the best YETI coolers for keeping drinks cold for most people. Why?
First, the taller design of the Roadie series lets you easily include 2-liter soda bottles or wine bottles.
Second, drinks are heavy and the wheeled design of the Roadie 48 and 60 lets you pull a heavy cooler full of drinks easily.
Third, hard coolers are more thermally efficient than soft coolers like the YETI M30 Tote Soft Cooler, which means it’s easier to keep drinks cold in a YETI hard cooler vs a YETI soft cooler.
Last of all, the shape of the Roadie 48 and 60 are more vertical than YETI’s Tundra line of coolers. This verticality often makes them easier to fit into vehicles because the cooler footprint is smaller and there is usually more available vertical space.
