12 Best Coolers with Wheels 2023

The best coolers with wheels for 2023 and beyond are rugged and use thick walls with plenty of insulation. Our favorite rolling wheeled cooler picks are rotomolded, making them extremely efficient and durable. The key drawback to heavy-duty coolers is weight: Rotomolded coolers are heavy.

That’s where the wheels come in. With a good set of wheels on a large cooler full of heavy drinks and ice, most anyone can pull a wheeled cooler. Coolers with wheels let you haul more food and drink much farther — and over rougher terrain — than you can lug a standard cooler without wheels.

With wheels, you don’t have to be a super-sized human to take a big cooler

If you’re the kind of person who likes to get away from the parking lot, you need a good rolling wheeled cooler. To test coolers with wheels, we’ve hauled them over sandy terrain, over rocky terrain, down steep trails, and across docks and gravel parking lots. We’ve put them in rafts, bungied them to iSUPs, and left them in the back of pickup trucks over multiple days in the backcountry. Through it all, coolers with wheels are the easiest to manage, making your life easier and more fun outside.

If you’re on the fence between choosing a traditional cooler or a wheeled cooler, the answer is simple: If you’re ever going to haul a medium-to-large cooler more than 50 yards, choose a cooler with wheels. You won’t regret it.

In this guide, we recommend the best overall coolers with wheels as well as the best budget-priced wheeled coolers. In addition, we recommend some cooler wheel add-on kits and alternative cooler-hauling options:

Best Coolers with Wheels for 2023

Use these quick links to jump down to specific picks — or simply scroll down for photos and more detail:

Best Overall:
• YETI Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler

Best Traditional Design:
• YETI Tundra Haul

Best Made in USA Cooler:
• Pelican 65QW Elite Wheeled Cooler

Best Accessories:
• RovR RollR 60 Wheeled Cooler

Best for the Beach:
• Igloo ECOCOOL Trailmate 70 Cooler

Best Lightweight & Rugged:
• RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler

Best Large:
• Blue Coolers 110 Quart Ark Series Wheeled Cooler

Best Large Budget:
• Coleman 316 Series 100-Quart Wheeled Cooler

Best Medium Budget:
• Coleman 316 Series 62-Quart Wheeled Cooler

Best Small:
• Igloo ECOCOOL Latitude 16 Roller Cooler

Best Soft Wheeled Cooler:
• Artic Zone Titan 60 Can Wheeled Cooler

Best Rugged Value:
• Moosejaw Ice Fort 55Q Rolling Hard Cooler

• Best Cooler Wheel Kits & Alternatives
• Rolling Cooler FAQ
• Key Factors to Consider

 

Best Coolers with Wheels for 2023

The biggest benefit to a cooler with built-in wheels is the ability to pull it around easily even when it is full of heavy drinks and ice. A secondary benefit to built-in wheels is they take up very little space and they’re always there, ready to be used. Many rolling cooler makers offer multiple size options. Interior dimensions can vary in shape and don’t always correspond directly to the numbers in the cooler’s model name. Plus, cooler manufacturers don’t report volume consistently. For instance, is can capacity with or without ice? In our guide below, we share the manufacturer’s reported capacity but take it one step farther: We calculate the interior volume based on the interior dimensions to get you closer to an actual interior volume, reported in quarts.

1. Best Overall: YETI Roadie 48

The YETI Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler combines a smoothly telescoping handle with a deeper, more vertical cooler shape. The result is a high-capacity cooler that’s surprisingly easy to pull. As an added benefit, the cube-like cooler shape results in a smaller footprint than more rectangularly shaped coolers. Meanwhile, the entire rotomolded cooler still delivers YETI’s ruggedness and ice retention capabilities found in YETI’s legendary Tundra coolers. The Roadie 48 — and its larger Roadie 60 sibling — have thick walls filled with insulation, as well as secure but easy-to-open latches. To learn more, check out our full YETI Roadie 48 Review here.

Capacity: 76 cans
Weight: 28.3 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 19.8″ x 20.1″ x 20.6″
Interior dimensions: 14.5″ x 11.4″ x 15.8″
Calculated volume: 45~ quarts
Size options: 48, 60

Best Benefit: Great balance when pulling

Biggest Drawback: The price is high (but if you can afford it, so is customer satisfaction)

Here’s one last benefit to investing in YETI: If you happen to break something years down the road (and that’s a big if) YETI will likely have replacement parts on hand for a fix.

Check availability/shipping:

Backcountry.com | Cabelas | REI | YETI

2. Best Traditional Design: YETI Tundra Haul

The YETI Tundra Haul Wheeled Cooler is YETI’s first wheeled cooler. It has a more traditional cooler shape than the Roadie 48 and 60. As for capacity, the Tundra haul has slightly more capacity than the YETI Roadie 48 and less capacity than the YETI Roadie 60. In addition, the YETI Tundra Haul is slightly more rugged than the Roadie coolers — but this is like comparing the relative strength of two bull elk. They’re all very tough.

One key benefit of the Tundra Haul over the Roadie 48/60 is that the Tundra Haul is bear proof when you use a padlock. The Roadie is not lockable with a padlock. If you expect to camp in bear country, choose the Tundra Haul. Alternately, if the more traditional cooler shape fits your needs better, choose the Tundra Haul.

Capacity: 82 cans
Weight: 37.5 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 28.1″ x 18.6″ x 19.6″
Interior dimensions: 19.1″ x 11.4″ x 14.1″
Calculated volume: 53~ quarts
Size options: n/a

Best Benefit: Ultra rugged and bear-proof

Biggest Drawback: The price is high (but if you can afford it, so is customer satisfaction)

Check availability/shipping:

Bass Pro Shops | Moosejaw | YETI

 

3. Best Made in USA: Pelican 65QW Elite Wheeled Cooler

The Pelican 65QW Elite Wheeled Cooler is a beast of awesomeness. It’s made in the USA and comes with a Lifetime Guarantee, which is outstanding. For comparison, YETI comes with an excellent 5-year warranty, while most competitors have shorter warranty periods. As for features, this do-everything cooler delivers extreme ice retention via 2″ of insulation and a freezer-grade gasket. The press and pull latches are secure yet easy to use. You get multiple tie-down options, a built-in fish scale on the lid, and a garden hose attachable drain plug.

With a 65-quart interior volume, the 65QW is a near-perfect size for weekend camping trips and adventures. The only drawback is that it’s a bit heavy — 46.8 pounds — but the wheels, of course, make it easy to pull. Pelican also makes two other sizes — a smaller 45QW and a larger 80QW version.

Capacity: 65 quarts
Weight: 46.8 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 36.5″ x 19.6″ x 20″
Interior dimensions: 26.5″ x 12″ x 12.6″
Calculated volume: 69~ quarts
Size options: 45QW, 65QW, 80QW

Best Benefit: Made in USA ruggedness and lifetime warranty

Biggest Drawback: Bit heavy

Check availability/shipping:

Pelican

4. Best Accessories: RovR RollR 60 Wheeled Cooler

The rugged and thermally efficient rotomolded RovR RollR 60 Wheeled Cooler delivers a jaunty design that’s ready for accessories. RovR makes multiple cutting and prep board attachments, as well as cup holders, a stash bag, a sunshade umbrella/fishing rod holder, and even a bike towing arm kit so you can pedal your cooler to the park or beach. Speaking of the beach, if you want to swap out the already fantastic puncture-resistant tires with wider, sand-ready wheels, RovR sells a beach wheel kit with balloon tires with ceramic bearings that won’t rust. Check out RovR’s RollR Accessories here.

Capacity: 60 cans + 20 lbs ice
Weight: 40 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 26.5″ x 19.8″ x 20.8″
Interior dimensions: 19.6″ x 10.6″ x 12.8″ + 3.5″ x 7.1″ x 12″
Calculated volume: 51~ quarts
Size options: 45, 60, 80

Best Benefit: Great accessory add-on options

Biggest Drawback: Slightly more likely to move in your vehicle due to wheel/feet design

Check availability/shipping:

Backcountry.com | REI | RovR

5. Best for Beach: Igloo ECOCOOL Trailmate 70 Cooler

The Igloo ECOCOOL Trailmate 70 Qt Cooler has two big benefits. First, the all-terrain, smooth-ride wheels are extra large, which lets them roll over bumpy terrain easier than smaller wheels. Second, the Igloo ECOCOOL Trailmate 70 comes with lots of built-in usability features, including a locking dry storage compartment, a telescoping handle system that uses a built-in butler tray as a side table, fishing rod/shade holders, a bottle opener and tuck storage pocket.

Compared to the YETI coolers above, the Trailmate 70 isn’t as thermally efficient — but it’s great for day trips to the beach where its portability and gear-hauling features win the day. Note: You can get the non-ECOCOOL Trailmate ‘Journey’ version at Walmart (the key difference is the Journey doesn’t use recycled plastic).

Capacity: 112 cans (without ice)
Weight: 34.7 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 34.59″ x 19.7″ x 23.61″
Interior dimensions: 23″ x 14″ x 11.5″
Calculated volume: 64~ quarts
Size options: non-ECOCOOL versions available

Best Benefit: Lots of built-in usability features

Biggest Drawback: A bit bulky in overall design

Check availability/shipping:

Amazon

 

6. Best Lightweight & Rugged: RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler

The new for 2023 RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler uses an injection molded construction. It’s lighter than rotomolded coolers but nearly as rugged and thermally efficient. We’re big fans of the non-wheeled RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Cooler (full original version review here) but we must say, we actually appreciate the wheeled version even more. How so? You get the same great build quality with plenty of insulation and a freezer-style gasket. The Wheeled version steps it up a notch with excellent, easy-pulling wheels with a fully protected stainless steel axle. The powder coated aluminum handle is stout and falls gently into position without slamming when you let it go. We tested a fully-loaded RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Wheeled Cooler with a 800-yard trek through a parking lot, over grass, gravel, dirt and sand on a hot summer beach day. Without the wheels, we never would have taken that big of a cooler. With the wheels? Easy peasy and cold food and drink for everyone, all day long.

Capacity: 78 cans or 53 lbs of ice
Weight: 30 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 29″ x 18.25″ x 18.75″
Interior dimensions: 20.75″ x 12″ x 12.5″
Calculated volume: 54~ quarts
Size options: 52-qt

Best Benefit: Lighter than typical rotomolded coolers

Biggest Drawback: Drain plug design leaves a bit of water in the cooler (minor quibble really)

Check availability/shipping:

RTIC

7. Best Large: Blue Coolers 110 Quart Ark Series Wheeled Cooler

The Blue Coolers 110 Quart Ark Series Wheeled Cooler is a massive cooler. It’s rotomolded, so it’s super durable with thick insulated walls. Overall build quality is excellent. You get all the features you would expect with a good rotomolded cooler: Non-skid feet, rugged integrated hinges, freezer-style gasket and molded tie-down slots.

Capacity: 100 cans with 2:1 ice ratio
Weight: 46 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 33.5″ x 20.5″ x 19.5″
Interior dimensions: 27″ x 16″ x 15″
Calculated volume: 112~ quarts
Size options: 60-qt, 110-qt

Best Benefit: Massive volume with excellent ice retention

Biggest Drawback: Heavy and bulky

Check availability/shipping:

Amazon | Blue Coolers | Bass Pro Shops

8. Best Large on a Budget: Coleman 316 Series 100-Quart Wheeled Cooler

The Coleman 316 Series 100-Quart Wheeled Cooler is huge but also affordable. It’s not going to give you the 10-day ice retention you can get out of the Blue Coolers Ark Series, but you still get the volume you need to host massive back-yard barbecues and friends and family events. We like the Coleman 316 Series because it’s affordable and has a great blend of quality for the price point. We appreciate the fully-insulated lid, which is also strong enough to sit on.

Capacity: 160 cans
Weight: 21 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 18.75″ x 18.25″ x 37″
Interior dimensions: 32″ x 13.7″ x 14.9″
Calculated volume: 113~ quarts
Size options: 62-qt, 100-qt

Best Benefit: Massive size in a lightweight package

Biggest Drawback: Not as thermally efficient as the rotomolded competition

Check availability/shipping:

Amazon | Bass Pro Shops

 

9. Best Medium on a Budget: Coleman 316 Series 62-Quart Wheeled Cooler

It should be no surprise that our best medium-sized budget wheeled cooler comes from the Coleman 316 series, too. The Coleman 316 Series 62-Quart Wheeled Cooler has all the same features as its larger 100-quart sibling, just smaller. If you want everyday portability on a budget, this cooler is for you.

Capacity: 50 cans with 26 lbs ice
Weight: 14.7 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 18″ x 28.2″ x 15″
Interior dimensions: 23.4″ x 11.6″ x 14.9″
Calculated volume: 70~ quarts
Size options: 62-qt, 100-qt

Best Benefit: Lightweight and easy to manage

Biggest Drawback: Not as thermally efficient as the rotomolded competition

Check availability/shipping:

Amazon | Cabelas | Walmart

10. Best Small: Igloo ECOCOOL Lattitude 16 Roller Cooler

If you want a small, no-frills wheeled cooler for easy day trips, the new Igloo ECOCOOL Latitude 16 Roller Cooler is for you. It will fit 24 stacked cans (without ice). Better yet, the total weight is just over 6 lbs, making this cooler easy to store on a shelf in your garage or home. Igloo also makes a non-ECOCOOL Latitude 16, which is also good, but the ECOCOOL version uses recycled plastics made primary from yogurt cups and milk jugs — and it’s made in the USA!

Capacity: 24 cans (without ice)
Weight: 6.3 lbs
Exterior Dimensions: 14″ x 13.69″ x 11.98″
Interior Dimensions: n/a
Reported Volume: 16~ quarts
Size options: 16-qt

Best Benefit: Lightweight and small

Biggest Drawback: Not fantastic thermal efficiency

Check availability/shipping:

REI

11. Best Soft Wheeled Cooler: Artic Zone Titan 60 Can Wheeled Cooler

The Artic Zone Titan 60 Can Wheeled Cooler is basically a soft-sided, collapsible cooler that comes with a collapsible pull cart. The package together is a bit ingenious: You get all the benefits of a lightweight soft cooler combined with the easy-pull benefits of a wheeled cooler. We appreciate the extra pockets, attached bottle opener, and ability to ditch the wheels and carry the soft cooler with the should strap.

Capacity: 60 cans
Weight: 6.75
Exterior dimensions: 14.75″ x 15.5″ x 19″
Interior dimensions: 13.25″ x 12″ x 14.75″
Calculated volume: 40~ quarts (main compartment only)
Size options: 60-can

Best Benefit: Ultra lightweight and collapsible for easy storage

Biggest Drawback: Not fantastic thermal efficiency

Check availability/shipping:

Amazon

12. Best Rugged Value: Moosejaw Ice Fort 55Q Rolling Hard Cooler

Moosejaw is a retailer of high-quality outdoor gear that has been producing some of its own Moosejaw-branded gear. Like the well-known outdoor retailer REI’s own branded gear, Moosejaw house-brand gear usually delivers a great price-to-value ratio because the retailer saves on marketing and logistics — and they can pass those savings on to the consumer. At full price, the Moosejaw Ice Fort 55-Quart Rolling Hard Cooler is competitive, but when it’s on sale it’s a steal. It’s rotomolded with thick insulation and a rugged build. We appreciate the little details, like the included bottle opener and the Moosejaw antler traction tread on the wheels.

Capacity: 78 cans or 55 lbs ice
Weight: 33.75 lbs
Exterior dimensions: 19.13″ x 30″ x 17.56″
Interior dimensions: 13″ x 22″ x 12″
Calculated volume: 59~ quarts
Size options: 55-qt

Best Benefit: Competitive price-to-value ratio

Biggest Drawback: New for 2023, so long-term durability hasn’t been proven yet (but Moosejaw offers a 5-year warranty)

Check availability/shipping:

Moosejaw

 

The Best Cooler Wheel Kits

It may be possible to add a wheel kit to an existing cooler. The benefit is that you can save money and get the best of both worlds — a wheeled cooler and a standard cooler. The biggest drawback is that wheeled cooler kits take up more storage space and aren’t as sturdy as built-in wheels.

You should avoid any cooler wheel kit that requires you to drill into your cooler to attach the wheels. Don’t risk a perfectly good cooler by drilling holes into a material that wasn’t designed to maintain integrity when it’ll be under massive pressures with a fully loaded cooler.

The best cooler wheel kits come with an L-shaped bracket and two locking straps. One strap will go up to a strap slot near the handle. A second strap will go under the cooler’s base and up to the strap slot on the handle on the other side. This method ensures that you’ll be able to open and close the cooler and maintain a good seal.

How do you know if a cooler wheel kit will work with your cooler? First, identify suitable strap “tie-down” slots near the top side handle areas of your cooler. Second, measure the width of your cooler and ensure that the wheel kit you buy has enough space in-between its two wheels to fit the cooler. Some kits have adjustable axels to let you adjust the width, making them nearly universal.

Alternately, you could buy a cart with wheels and simply use the cart to haul your traditional cooler.

Here are some recommended Cooler Wheel Kits & Alternatives:

Camco Heavy-Duty Cooler Cart Kit

The Camco Heavy-Duty Cooler Cart Kit has two axel settings, 15.5″ wide for medium-sized coolers and 17.5″ wide for larger coolers. The biggest benefit of this cooler wheel kit is the large-diameter wheels, which make pulling your cooler over rugged terrain and bumps easier.

Badger Wheels Large Wheeled Single Axle for YETI Tundra 35-160 Kit

If you already have a YETI Tundra cooler, the Badger Wheels Large Wheeled Single Axle for YETI Tundra 35-160 Kit is a super strong wheel kit that will support 500-pound loads.

The Rambler X4 4-Wheel System for YETI Coolers

Again, if you already have a YETI Tundra cooler, the Rambler 4X 4-Wheel System for YETI Coolers turns your Tundra into a cooler with four wheels.

MacSports All Terrain Beach Wagon with Side Table

The MacSports All Terrain Beach Wagon with Side Table is a collapsible beach wagon that can carry up to 150 pounds. Better yet, you can collapse it down to a much smaller size for storage or travel.

Sea Striker Balloon Tire Surf and Beach Cart

The Sea Striker Balloon Tire Surf and Beach Cart will carry up to 125 pounds and fit most medium-sized coolers — the interior dimensions are 34″ x 14.5″ x 7″.

 

Rolling Cooler FAQ

Are wheeled coolers of the same size better than non-wheeled coolers?

If the cooler is large and you might struggle to carry it, it’s hard to beat the versatility of a cooler with wheels already built-in. The only drawback to wheeled coolers is that some rolling coolers sacrifice a bit of interior space to accommodate the wheels.

Can you add wheels to a cooler?

Yes, it is possible to add wheels to some coolers. The best way to add wheels to a cooler is to buy a cooler wheel kit that straps to built-in slotted cooler straps. If your cooler has tie-down strap slots — and most higher quality coolers do — we recommended the Camco Heavy-Duty Cooler Cart Kit. It will fit coolers up to 17.5″ wide near the base.

How much ice should I use in my cooler?

For high-quality coolers with excellent insulation and seals, a 2:1 ice-to-can/food ratio is recommended for awesome results in most conditions. This ratio is particularly important for multi-day camping trips. However, for most day trips, we often use less ice in good coolers and have a great time. Pro Tip: Don’t put warm or room-temperature drinks in a cooler and then cover them with ice. Why? You’ll waste most of your ice just to cool your drinks. Start with cold drinks and your ice will last much longer.

What are some key factors to consider when buying coolers with wheels?

When you’re considering coolers with wheels, there are several important considerations you should keep in mind:

1. Size and Shape

Take a look at the overall size and shape of the cooler and make sure it will fit in your vehicle. Next, consider storage around your home. Do you have a good place to store your cooler? Bigger is not always better if you have limited storage space at home. Coolers with wheels sometimes take up more space than coolers without wheels.

2. Check the Actual Capacity

Cooler manufacturers don’t always report the capacity in clear ways. A 60-can cooler might fit 60 12 oz cans . . . while another 60-can cooler might fit 60 cans plus 20 pounds of ice. Meanwhile, you can’t always trust model numbers. Some cooler manufacturers imply that a ’50’ might refer to a 50-quart cooler but it really has an interior volume of say, 42 quarts. Most good cooler manufacturers report interior dimensions, and you can use these dimensions to calculate a more accurate volume. With our top picks in our guide to the best wheeled coolers above, we’ve done the math for you. Just remember that the insides of coolers with wheels are often not perfectly cube-shaped, so the usable volume is an approximation.

One more point: High-quality coolers, particularly heavy-duty rotomolded coolers, have very thick walls and lids that are packed with insulation. This makes them very thermally efficient . . . but the interior space can seem small compared to the exterior space. A benefit of all that insulation is that you can often use less ice and still get good results.

3. Build Quality

There are a few areas where build quality is very important when selecting a wheeled cooler. The first is hinges and latches. Many inexpensive coolers simply rivet or screw on plastic hinges and plastic latches. These will eventually break . . . and they’re very difficult to repair. On the other hand, more rugged coolers use non-corrosive metal rods for their hinges, which are super durable and very rarely fail. The latches are much stronger and are often replaceable via the manufacturers, which usually have good support organizations set up.

The next important build quality consideration is the insulation. Many cheap coolers will not fill the interior walls and lids completely with insulation. There may be pockets of air with gaps in the insulation. Cheap coolers often skip adding insulation in lids altogether, so watch out for that.

4. Ice Retention

Cheap coolers typically have two problems when it comes to ice retention: First, they often have thinner walls and thinner lids with less insulation. Thicker the walls and more complete insulation result in better ice retention. Second, the lid should have a freezer-style gasket seal. Cheap coolers usually skip any sort of rubber or silicone seal, which lets warm air trickle in to melt your ice.

Last of all, color can be a factor when it comes to ice retention. White and lightly colored coolers tend to reflect more sunlight, which means they absorb less heat from the sun. Darker colors will absorb more heat from the sun. On the other hand, we like color and with high-quality coolers, the sunshine effect isn’t as critical. Either way, we tend to keep our coolers shaded as much as possible to maintain better ice retention.