Short answer. A cooler that lives on a job site needs a one piece shell with no seams to split, a gasket that still seals after a year in a truck bed, a drain that takes a hose, and wheels if it has to cross gravel. For a crew of two to four, that is the GATR 45. For four to six, the GATR 70. For a full crew in summer, the GATR 110. All three can carry your company logo on the lid.
Size it by the crew, not by the cooler
The rule of thumb on a hot site is a gallon of water per person per day. A crew of six drinking that much gets through roughly 38 twenty ounce bottles, and that is before anyone brings lunch. Work back from there.
| Crew | Size | Holds | Moves by |
|---|---|---|---|
| One or two, half a day | GATR 20 | 22 cans plus ice, 19 lb empty | One hand, behind the seat |
| Two to four | GATR 45 | 42 cans plus ice, 29 lb empty | Carried, two handles |
| Four to six | GATR 70 | 80 cans plus ice, 42 lb empty | Off road wheels |
| Full crew, or a long hot day | GATR 110 | 150 cans or 100 water bottles plus ice, 50 lb empty | Off road wheels |
If the cooler gets restocked at lunch, size down. If it gets filled once in the morning and opened forty times, size up. A cooler that is packed full holds ice longer than one that is half empty, so the larger size is usually the cheaper decision over a season.
What actually breaks a work cooler
Coolers on a site do not fail from cold. They fail from being dropped off a tailgate, dragged across concrete, left in the sun with the lid open, and never rinsed out. Four parts of the build decide whether that matters.
The shell
Every GATR hard cooler is rotomolded in one piece, so there is no seam to split when it lands on a corner. The walls and lid are foam insulated, roughly two to three inches depending on the size.
The gasket and the latches
A freezer style gasket runs the full lip, and the lid closes on GATR's signature latches. Between them they are what keeps warm air out when the cooler is opened forty times a day, which is the part of the job most coolers are not built for.
The drain
The drain plug is threaded for a standard garden hose. That sounds minor until a crew has to empty 70 quarts of warm water and melted ice at the end of a Friday. Hose it, tip it, leave the lid cracked overnight and it does not go sour.
The wheels
The wheels on the GATR 70 and the GATR 110 are solid rather than hollow, so they roll across gravel, spoil, grass and sand instead of sinking into it. On a site with no paved path from the truck to the crew, this is the difference between a cooler that gets used and one that stays in the bed.
Keeping it usable
- Pre chill it the night before with a bag of sacrificial ice, then dump that and load it in the morning. A warm cooler spends its first hours melting ice instead of holding it.
- Block ice at the bottom, cans and bottles on top, and fill the air gaps. Air is what melts ice, not the lid.
- Leave the drain shut during the day. The meltwater is colder than the air and keeps the bottom layer cold.
- Rinse and leave it open at night. Five minutes on a Friday is what stops it smelling by Monday.
How long the ice lasts comes down to those four habits more than to the model. We wrote up the detail in how long a GATR holds ice.
Put the company name on it
Most of what leaves our shop is customized. A cooler with the company logo on the lid does two jobs on a site: it stops walking off, and it sits in front of every client who visits. The logo goes on a marine mat lid pad cut to that exact size, so it does not peel like a sticker or wear off like a print.
The same applies to the end of year gift that actually gets used. Contractors, equipment rental companies, fabricators and dealerships order coolers and matching drinkware with their own mark on them, and we cut the pads here in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Custom orders ship in three to four weeks.
Tell us the sizes and the quantity and we will quote it: GATR Custom Shop.
Questions we get asked
What size cooler does a work crew need?
Size it at roughly a gallon of water per person per day in hot weather. A crew of two to four is a GATR 45, four to six is a GATR 70, and a full crew through a summer day is a GATR 110. Restocking at lunch lets you size down one step.
Are GATR coolers tough enough for a job site?
They are rotomolded in one piece with no seams, with foam insulated walls and a lid built to be stood on. The same coolers go out on boats, in truck beds and on side by sides, which is the same kind of use.
Can I put my company logo on a job site cooler?
Yes, on any size. The logo is cut into a marine mat lid pad sized to that cooler, not printed on the shell, so it survives being loaded and unloaded every day. Custom orders ship in three to four weeks.
Which GATR coolers have wheels?
The GATR 70 and the GATR 110, both on solid off road wheels. If the cooler has to cross gravel or dirt between the truck and the crew, take one of those two.
How do I clean a cooler that lives in a truck?
Open the drain, run a hose through it, wipe it down and leave the lid cracked overnight so it dries out. The drain plug on every GATR is threaded for a standard garden hose, so it empties without being tipped.
How many water bottles fit in a GATR 110?
About 100 twenty ounce bottles with ice, or 150 cans. That covers a full crew through a hot day with room to restock at lunch.
