How cool would it to be to have a table on your pontoon boat that also acts as a cooler with cup holders in it?
You simply lift up the table top or slide it to reveal your cooled drinks and snacks, then slide if all back together to become a table again.
Awesome idea isn’t it?
And way more functional than a standard pole table as you can grab a drink out, then place the drink in the cup holder, and even put your feet up as you enjoy the sunset.
Some bright spark has already thought of it and you can buy them from certain manufacturers.
Don’t Buy from a Manufacturer
For example, with the Bennington brand you can have this added as an optional extra when buying your boat but be prepared to pay between $500 to $1,000 dollars for the privilege.
A lot of money isn’t it?
With the boat brand pontoon cooler tables, I also have some additional negatives.
They will often require mounting and drilling, so you can’t move them around
They can get in the way if fixed in place they
They can take up a lot of room on a pontoon less than 25 foot in length
They usually come with soft tops and not flat hard table tops
They can make your pontoon a little top heavy
The above points are why I don’t recommend you buy direct from your pontoon manufacturer.
Buy an Aftermarket Pontoon Cooler Table Instead
Instead I suggest you look at some of the best aftermarket pontoon cooler table options that work just as well, and come in a lot, lot cheaper.
By buying one of these you can spend less money and have a pontoon boat cooler table ready to go. Here are some benefits to buying an aftermarket version.
They are way more functional than a pole or pedestal table
They have flat hard surfaces you can stand drink on or put feet up on
They don’t require drilling offering the flexibility to move around
They are a lot cheaper!
Whilst they might not be 100% in-keeping with the design of your pontoon interior they will still work in exactly the same way, and in some cases will be even better from a “cooling” perspective.
Here are my best pontoon boat cooler table options you can buy and easily fit into your own boat this year.
#1: Coleman Xtreme Marine Cooler (4 Cup Holders)
I believe this is the best priced boat cooler table that money can buy, and it’s from a brand that have an excellent reputation in the portable cooler market.
It’s got room to hold 100 cans with this 70-quart version (you can buy larger 100-quart version) and will fit in between the seating area on most pontoon boat decks.
It measures 28.5 inches long, 16 inches high, 17 inches tall and here’s the full specification.
Holds 100 cans which is more than four cases of soda
New, stylish outer casing
Table top lid supports up to 250 pounds
Hinged lid with four molded cup holders helps prevent spills and keeps drinks close
No-crush comfort handles for easy, pinch-free carrying
Rust-resistant stainless-steel hardware
Keeps ice up to 5 days in temperatures up to 90° F
It has a padded top seat, but no cup holders. However, it does look a lot better and should keep things cooler than the Coleman according to the online reviews I have read.
It’s smaller too, so is an ideal cooler table for a pontoon boat with limited space. It will also serve as being another comfortable seat if you need more room for guests.
48-quart Igloo Cooler with cushion
UV & mildew treated marine grade vinyl
High compression foam padding
Provides an extra seat and a premium cooler combination
To see the latest reviews and prices on Amazon, click here to view the Wise Cooler.
#3: Hard Shell Ice Cooler Box with (2 Cup Holders)
For something really heavy duty that will withstand all the punishment you might mete out to it then look no further than this table and cooler combination.
This is the best option for pontoon owners who go fishing a lot, as it’s more functional than stylish, and is perfect for two fishing buddies due to the double cup holder arrangement.
Holds up to 38 Cans soda without ice or 22 pounds of ice
Comes with leakproof drain plug, 2 self-draining cup holders, non-slip seamless feet pads, rope handle, Locker mount.
Here are just a few comments from other pontoon boat owners who have been thinking about buying a pontoon boat cooler table this year.
The below comments came via some of the pontoon Facebook groups I am a member of, and I asked people’s opinions to see what feedback they had.
“We did not buy from Bennington as we didn’t want to mount ours. Instead we bought a marine cooler table from Amazon, so we can remove it or move it around. We use it a lot and most of my family prop their feet up on it!”
“I really like the Coleman marine cooler with 4 cup holders, they look much deeper and the table top is recessed. I am going to be buying one for next season for sure.”
“In my opinion the ones that you can buy from your boat manufacturer just get in the way. We never even use our front table unless it’s absolutely necessary. You could just slide a cooler table in there instead and save yourself a lot money.”
“We have the table in the photo you can see and it’s actually a cooler as well. We purchased ours at the dealership when we bought our pontoon, but it did cost nearly $500 dollars as an optional extra!”
“I have a 25-foot Aqua Patio which we bought used and it came with the matching cooler table. But we have never used it on the boat because it is so heavy and big. I’d rather have something more portable.”
“I used to own a 23-foot pontoon before my current Avalon and it the cooler table didn’t fit too good. The manufacturer made tables take up a lot of room anything under 25-foot, I would question whether it’s something you want to pay for. Just a heads up.”
“We found a super large white cooler at a yard sale. It has cup holders built into the top. Easy to just slide out of the way when we need more room up front. You must be able to find them in the US somewhere. And a lot cheaper than the custom ones. Maybe Amazon?”
“We are purchasing this one from our Bennington dealer but will be using it on our Hampton tritoon. $300. It is smaller and less weight than the more expensive ones.”
“I bought my Bennington used and it came with one already installed. When I looked at the paperwork I could see that the previous owner had ordered the boat, and on his order, the cooler table showed up to be a $1,000-dollar option! Crazy.”
“We didn’t want to drill the base in as we want flexibility to move our table around then get it out of the way. We kept stubbing our toes on the base, so we actually bought a portable camping table from Walmart and use that instead!”
Questions & Answers
And are a couple of questions from Facebook users sent to me that I then replied to with my own recommendations.
We just bought a Sweetwater 2286 SL. We would like to buy a cooler table to match our tan color interior and it needs to have at least a couple drink holders. Any recommendations and where to purchase would be greatly appreciated.
I think you might struggle, unless Sweetwater can sell you something direct. The best one that comes with a tan color would be the Wise Premier cooler and it looks great when it’s placed on the deck.
However, it doesn’t come with pontoon cup holders, but you can buy clip one separately on Amazon so go take a look and search on there.
Has anyone ever purchased or made something like these cooler tables? Where did you get them? They seem much more functional than a pole table.
The cooler tables you are talking about are manufactured and sold as add-ons by your pontoon manufacturer. Yes they are far better than pedestal type tables, as offer great storage and cooling functionality.
However, be prepared to pay top dollar prices when buying from your boat brand, which is why instead I recommend looking at the best aftermarket options which I have listed above, with 3 options to choose from.
I was hoping for a hard table top rather than soft cushion. I can’t seem to find a hard top and I’d rather not have to remove drinks to access the cooler. I might be too fussy though!
There are 2 hard table top options listed above. My preferred choice would be the hard shell product as it’s great for fishing trips.
The Coleman cooler is a better option if you want something with more cup holders as it has 4 rather than 2 like the hard shell does.SaveSave
It’s got room to hold 100 cans with this 70-quart version (you can buy larger 100-quart version) and will fit in between the seating area on most pontoon boat decks.
It has a padded top seat, but no cup holders. However, it does look a lot better and should keep things cooler than the Coleman according to the online reviews I have read.
This is the best option for pontoon owners who go fishing a lot, as it’s more functional than stylish, and is perfect for two fishing buddies due to the double cup holder arrangement.
