Forum Discussion

Photomike's avatar
Photomike
Explorer III
May 20, 2014

No refrigeration ideas

Well unlike most people I tend to hit the road with very little notice. A major storm is predicted or the weather turns for the better, or a bird or animal is spotted and I grab my camera gear and go.

For clothes, towels, bedding and other things I leave the TCer packed with them year around. I also leave a lot of food packed like cereal, canned goods, pop, individual water and other items like dried spaghetti, crackers, etc. that I switch out on a regular basis.

A couple things that I have struggled with in the past was my juices, milk (actually soy) and condiments. I have used the larger tetra packs for juices and soy but hate opening one then having to turn on the fridge for one or two little containers, especially if it is only for an overnight run. This past weekend I was doing some camping in my daughters driveway and we would eat most of the meals together but I missed my juice and the ability to have a bowl of cereal when I wanted.

So Saturday afternoon I headed for the local grocery store and found some small tetra packs of juice and soy milk. Was perfect for a quick snack / drink and did not require me to turn on the fridge as it was just one serving. I did find that the small juice tetra packs are too small so Sunday the wife was grocery shopping and found me some small juice containers that are the size of a regular glass at home.

Funny how something so easy can change things. Now I do not even need to worry about the fridge for those one day or even just overnight trips.

For condiments I have found that the simplest thing is to visit a restaurant and ask the staff if you can buy some single packs of ketchup, mustard, relish, soy, etc. Usually for 10 of each I am told not to worry about it (or if I am eating there anyways I just save the ones that they toss in the takeout bag).

I love my fridge but this is so nice, another little thing to do that makes the TCer even more versatile for me.
  • Super_Dave wrote:
    ... Warm drinks give me a gag reflex just thinking about it.
    Me too. I keep my TC stocked with food, clothing and keep the fridge plugged in while the TC is in storage in front of my garage. My diet is simple enough I can easily eat for two or three nights out of the can. My beer/sodas are always cold and ready to go. I do usually add a few fridge items, but very few. If the wife is going, a totally different story.
  • Freeze dried food, just add water, heat and eat... fruit, veggies, meat anything you can think of.

    Liquids: UHT packaging, milk, juice etc

    Fridge sort of just occupies valuable space... use to store the NON refrigerated food and drink...
  • Hi Mike,

    For short trips I used my fridge as if it were an ice box--just using the freezer part.
  • A block of ice in the frig will last several days . Put it in a dish pan so as it melts it doesn't run all over .
  • I always keep a milk carton or 2 of water iced in the freezer. That would certainly last a couple of days in a small cooler for your short trips. Warm drinks give me a gag reflex just thinking about it.