Fridge Space what do you do.

[jspence1]

I'm only a few weeks from a long trip with the kids. As the day gets closer I've started thinking about meals and how I'm going to store food. I've considered getting a mini fridge and running it off an inverter and just bringing coolers but am concerned at the amount of ice I'll use over the 8 weeks and even finding it on the long weekends without running all over.

How do you deal with the small rv fridges?

[Mr_Beebo]

Start listing how many refrigerated items you can substitute with similar type canned or dry goods. Milk, meat, butter and beer are the first that come to mind that I will put in the icebox. Most everything else can be stored in cabinets. Just takes a little time, pencil and paper.

[toedtoes]

Planning out your meals is going to be the deal breaker. When you are in areas with easy access to stores, you can buy perishables in smaller amounts and more often. For the "long stretch" through Northern Ontario where you don't have easy access to stores, plan meals using non-refrigerated foods (spaghetti with jarred sauce, canned corn, bread, etc.). Then go back to the perishables when you again have easy access.

Carry snacks that don't require refrigeration - crackers, chips, fruits, etc. Save the fridge for mealtime foods (meats, etc.). Freeze milk and use it in a cooler to keep other foods cold - as it melts, drink/use it for cooking.

[happybooker1]

Back in the 60's and early 70's our "family" vacation was to Mexico every summer. I'm talking the "interior" of Mexico, or sometimes even to the Pacific coast. My family was poor, but like Dad said, we could go to Mexico for 2 weeks on $100 and still come back with change. Motel rooms were around $7-$8/night. We would rent a house complete with maid, garden man, and cook for maybe $40/week.

Anyway, Mom took most of our food to eat. She canned cooked ground meat in jars (or chicken), as well as vegetables; we had noodles, rice, we could get potatoes and some other veggies in the local markets. We "camped" in motel rooms and with her trusty electric skillet Mom could make a meal fit for a king! We had a cooler with ice, we ate pimiento cheese sandwiches on the side of the road, and hot meals at night in the motels.

If you have a pressure cooker, you could can some ground meat or chicken too. You just have to think outside the box.

[MinnCamper]

I make up a list of meals for the trip and purchase all of the items for those meals (and then add in a few treats). I'd go ahead and purchase all of the non perishables and then stop at the grocery store for those items when needed.

As for water, pop and other cold beverages. We just keep 2-3 of each in the fridge and when you take one out,you put another one in. There's no need to keep a 24 pack of soda in the fridge/cooler.

[Matt_Colie]

JS,

You need to adjust your meal planning for this excursion. Our little coach is currently (DW has assured) provisioned for about a weeks worth of boondock time. While that may just be for two of us, the size coach and the need to feed teenagers can still be accommodated with proper planning. Start here....

Make a meal chart.
Decide what you can replace.
Powdered milk gets better if mixed the night before.
Canned vegetables can replace fresh in may cases.
Pasta is great for filling appetites.
It can go on from there almost endlessly.

Find a used book called "The Two Burner Gourmet". There may be others out there as well, but we knew Terry.

Remember, "Tin Can Tourists" was not about what they lived in, (even "canned ham" trailers didn't yet exist. It was about how they ate.

Matt

[Opie431]

Some coolers will keep ice for at least five days during northern summers.I made an insulated cover for over mine.
Some of those towns on maps do not have anything that sells groceries, at least they did not when we went thru northern Ontario. I took more canned food than I usually take. A canned chicken, gravy, canned vegetables on biscuits can taste real good when the only meat available for 200 miles are hot dogs or lunce meat.

[jspence1]

Great ideas thanks. I was rummaging through the garage and found an old 12v cooler from the tent camping days. I'll have to plug it in and see if it still works.

[2oldman]

psa0298 wrote:
I don't think a couple of bags of ice every couple of days are going to be that big of an expense

There's ice, but no grocery stores?

[DutchmenSport]

We've had an electric cooler for about 15 years now. We first used it in our PUP because it had an ice-box and not a refrigerator. We continued using it through 3 TT's now, and it's still working great! The can be plugged into an automobile accessory plug and it also came with a 120 AC volt converter to 12 DC volt. Then you plug it into that if your not in your vehicle. Turn it sideways and it's actually a small upright refrigerator, turn it on it's back and it's a cooler chest.

Plug in the wire one way and it cools the inside, turn it the other way and it warms the inside.

Once we reversed it the wrong way, and next morning we had hot milk and roasted hot dogs! Guess what we had for breakfast? Hot chocolate milk and hotdogs. The kids got a real hoot out of that!

Now that it's just the wife and I, we don't use it so much any more, but it does come in real handy for drinks.

Since it's just the 2 of us, we usually bring enough food, including cold items, for 2 days out. We plan on visiting grocery stores. This saves space, and keep everything fresh! We're never that far from a grocery store.

This is from Target. Unbelievable, they haven't changed hardly any at all in 15 years:

[Burwoods]

We tent camped with coolers of course and two grandchildren. I froze everything possible. I would make juice at home, and put into empty water bottles, about three quaters full and freeze with lids off. Time to leave lids on and into coolers. They also acted like ice and kept other things cold. By the time the kids wanted a drink they would have melted enough. If you want the frozen stuff to stay frozen or cold longer I would also take it out of freezer, wrap in newspaper and put in the cooler that way. I did discover that I needed to layer the coolers in the order I felt I would be cooking the food, as what was on the top unthawed sooner and on the bottom and in the middle stayed frozen a bit longer. Good luck, one of our trips in the same area is planned.

[psa0298]

I have done the same length of trip, through the same area. It's not so bad. When you are considering a trip of 6000 miles, I don't think a couple of bags of ice every couple of days are going to be that big of an expense to your budget compared to the cost of gas.....$1.40/liter.

[NYCgrrl]

I'd use the same type of thinking as tent camping in well populated areas. Freeze certain meals assuming your fridge has a freezer section. That's dinner and/or lunch as you prefer. Only "responsible" people are allowed to forage in there; I'm guessing that's you:D.

Set up a separate area for the all day snackers amongst us AKA teenagers. They can stare/worship the fridge god as much as they want in that area/cooler, eat what they want. Since they'll probably forget to inform you when it's empty or close to it, check every evening so you know when it's time to re-stock.

Oh right putting a sign on the teenage access area that says in large font: CLOSE ME PROPERLY OR YOU"LL BE SORRY LATER may jog the brains.

Got a whole other scenario in less populated/no nearby grocery store areas that might be considered deprivation for teenagers......

I also set up a separate beverage cooler for the emotional imbibers amongst us. Saves me a lot of sighing time.

Home freezing drinks in rectangular liter/quart bottles cuts down on need to buy ice as it functions as block ice until it melts. Then you drink it.

[Hondavalk]

I've traveled a lot in Northern Ontario and I well understand the distances between supplies. On a motorcycle it can be a challenge making it from gas station to gas station. Some of the most remote and beautiful country i have ever been in. You might try putting sheet Dry Ice in the bottom of the coolers and then topping your food with regular ice.

[jspence1]

double post sorry