Small refer blues

[Boondocker]

Next week I move back into the Trade Wind full time at least into the fall. What occurred to me today is this- my diet has changed enormously since January. I have come to rely on the freezer for frozen fruit, fish, chicken parts, frozen veggies and fruit. Not to mention my extra yeast and gluten. The refer in the camper is way to small to do this.

The same general problem applies to the cold box, but not as bad. I hate the idea of using a cooler, but it might come to that.

I wonder if I could keep the ice machine running off an inverter. My ice usage is way up now that I discovered smoothies.......

[overlander63]

Rodney, you can get one of those 12 volt Coleman coolers for your overflow food that needs refrigeration. No ice maker required, and it can plug in to either your 12v outlet in the Tradewind or the 12v outlet in the truck.

[knunut]

How about the Engel 43 Fridge ?

[RickDavis]

Keep in mind most of the 12 volt coolers draw 3 to 4 amps continuously.. Not really conducive to boondocking as that 48 amp hours per day is more than we normally use for everything. No problem of course if you have hookups.

[xrvr]

We use a cooler to keep drinks, etc from overwhelming the inside fridge. Only items that won't kill you if not kept icecold are in the cooler just incase we can't find ice. Colder outside temps allow us to use the cooler as more of a storage unit with limited ice. jim

[Gene]

Rodney,

If you get a big reefer you may not care about anything, oh, I forgot the munchies.

Without a big refer, you'll have to buy fresh veggies and fruit and probably use a cooler. A cooler with extra thick insulation helps a lot. Some stores will give you dry ice, or you may have to buy it—lasts longer and no mess when it sublimates. Whole grains and beans keep forever. It is more labor intensive and expensive to eat well. Sometimes we have to search for decent grocery stores and we bring a lot with us because we can't get decent food in a lot of places.

Those Coleman coolers can take a very long time to get cold and don't fit into your boondocking lifestyle.

A 2nd RV fridge might be the best solution. I wonder if there is a separate RV freezer that's pretty small. You don't need 120 v. and can boondock.

Gene

[TG Twinkie]

Do you have 120 volt AC power to the trailer? If so as long as your converter is large enough to handle the 12 volt load, you should be OK to run a 12 volt cooler.

[mistral blue]

Waeco CF 040AC110 39 Qt Refrigerator / Freezer, AC/DC

Dometic CF-080AC110 Portable Freezer / Refrigerator 2.8 cu.ft

http://www.google.com/products/catal...713#ps-sellers

You'll need a way to recharge your batteries if you don't have hookups.