Need To Take Extra Frozen Food

[Jack Moore]

Have owned a Yeti for almost 3 years. But now I've seen, and friends own some equivalents. They are costing half. Shop. Good recommendations above. I won't endorse a brand, but the one's I might have been mentioned.

[eggman]

check the charter sailboat forums... there used to be tons of recs on how to store/cool food while on smallish boats in warm climes...

[Len n Jeanne]

Originally Posted by KpEfonthego

In reguards to freezing food for a long week;may I sugest even cooking meats. I precook hamburger, shredded pork etc, I marinate chicken as well. I put it into pre portioned ziplock bags and freeze flat on cookie sheet. Then it stacks nicely in freezer.

From a food safety point of view, this is a good idea.

NOMB but I'm curious as to why you need to take so much frozen food. On longer trips we rely more on dried foods and canned goods.

[JCWDCW]

Not sure about the logic of using both dry ice and regular ice, except the dry ice will keep the regular ice from melting and then it will do it's cooling when the dry ice is gone.
We packed things in dry ice for a move and then had some still left over after a couple of days. I put it in the freezer and it was completely gone the next morning ....Duuh!
JCW

[Ted S.]

We have the ARB 50 and love it. We leave it plugged in at all times in the tow vehicle even overnight with the engine off and parked. It's just that efficient, it has a sensor that reads the battery power and will shut down the fridge if the battery begins to drain, but will still stay cold because it is a cooler too. Never buy ice again and no soggy food, too sweet.

[djarrett]

Bob, the questions you have to ask are - how much extra food do you need, and how often is this likely to be a need.

I have had both Engel and National Luna fridges. Both were combo units that had freezer/fridge, freezer/freezer, or fridge/fridge capabilities. If you have the coin, the National Luna comes in stainless steel. But honestly, the Engel and the NL were both fantastic units.

We also have a Yeti 45 cooler. (a worthwhile investment).

If this is a need that you will face on a regular basis, I'd look at a small 35 or 45 quart fridge/freezer and keep it in your tow vehicle. (unless you have the spare room in the trailer) The battery drain is minimal.

Hope that helps.
D

[phann]

Assuming you can run the AS fridge and freezer off propane while traveling and boondocking...If you choose the right food items, some might last for a week or more in the refrigerator once they are thawed. Perhaps you could choose prefrozen items at the store, or freeze some items at home in sealed freezer bags, then pack some of them in a "less expensive" cooler on ice while traveling. Once the ice is gone, move them to the fridge. These would be the items that have the longest shelf life in the fridge once they are thawed. The other items with short refrigerator shelf life (once thawed) could stay in the AS freezer the longest and dethawed last.